How College and Career-Ready are High School Graduates?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress' (NAEP) high school transcript study provides a window into how well graduating students are prepared. More students are completing a “rigorous” curriculum, which includes higher-level math and science courses.

Among the findings:

The 2009 graduates earned more credits in "core" academic courses than in any past study year, increasing from an average of 13.7 credits in 1990 to 16.0 credits in 2009. Graduates also earned more credits overall in "other academic" courses, increasing from 3.6 credits in 1990 to 5.3 credits in 2009. When "other" credits are included, the total average credits increased from 23.6 in 1990 to 27.2 in 2009, more than any previous graduation class for which we conducted a study.

Factors that may be related to increasing credits include:

• Online courses – With the rise of online courses, students may have more opportunities outside of the traditional classroom. Information from the HSTS indicates that about 5 percent of graduates took online courses for credit.
• Credit for classes taken in middle school – Students are taking what were once considered high school courses before entering high school (e.g., Algebra I, Biology, Spanish I). A substantial number of these students are earning high school credit for these courses. Among 2009 graduates, 26 percent took Algebra I before entering high school.
• Summer school – About 21 percent of 2009 high school graduates earned credits while in summer school. While many graduates who attend summer school are making up credits, others may be attending to earn additional credits.

There have also been changes over time in the average number of credits earned by graduates in each of the four major racial/ethnic groups for which there are sufficient data to report reliable results—Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and White. Comparing 1990 to 2009, all four racial/ethnic groups earned a higher number of credits. Comparing 2009 to 2005, only White and Black students had increases in the number of credits earned. The average number of credits for Black students increased from 23.5 in 1990 to 26.9 in 2005 and to 27.4 in 2009.

Also, GPAs Increase from 1990 to 2009. The 2009 HSTS data indicate that graduates' grade point averages have changed over time. From 1990 to 2009, overall GPA increased, from 2.68 to 3.00. Over the same time period, GPA increased for each of the three course types—"other" courses, "other academic" courses, and "core academic" courses. From 2005 to 2009, GPAs did not change measurably for core courses or other academic courses.