High School Diploma
Starting
the High School Diploma Program
High
School Graduation Requirements
Credits
you have already earned
GED
Preparation
How
do I receive a GED?
Which
is better: a GED or a high school diploma?
Adult
Basic Education
What
is "adult basic education"?
High
School Diploma
Starting
the High School Diploma Program
All
students working toward a high school diploma
must be interviewed by a counselor prior to
enrollment in classes, and should see a
counselor at least once each semester until
graduation requirements are completed.
Students also need to bring a copy of their high
school transcripts for evaluation.
Concurrently
enrolled High School students under 18 years of
age enrolling in adult school classes MUST have
documentation of a face-to-face counseling
session with a parent and high school counselor.
This must be completed BEFORE registering.
To
find out more information about our Counseling
Services, click
here.
High
School Graduation Requirements
|
Subject |
Semester
Credits |
| English
|
40 |
| Mathematics
(Must include 10 credits of Algebra)
|
20 |
| Science
|
20 |
| American
History
|
10 |
| Social
Studies
|
10 |
| Foreign
Language or Fine Arts |
10 |
| American
Government |
5 |
| Economics |
5 |
| Electives |
60 |
| TOTAL |
180 |
An additional graduation requirement for a high
school diploma is passing both sections of the
California High School Exit Exam. The school
offers this exam three times each year, usually
in September, February and May.
Credits
for Work Experience and Past Education
Many
working adults will already have earned 40
credits simply for having worked their regular
full or part-time job for two to four years.
Past employment can be proved by furnishing tax
returns, W-2 forms, or by having your present or
past employer complete a simple form which the
counseling office will provide to you.
Military
experience may also be used to fulfill a portion
of the elective requirement.
Adults
who took high school level classes in the United
States or a foreign country in the past may be
able to receive adult school credits for those
classes. The counselor will need to
evaluate your transcript from your previous
school. A transcript lists the classes you
took and the grades you received.
GED
Preparation
How
do I receive a GED?
The
GED refers both to the five tests that make up
the GED Tests battery and to the certificate
that a person receives after passing the tests.
The GED certificate is, for most purposes, the
equivalent of receiving a high school diploma.
While
Azusa Adult School does not give the actual GED
tests, we do have classes that prepare students
to take the tests and can refer students to a
local GED test centers for testing.
The
process for receiving a GED certificate breaks
down to six steps:
- A
student enrolls in the school and sees a
counselor. The counselor speaks with
the student, reviews the student’s
transcript, and recommends which classes to
take.
- The
student may be given an assessment test.
(Not all students take this test.) If
test scores fall below a certain level, then
the student is referred to the ABE class for
help raising up the low scores.
- The
student enters a GED preparation class,
takes pre-tests in the five subject
areas—writing, social studies, science,
reading, and mathematics—and, based on the
pre-test scores, is assigned lessons in his
weak areas.
- Once
a student’s practice tests scores are high
enough, the student is referred to a local
GED test center to take the GED Tests
battery.
- The
student pays the test fee and takes the GED
Tests battery. If the student does not
receive an overall passing score, he may
retake just those tests with low scores.
- After
passing all of the GED tests, the student is
eligible to participate in the Azusa Adult
School graduation. We encourage our
GED students to return for the June
graduation, wear the traditional cap and
gown, and go through the ceremony with our
high school graduates.
Which
is better: a GED or a high school diploma?
The
answer to this question usually depends on,
first, what you need the diploma or GED
certificate for, and, second, which would be
faster to complete.
People
usually need a GED certificate or high school
diploma for a job and, for this purpose, most
employers will accept either. One major
exception is some branches of the military
require new recruits to have a high school
diploma.
Decide
what you need the GED or diploma for and then
find out whether a diploma is required or
whether either a diploma or a GED is acceptable.
Most
students’ other major concern is how long it
will take to earn a GED certificate or a high
school diploma. People often assume that a
GED is faster—this is not always true.
It depends on how many high school credits
students have when they enroll in adult school.
If a student enrolls with almost all of the
credits needed to graduate, then a high school
diploma will often be faster to complete.
On the other hand, if the student needs many
credits, then a GED usually takes less time to
complete.
A
counselor needs to determine how many credits
you have now, what classes you need, and how
many more credits you require to graduate.
You may have more—or fewer—high school
credits than you think.
There
is one final consideration—completing the GED
certificate can count toward high school credits
so it is possible to earn both a GED and a high
school diploma. Some people earn both
because they need the GED in the short run to
get or keep a job, but they want to receive a
high school diploma for any number of personal
reasons.
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