Ohio introduced a new set of graduation requirements starting with students who graduated in 2023. The new requirements introduce a little flexibility, so students have an alternative path to graduation if they aren’t able to pass certain state tests.
Ohio has three main graduation requirements. Students need to fulfill all three to earn a diploma and graduate.
- Credit: Students have to pass specific classes to earn 20 high school credits.
- Competency: Students can show their competency by passing state tests in math and English. If they aren’t able to pass those tests in two tries, they can fulfill the requirement in other ways. Options include earning certificates and licenses in different industries, completing apprenticeships or enlisting in the military.
- Readiness: Students have to earn two of the state’s 12 possible diploma seals. These seals recognize skills and career qualifications in areas such as technology, foreign language or fine arts. There are also seals for military enlistment, college readiness and industry credentials.
The flexibility in the new graduation requirements comes in the option to earn industry credentials to fulfill the competency requirement. It may seem minor, but it’s a game-changer for some students, said Jeff Jaroscak, executive director of Promise Academy.
Promise Academy is a tuition-free charter school in Cleveland intended for students who have fallen behind in traditional high schools. For most of Jaroscak’s students, earning credentials rather than passing tests makes graduation more attainable, he said.
“When we tell them that there’s an option where they don’t have to pass these tests, you can just visibly see a giant weight lifted from them,” he said. “We are pretty good at saying, if you do what you’re supposed to do, this is your graduation date. Put it on your calendar. You can do it. And that’s something they haven’t heard before.”
What does this alternative graduation path mean for Ohio students?
In theory, the industry credential alternative to passing state math and English tests could give students more control over their high school experience.
For example, a student could earn their State Tested Nurse Assistant (STNA) certification while in high school and jump right into a job after graduating. Earning the STNA certification is a lot of work, but it alone would fulfill the competency requirement and earn one diploma seal.
But, according to the state, not all industry credentials are equal. The state uses a point system to assign value to each credential, and students need 12 credential points to satisfy the competency requirement.
The STNA credential, for example, is worth all 12 points. A CPR first aid certification — the most common credential earned by students across the state — is worth one point. Certifications in both retail and sales are also common, and they’re worth six points each.
Industry credentials have gained popularity among Ohio high school students over the last few years, according to Ohio Department of Education data. Cleveland Metropolitan School District students who graduated in 2023 earned seven times more credentials than students who graduated in 2022. It’s a sharp increase, but it’s in line with a more gradual upward trend across Ohio.
Are industry credentials helping Ohio students get jobs?
While these industry credentials can offer students alternative paths to graduation, it’s hard to pin down how useful they are to students entering the workforce.
To get a sense of the supply and demand for different credentials, education and workforce researchers teamed up to form an organization called CredentialsMatter. The data they collected between 2015 and 2020 shows that, in Ohio, some of the most common credentials may not be highly sought after in the job market. Researchers determined this by scraping job postings for mentions of credentials, so the data could miss cases where, for example, an employer values credentials but does not explicitly say so in a posting.
At least anecdotally, credentials can help move recent graduates to the top of an employer’s hiring list, Jaroscak said.
Many Promise Academy students struggled with the rigid structure of traditional schools. Some have to look after younger siblings or take older relatives to appointments, making it hard to keep up with typical school schedules. For students with those kinds of responsibilities outside of school, he said, industry credentials can be more useful than a passing score on state tests.
Life beyond high school
Credentials aren’t a perfect solution for every student, Jaroscak said, but having an alternative to passing state tests allows teachers and advisors to create more personalized education plans for each student. That’s often what Promise Academy students need.
“We’re not doing them a favor,” he said. “They have a right to a program that works for them.”
For some students, talking about alternative paths to graduation also gets them thinking more critically about life beyond high school, Jaroscak said. Many students don’t know what they want to do for a career, but showing them a pool of options can make that decision less overwhelming.
It’s all about getting students who have encountered significant obstacles to believe in themselves and see their potential, he said.
“They’ve got to get used to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” Jaroscak said.
