Graduation

[Wonderlicious]

I'm English and I want to know about how Americans finish high school. In England, one can leave at 16 and get a job/go to a different education place or they can stay on at the school. At 18, if we do well in our exams, we can go to university and study something.

Is this similar to what happens in America? And when do you graduate?

[DisneyGirl]

Each state is different, but in my state (Hawaii), you can drop out of high school at any time after the age of 15 with parent permission, and you must be working full time (up to 40 hours a week plus overtime if it's offered). This is extremely rare, at least, it is in my district.
If you do graduate, you used to have to take the HISTEC, Hawaii State Educational Certification test which is like the SATs, (multiple choice, and has three sections, math, verbal and reason & logic), if you fail, you cannot graduate. If you do pass the HISTEC (though the last class that required it for graduation was the class of 1999) you need at least 24 high school credits as follows (each credit is one year unless specified)
3 years Math (Ranging from basic Algebra to Trig and Calculus)
4 years English (Language Arts)
1 year US History Class
1 semester Modern Hawaiian History Class
1 semester Geography Class
1 year Participation in a Democracy
2 of either Psychology or Sociology and/or Economics
1 year of P.E.
1 semester of Guidance
1 semester of Health (including CPR certification)
3 years Science (three of either: basic physical science, marine science, zoology, human physiology, chemistry, physics)
6 electives (varies depending on what your school offers. I took photography, ceramics, and mechanical drawing)
2 years foreign language (This used to be opional for a special recognition diploma, now, I believe, it's mandatory).

Begining this year, seniors must also take part in a mandatory Career and Technical Education program, which means they have to volunteer in the field of study they are interested in pursuing in college.
They also must complete a Senior Project if they want to special regnition diploma now...though I'm not sure what the Senior project is.

Anyway, we have four years to complete all of these requirements, and if we do graduate, it normally happens in late May or June. (Unless you qualify for early graduation then you can graduate in your junior year, but this is also rare.) My high school's tradition is graduation ceremony is always the last Friday in May.

[AwallaceUNC]

From what I understand, many European countries have two years of mandatory high school, and then can embark on one of two different tracks, so to speak, where they can continue on with what might be considered college prepatory education or embark on the work force path. For those that choose the former, it sort of leads straight into the University system. It sounds like that's what you're describing too, Wonderlicious, but correct me if I'm wrong.

DisneyGirl is right, the specifics vary from state to state, as our education is based at the state level, not federal (though more and more goes to federal all the time, *sigh* anyways...) In my state, the drop out age is 16. There aren't really two tracks, though. The majority stick through all 4 years of high school, and then choose to go to either college or the workforce after that. You can take a high school equivolency test and pass high school without actually completing it if you want, though many universities would frown upon that.

We take SATs (are these everywhere, or just America?) and then send transcripts and SAT scores off to universities, if that's what we choose to do, for acceptance, along with applications.

There are 2 year universities which are typically (though not always) focused more on technical programs, and then 4 year universities, which seems to be the more prevalent choice. After the 4 years are up (known as undergraduate education), you can enter the work force, or seek more education in a graduate program.

-Aaron

[DisneyGirl]

We take SATs (are these everywhere, or just America?) and then send transcripts and SAT scores off to universities, if that's what we choose to do, for acceptance, along with applications.

That's a good question, I wonder if America is the only place that takes the SATs...and let's not forget that they've changed the SAT. It had a big facelift this year and not all Universities and Colleges are accepting the old version anymore.

[AwallaceUNC]

Very true. I hear the new one is harder, so I'm glad I missed it.

-Aaron