High School Graduation Requirements: Effects on Dropping Out and Student Achievement

Abstract

Several state and local authorities have recently enacted legislation requiring high school students to complete at least three years of mathematics in order to graduate. This study examines effects of these policies on three types of outcomes: the kinds of mathematics courses students complete during high school, high school dropout rates, and mathematics achievement test score gains during high school. Two additional questions related to achievement are also addressed: whether requiring more courses affects the association of student socioeconomic status (SES) with test scores and dropping out, and whether requiring more courses reduces the effects of completing additional math courses on achievement. Results from an analysis of the nationally representative National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) data give little support for the notion that requiring more mathematic courses is generally beneficial or harmful. No effects are found on either the probability of dropping out or achievement gains, and the effects of SES are not reduced in the schools requiring three math courses. The three-course requirement does lead to higher rates of course completions in geometry and algebra 2, but the higher require -ments apparently dilute the effectiveness of completing the additional courses. The results thus give little credence to efforts to improve achievement outcomes by simply raising the number of math courses students must complete in order to graduate from high school.