Thorp School District
New Graduation Requirements

WE WANT SUCCESS FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS

Thorp School District wants the best for its students – success at whatever they choose to do in life.

To ensure this success, our students and parents must be familiar with the four new statewide graduation requirements established by the Washington State Board of Education. The Thorp School District has further defined these requirements, which are outlined in this brochure.

Beginning with the Class of 2008, who will be entering ninth grade in the 2004-05 school year, all students in our district will be held accountable to these new requirements. Each student must successfully:

CULMINATING PROJECT
This integrated learning project helps students understand the connection between school and the real world by studying a topic they like and presenting their findings to teachers, community members and other students.
The Culminating Project requirement is subject to implementation at the district level. The Thorp School District has defined it as follows:
L.E.A.S.E (Life’s Essential Accomplishments as a Student Entrepreneur) consists of an ongoing portfolio for grades 9-12. Students will build an extensive personal portfolio that demonstrates their abilities in four areas; self, education, career, and society. Students will make a presentation to the community that will demonstrate the knowledge they have gained throughout their tenure at Thorp High School. This is a graduation requirement for the District and not graded at this time

CERTIFICATE OF MASTERY
Students must meet standard on the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) in reading, writing and math. Science will be added in 2010.
This certificate helps ensure that all students have the basic skills needed to succeed after high school, regardless of where they live, how much money they have or what language they speak.

CLASS CREDIT
In order to graduate from Thorp School District, students must earn 22 credits, with each whole number representing one year of course study. Credits by subject area:

HIGH SCHOOL+ EDUCATION PLAN
Students must detail their plans for meeting the high school graduation requirements and what they expect to do one year after graduation.
The intent is to help students identify post-secondary interests (education, travel, military, work, etc.) by thinking about their future and providing a motivation for their work in school.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will WASL retakes be available?
If funding is provided by the 2004 Legislature, retakes will be available beginning in spring 2005. This allows the Class of 2008 five opportunities to take the 10th-grade WASL.

What happens if the Legislature doesn’t pass a bill to fund retakes?
The results of the 2004 legislative session are critical to implementing the Certificate of Mastery. At a minimum, the Legislature must fund multiple retakes of the 10th-grade WASL if the Certificate of Mastery is to be a graduation requirement.

Do students have to retake the entire WASL if they don’t meet standard in a certain area, or can they just retake a portion of the test?
Students will only need to retake the subject(s) (reading, writing or math) in which they didn’t meet standard.

What will the 11th and 12th grades look like after students earn the Certificate of Mastery?
The Certificate of Mastery ensures that ALL students have mastered basic skills. Students must go beyond this level of knowledge to prepare for any work environment and to qualify for admission to college, technical schools, the armed forces or any other post-high school training. They must continue taking rigorous courses in the 11th and 12th grades – including plenty of English, math and science.