HIGH-SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS - EFFECTS ON DROPPING OUT AND STUDENT-ACHIEVEMENT

Several state and local authorities have recently enacted legislation requiring high school students to complete at least three years of mat hematics in order to graduate. This study examines effects of these po licies on three types of outcomes: the kinds of mathematics courses st udents complete during high school, high school dropout rates, and mat hematics achievement test score gains during high school. Two addition al questions related to achievement are also addressed: whether requir ing more courses affects the association of student socioeconomic stat us (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 lit tle support for the notion that requiring more mathematic courses is g enerally beneficial or harmful. No effects are found on either the pro bability 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 requirements apparently dilute the effectiveness of completing the additional courses. The results t hus give little credence to efforts to improve achievement outcomes by simply raising the number of math courses students must complete in o rder to graduate from high school.