Northern Vance High School

Graduation Requirements

Graduation from all Vance County Public High Schools requires the successful completion of 28 units earned in grades 9-12. Students may take a maximum of eight subjects each year in grades 9-12, enabling them to earn 32 units of credit within four years. Students are required to complete the designated number of units of English, social studies, mathematics, science, and health and physical education required by the state of North Carolina for graduation. Students taking the Occupational Course of Study are not required to pass the N. C. Competency Test. All students must demonstrate grade-level proficiency (level 3 or higher) on the end-of-grade (EOG) tests of reading and mathematics in eighth grade or pass the North Carolina Competency Test before receiving a high school diploma. In addition, all students including Occupational Course of Study must demonstrate computer proficiency in order to receive a high school diploma.

       Subject               Units

        English                   4
   *Mathematics         3
   **Social Studies        3
   ***Science                    3
        PE & Health          1
        Electives               14

                    TOTAL       28

*One unit must be in high school algebra. Algebra I successfully completed in the eighth grade will count as the Algebra I requirement; however, only those units earned in grades 9-12 fulfill the number of units required for graduation.

**One unit must be Civics and Economics; one unit must be US History; one unit must be World History.

***One unit must be Biology, one unit must be Earth/Environmental Science, and one unit must be a physical science (Physical Science, Chemistry, Physics, Principles of Technology I, or Principles of Technology II).

The high school exit standards will become effective with the freshman class of 2006-07. Students must score at proficiency level III or above on the following five end-of-course tests: English I, Civics and Economics, US History, Algebra 1, Biology. In addition to scoring proficient on five EOC tests, students must also score Level III or above on state-adopted rubrics on a Senior Project that has the following components:

A review process
A research paper written on an approved topic of student’s choice
A product related to the paper that requires significant hours of work
A portfolio that reflects the Senior Project process
A presentation to a panel of community and faculty members

In accordance with graduation requirements, grade-level classification is based on a student’s maximum potential to earn credit along with the following criteria:

To be classified as a sophomore (grade 10), a student must have passed a minimum of six (6) units.
To be classified as a junior (grade 11), a student must have passed a minimum of thirteen (13) units.
To be classified as a senior (grade 12), a student must have passed a minimum of twenty (20) units.
Grade classification for transfer students needs to be considered by the school counselor on a case by case basis.