What is the required amount of high school credits

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      Table 234.30.

      Course credit requirements and exit exam requirements for a standard high school diploma and the use of other high school completion credentials, by state: 2013

      State	Course credits (in Carnegie units)							High school exit exams						Other completion credentials
      	Total required credits for standard diploma, all courses		Required credits in selected subject areas					Exit exam required for standard diploma		Characteristics of required exams				Advanced recogni- tion for exceeding standard require- ments	Alternative credential for not meeting all standard require- ments 2
      			English/ language arts	Social studies	Science	Mathe-matics	Other credits			Subjects tested 1		Exam based on standards for 10th grade or higher	Appeals or alternative route to standard diploma if exam failed
      1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8		9		10	11	12	13
      Alabama	24.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	8.0	Yes	EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
      Alaska	21.0	4.0	3.0	2.0	2.0	10.0	Yes	EM	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
      Arizona	22.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	8.0	Yes	EM	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
      Arkansas	22.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	8.0	Yes	M	No	Yes	Yes	No
      California	13.0	3.0	3.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	Yes	EM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
      Colorado	—	—	0.5	—	—	—	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Connecticut	20.0	4.0	3.0	2.0	3.0	8.0	No	3	†	†	†	No	No
      Delaware	22.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	8.0	No	†	†	†	No	Yes
      District of Columbia	24.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	8.0	No	†	†	†	No	Yes
      Florida	24.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	10.0	Yes	EM	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
      Georgia	23.0	4.0	3.0	4.0	4.0	8.0	Yes	EMSH	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
      Hawaii	24.0	4.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	10.0	No	†	†	†	Yes	Yes
      Idaho	23.0	4.5	2.5	3.0	3.0	10.0	Yes	EM	Yes	Yes	No	No
      Illinois	16.0	4.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	5.0	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Indiana	20.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	7.0	Yes	EM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
      Iowa	14.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0	No	†	†	†	Yes	No
      Kansas	21.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	8.0	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Kentucky	22.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	9.0	No	†	†	†	Yes	Yes
      Louisiana	24.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	8.0	Yes	EMSH	4	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
      Maine	16.0	4.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	6.0	No	†	†	†	No	Yes
      Maryland	21.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	8.0	Yes	EMS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
      Massachusetts	—	—	—	—	—	—	Yes	EMS	Yes	Yes	No	No
      Michigan	16.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	2.0	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Minnesota	21.5	4.0	3.5	3.0	3.0	8.0	Yes	EM	5	Yes	Yes	No	No
      Mississippi	24.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	8.0	Yes	EMSH	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
      Missouri.	24.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	11.0	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Montana	20.0	4.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	10.0	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Nebraska	200.0	6	—	—	—	—	—	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Nevada	22.5	4.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	11.5	Yes	EMS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
      New Hampshire	20.0	4.0	2.5	2.0	3.0	8.5	No	†	†	†	Yes	Yes
      New Jersey	24.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	11.0	Yes	EM	Yes	Yes	No	No
      New Mexico	24.0	4.0	3.5	3.0	4.0	9.5	Yes	EMSH	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
      New York	22.0	4.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	8.0	Yes	EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
      North Carolina	21.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	7.0	No	†	†	†	Yes	Yes
      North Dakota	22.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	9.0	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Ohio	20.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	7.0	Yes	EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
      Oklahoma	23.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	10.0	Yes	EMSH	7	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
      Oregon	24.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	11.0	No	†	†	†	No	Yes
      Pennsylvania	—	—	—	—	—	—	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Rhode Island	20.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	6.0	No	8	†	†	†	No	No
      South Carolina	24.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	10.0	Yes	EM	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
      South Dakota	22.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	9.0	No	†	†	†	Yes	No
      Tennessee	22.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	8.0	No	†	†	No	Yes	Yes
      Texas	26.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	10.0	Yes	EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
      Utah	24.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	11.0	No	†	†	†	No	Yes
      Vermont	20.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	7.0	No	†	†	†	No	No
      Virginia	22.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	9.0	Yes	EMSH	9	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
      Washington	20.0	3.0	2.5	2.0	3.0	9.5	Yes	EM	Yes	Yes	No	No
      West Virginia	24.0	4.0	4.0	3.0	4.0	9.0	No	†	†	†	Yes	Yes
      Wisconsin	13.0	4.0	3.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	No	†	†	†	No	Yes
      Wyoming	13.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	0.0	No	†	†	†	Yes	No

      —Not available.

      †Not applicable.

      1 Exit exam subjects tested: E = English (including writing), M = Mathematics, S = Science, and H = History/social studies.

      2 A certificate of attendance is an example of an alternative credential for students who do not meet all requirements for a standard diploma. Depending on an individual state’s policies, alternative credentials may be offered to students with disabilities, students who fail exit exams, or other students who do not meet all requirements.

      3 Requirement takes effect for class of 2020.

      4 Students must pass either the science or social studies components of the Graduation Exit Examination (GEE) to receive a standard diploma.

      5 Students can graduate by passing statewide reading and writing assessments and either passing mathematics assessments or meeting other requirements.

      6 Expressed in semester credits instead of Carnegie units.

      7 To receive the standard diploma, students must pass tests in algebra 1, English 2, and two of the following five subjects: algebra 2, biology 1, English 3, geometry, and U.S. history.

      8 Requirement takes effect for class of 2014.

      9 To receive the standard diploma, students must earn at least six verified credits by passing end-of-course assessments. One of those credits may be earned by passing a student-selected test in computer science, technology, career and technical education, or other areas.

      NOTE: Local school districts frequently have other graduation requirements in addition to state requirements. The Carnegie unit is a standard of measurement that represents one credit for the completion of a 1-year course.

      SOURCE: Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, custom table, retrieved August 27, 2013, from Education Counts database (http://www.edcounts.org/createtable/step1.php). (This table was prepared August 2013.)