To graduate from high school, students shall meet the minimum requirements for either the Standard Diploma or Advanced Studies Diploma as outlined below. A standard credit is earned when a student passes a course. A verified credit is earned when a student passes a course and either the associated end-of-course SOL test or a performance assessment in history and social sciences.
The following applies to students who enter 9th grade in 2018-2019 and beyond.
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Advanced Studies Diploma (8 VAC 20-131-51) |
Standard Diploma (8 VAC 20-131-51) |
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Verified Credits (SOLs): 5 Total |
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Additional Requirements
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Sequential Elective Guidelines
Students must take at least two sequential electives to receive a Standard High School Diploma or Advanced Studies Diploma. Sequential electives are courses in which the content increases or expands in scope and sequence as students move through the various levels of the courses. These courses may be in any discipline Courses used to satisfy one unit of credit in a fine art or CTE may be used to partially satisfy this requirement. A sequence that includes an exploratory course followed by an introductory course cannot be used to satisfy this requirement; however, an introductory course followed by another level of the same course of study can be used. Students may take the focused sequence of elective courses in consecutive years or any two years of high school. Counselors will assist students to select courses to meet this requirement.
Diplomas
Applied Studies Diploma
Students with disabilities who complete the requirements for their IEP and do not meet the requirements for other diplomas shall be awarded an Applied Studies Diploma. Access additional information on the Applied Studies Diploma on https://www.doe.virginia.gov/parents-students/for-students/graduation/diploma-options/applied-studies-diploma.
Other Diplomas and Certificates
Certificate of Program Completion
Students who complete prescribed programs of studies but who do not qualify
for diplomas. Additional information can be accessed on the Virginia Department of Education website: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/parents-students/for-students/graduation/diploma-options/other-diplomas-certificates
General Education Development Certificates (8 VAC 20-360-10, et. seq.)
Details about General Education Development Certificates can be viewed at https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/specialized-instruction/adult-education/high-school- equivalency-hse-credential.
General Education Certificate and Associate Degree
Students attending Arlington Tech at the Career Center will be given the opportunity to earn college credit through dual-enrollment with Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) and may earn a General Education Certificate and/or an Associate Degree in a variety of pathways.
Information for Transfer Students
Students entering a Virginia high school during the tenth grade or later may benefit by having to earn a reduced number of verified credits, as stated in 8VAC20-131-60.G, and summarized here:
https://www.doe.virginia.gov/parents-students/for-parents/information-for-transfer-students
Credit Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Credit Accommodations for the Advanced Studies Diploma
An alternative for students to meet the world language requirement is available to students with an individualized education program (IEP) that specifies a credit accommodation for world languages to substitute two standard units of credit in computer science for two standards units of credit in a world language.
Credit Accommodations for the Standard Diploma
Credit accommodations provide alternatives in earning the standard and verified credits required to graduate with a Standard Diploma and may include:
- Alternative courses to meet the standard credit requirements
- Modifications to the requirements for locally awarded verified credits
- Additional tests approved by the Board of Education for earning verified credits; Refer to Substitute tests for verified credit for the list of approved tests.
- Adjusted cut scores on tests for earning verified credits
- Allowance of work-based learning experiences through career and technical education (CTE) courses. More specific details about credit accommodations can be viewed on VDOE.
Locally Awarded Verified Credit Policy 8VAC20-131-110(B)
Locally awarded verified credits may be awarded to students with credit accommodations. To be eligible to earn locally awarded verified credits in English, mathematics, science, or history/social science, a student must:
- Pass the high school course,
- Score within a 375-399 scale score range on any administration of the SOL test after taking the test at least twice, and
- Demonstrate achievement in the academic content through an appeal process administered at the local level.
Students with credit accommodations earning a Standard Diploma are not subject to the limit on the number of locally-awarded verified credits that may be earned. For more information, please refer to Credits for Graduation
Special Permission Credit Accommodation
The special permission credit accommodation provides students with disabilities who previously might have used the Virginia Substitute Evaluation Program (VSEP) with a pathway to earn the necessary verified credits to obtain a standard diploma. Additional details can be found at https://www.doe.virginia.gov/parents-students/for-students/graduation/graduation-requirement-resources/credit-accommodations
Graduation Seals of Achievement
Students meeting specific requirements for graduation and demonstrating exemplary performance may receive diploma seals for recognition. The Virginia Department of Education makes available to Arlington Public Schools and other local school divisions the following seals:
- Governor’s Seal is awarded to students who complete the requirements for an Advanced Studies Diploma with an average grade of ‘B” or better, and successfully complete college-level coursework that will earn the student at least nine transferable college credits in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB),\ Cambridge, or dual enrollment courses.
- Board of Education Seal is awarded to students who complete the requirements for a Standard Diploma or Advanced Studies Diploma with an average of “A”.
- Board of Education’s Career & Technical Seal is awarded to students who:
- Earn a Standard or Advanced Studies Diploma and complete a prescribed sequence of courses in a career and technical education concentration or specialization that they choose and maintain a “B” or better average in those courses.
- OR pass an examination or an occupational competency assessment in a career and technical education concentration or specialization that confers certification or occupational competency credential from a recognized industry, trade, or professional association.
- OR acquire a professional license in that career and technical education field from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The Board of Education shall approve all professional licenses and examinations used to satisfy these requirements.
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Board of Education’s Excellence in Civics Education Seal is awarded to students who meet each of the following four criteria:
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Satisfy the requirement to earn a Standard Diploma or an Advanced Studies Diploma
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Complete Virginia & United States History and Virginia United States Government courses with a grade of “B” or higher.
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Complete 50 hours of voluntary participation in community service or extracurricular activities, such as volunteering for a charitable or religious organization that provides services to the poor, sick or less fortunate; participating in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or similar youth organizations, participating in Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC); participating in political campaigns, government internships; Boys State, Girls State or Model General Assembly; and participating in school-sponsored extracurricular activities that have a civics focus. Any student who enlists in the United States military prior to graduation will be deemed to have met this community service requirement.Have good attendance and no disciplinary infractions as determined by local school board policies.
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Board of Education’s Seal of Biliteracy is awarded to students who earn a Board of Education-approved diploma and:
- Pass all required End-of-Course Assessments in English reading and writing at the proficient or higher level.
- Demonstrate proficiency at the intermediate-mid level or higher in one or more languages other than English as demonstrated through an assessment from a list approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. American Sign Language qualifies as a language other than English.
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- Board of Education’s Seal for Excellence in Science & the Environment is awarded to students who enter the ninth grade for the first time in the 2018-19 year and thereafter, and meet each of the following criteria:
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Earn either a Standard or Advanced Studies Diploma
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Complete at least three different first-level board-approved laboratory science courses and at least one rigorous advanced-level or postsecondary-level laboratory science course, each with a grade of “B” or higher
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Complete laboratory or field-science research and present that research in a formal, juried setting
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Complete at least 50 hours of voluntary participation in community service or extracurricular activities that involve the application of science such as environmental monitoring, protection, management, or restoration.
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- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Seal
The STEM Seal shall be awarded to students who earn either a Standard Diploma or an Advanced Studies Diploma and satisfy all Math and Science requirements for the Advanced Studies diploma with a “B” average or better in all course work, and
- successfully complete a 50 hour or more work-based learning opportunity in a STEM area, and
- satisfy all requirements for a Career and Technical Education concentration (a concentration is a coherent sequence of two or more state-approved courses as identified in the course listing within the CTE Program Area Guide), and
- pass one of the following:
- a Board of Education CTE STEM-H credential examination, or
- an examination approved by the Board that confers a college-level credit in a STEM field.