Special Topic Area:
Graduation Requirements for Students with Disabilities

Publications and Other Graduation Requirements Resources

Online resources available at NCEO’s Web site (the publications are listed chronologically, with the most recent first; Policy Directions will give a general overview of the issues with other publications providing greater depth):

• Revisiting Graduation Requirements and Diploma Options for Youth with Disabilities: A National Study (Technical Report 49)  HTML format / PDF format
• High Stakes Graduation Exams: The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Minnesota’s Basic Standards Tests for Students with Disabilities (Synthesis Report 62) / PDF format (2006)
• Alternative Routes to the Standard Diploma (Synthesis Report 54) / PDF format
• High Stakes Testing and College Admission: A Review of Admissions Policies in New Mexico (2003)
• 2003 State Special Education Outcomes: Marching On / PDF format
• A National Study on Graduation Requirements and Diploma Options for Youth with Disabilities (Technical Report 36) / PDF format
• 2001 State Special Education Outcomes: A Report on State Activities at the Beginning of a New Decade (2001)
• Students with Disabilities in Standards-based Assessment and Accountability Systems: Emerging Issues, Strategies, and Recommendations (Synthesis Report 37 / 2001)
• Social Promotion and Students with Disabilities: Issues and Challenges in Developing State Policies (Synthesis Report 34 / 2000)
• 1999 State Special Education Outcomes: A Report on State Activities at the End of the Century (1999)
• Diploma Options and Graduation Policies for Students with Disabilities (Policy Directions 10 / 1999)

For reports before 2000, see NCEO's Online Publications.

Additional Resources

Achieve. (2004). The expectations gap: A 50-state review of high school graduation requirements. Washington, DC: Author.

American Education Research Association (2000).AERA Position Statement Concerning High-Stakes Testing in PreK-12 Education. Available: http//www.aera.net.about/policy/stakes.htm

Education Trust. (2003). Telling the whole truth (or nut) about high school graduation. Washington, DC: Author.

Elliott, J. L., & Thurlow, M. L. (2005). Improving test performance of students with disabilities (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Gloeckler, L.C. (2001). The door to opportunity: Let’s open it for everyone. The State Education Standard. Autumn, 2001. 20-25.

Heubert, J. P. & Hauser, R. M. (Eds.) (1999). High stakes testing for tracking, promotion, and graduation. Washington, DC: National Research Council.

Jacob, B. (2001, Summer). Getting tough? The impact of high school graduation exams. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(3), pp. 99-122.

Johnson, D. R., Thurlow, M., Cosio, A., & Bremer, C. D. (2005). High school graduation requirements and students with disabilities. Information Brief, 4(2), 1-4.

Lehr, C. A., Clapper, A. T., & Thurlow, M. L. (2005). Graduation for all: A practical guide to decreasing school dropout. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Lichtenstein, S., & Michaelides, N. (1993). Transition from school to young adulthood: Four case studies of young adults labeled mentally retarded. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 16 (2), 183-195.

Manset, G. & Washburn, S.J. (2000). Equity through accountability? Mandating minimum competency exit examinations for secondary students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice 15 (3), pp. 160-167.

McLaughlin, M.J. & Thurlow, M.L. (March, 1997). Students with Disabilities and High School Graduation Policies. National Association of State Boards of Education Policy Update, 5 (6).

Mehrens, W. A. (1993). Issues and recommendations regarding implementation of high school graduation tests. Oakbrook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

O'Neill, P.T. (August 4, 2000). Pass the test or no diploma: High stakes graduation testing and children with learning disabilities. LD Online www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/assessment/oneill.html

Phelps, L. A., & Hanley-Maxwell, C. (1997). School-to-work transitions for youth with disabilities: A review of outcomes and practices. Review of Educational Research, 67 (2), 197-226.

Thurlow, M., & Johnson, D. (2000). High-stakes testing of students with disabilities. Journal of Teacher Education 51(4), pp. 305-314.

Ysseldyke, J. E., Algozzine, B., & Thurlow, M. L. (2000). Critical issues in special education (3rd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

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