MCCSC talks new Indiana high school diploma requirements

For each of the three main readiness seals, students have the option to try and complete the requirements for the Honors Seal or Honors Plus Seal on top of the basic requirements for each seal.  

The honors seals create the “opportunity for students to push themselves,” Frazer said.  

All seals emphasize communication, collaboration and work ethic — skills that Frazer said employers are seeking.  

Students who do not complete one of the possible seals still must complete Graduation Pathway Requirements 2 and 3. Graduation Pathway Requirement 2 requires students to learn and demonstrate employability skills through either a project-based, service-based or work-based learning experience. Graduation Pathway Requirement 3 requires students to show post-secondary ready competency. This can include: 

• SAT benchmark: reading/writing = 480, math = 530 

• ACT benchmarks: English = 18, reading = 22, math = 22, science = 23 

• Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) score: minimum of 31 

• State and industry-recognized credential or certification 

• Federally recognized apprenticeship 

• Career technical education concentrator  

• AP/IB/Dual Credit/Cambridge International courses or CLEP Exams 

• Locally created pathway: a competency or assessment that demonstrates a student has the needed knowledge and skills to be successful post-graduation 

For the enrollment honors seal, one requirement is earning a C or higher in all courses and earning a cumulative B average. For the honors plus seal, requirements include 75 hours of work-based learning, demonstrating skill development in communication, collaboration and work ethic and earning a credential of value. That can include:  

• Obtaining an associate degree 

• Becoming an AP Scholar with Distinction 

• Obtaining a technical certificate 

• Completing Indiana College Core 

• Obtaining a Cambridge AICE diploma 

• Acquiring an IB diploma 

The employment honors seals include meeting an unspecified attendance goal, work-based learning hours or earning a market-driven credential of value, which could be an associate degree, technical certificate, Indiana College Core or Advanced industry certificate. 

According to Frazer’s presentation, the attendance goal requirements are meant to combat the “chronic absenteeism” that 19-32% of Indiana high school students experienced during the 2023-24 school year. 

The enlistment and service honors seals include requirements such as taking an Introduction to Public Service course, completing a year of JROTC, meeting an unspecified attendance goal, achieving certain ASVAB goal requirements and connecting with military personnel early on.  

Frazer said that the new Indiana diploma has garnered letters of support from many Indiana universities, including IU, Purdue University and Indiana State University.  

In March, the State proposed its initial new diploma. According to the IndyStar, this diploma received considerable negative feedback from teachers and community members who said the new diploma requirements would disadvantage students going to college and make Indiana students less well-rounded.  

Purdue President Mung Chiang wrote a letter to Indiana Education Secretary Katie Jenner and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, stating that the proposed diplomas did not meet Purdue’s admission requirements. Several other Indiana universities sent similar letters expressing their intent to collaborate with the State in creating the new diplomas, some sharing what would be required for admission.  

In response, the State requested more feedback and developed the second draft of the diploma, which was released in August. This version received the support of all previously dissenting public Indiana universities.  

In December, the final diploma rule was released, remediating many of the past diploma’s concerns.

While creating the diploma, the Indiana Department of Education collaborated with employers and universities in the state to find potential areas of improvement for students. Frazer said employers noted that students are struggling with communication with each other and with their employers.  

One focus of the diploma changes is ensuring that students know how their current activities carry over to their post-high-school plans. Frazer said they wanted to focus on preparing students who plan to enlist after graduation. According to her presentation, about 77% of students find out they are disqualified from military enlistment when it is “too late.” Along with this, Frazer noted that it is the State’s goal to ensure that students are made more aware of what dual-credit classes are pre-approved to transfer to Indiana public universities.