Policy 2525 was adopted by the Board of Education in 2005, when this year’s senior students were still freshmen.
Under the new policy, the graduation requirement for high school requires a minimum of 28 credits — or seven more than the previous requirement.
The required subjects constitute 23 credits with five credits to be sourced from the elective courses and career technical programs offered at all public high schools.
The new requirements consist of eight credits for English — two credits each for integrated literature and composition for 9th and 10th grades; two credits for British literature taught in 12th grade; and one credit each for technical research/business writing and American literature for 11th graders.
For mathematics, 12th graders have to take six credits before they can be considered for graduation. They should take algebra 1, geometry, and algebra 2.
For science, students need three credits for environmental science, biology, and chemistry.
The board also approved two credits for physical education and one credit for language other than English.
One credit of Junior Reserve Officers Training Course may be substituted for one credit of P.E. — 0.5 credit of P.E. must include a health course.
Variety learned that the new policy aims to ensure the “preparedness” of high school students for college education.
Last year, of the 595 graduates from the five public high schools, only 44 percent pursued their college education.
Early this year, Northern Marianas College reported that a “high” number of students from public high schools had failed NMC’s placement tests.
