Graduation requirements are changing for the APS Class of 2021. The APS Board of Education has adopted new graduation requirements in accordance with state law. (See Board Policy IKF) These new graduation requirements reinforce the importance of the district’s strategic plan, APS 2020, which has three strategic goals. One of these goals is for students will earn credentials that open doors. By earning the required credentials below, students will demonstrate postsecondary and workforce readiness.
What changed? Students in the class of 2020 had to complete Steps 1 and 2 to graduate. Students in the class of 2021 and beyond will need to complete Steps 1, 2 and 3 in order to graduate.
STEP 1: Students must complete graduation course requirements for their high school.
Minimum high school graduation requirements for APS are 22 units of credit:
| COURSE | UNITS OF CREDIT |
| English | 4.0 |
| Mathematics | 4.0 |
| Science | 3.0 |
| Social Sciences | 3.0 (1.0 of U.S. History and 0.5 of Civil Gov. req.) |
| World Language | 1.0 |
| Elective & Additional Core Academic Courses | 7.0 |
STEP 2: Students must complete the Individual Career & Academic Plan (ICAP) process.
The ICAP is a personalized career and academic planning process. Students must consult with their high school counselor to set career and academic goals and create a plan to achieve them.
STEP 3: Students must successfully demonstrate mastery in English AND Mathematics.
Graduates must demonstrate competency on at least one of the district adopted measures in both English AND Mathematics.
APS Menu of Options | Career and College Ready Demonstrations
| OPTIONS | ENGLISH |  |
MATHEMATICS |
| Next Generation Accuplacer | 241 on Reading or 236 on Writing | 255 on Arithmetic (AR) or 230 on Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra and Statistics (QAS) | |
| ACT Scores | 18 on English section | 19 on Math section | |
| Advanced Placement (AP) | 2 or above | 2 or above | |
| Concurrent Enrollment |
Grade of C or better in a specific Guarantee Transfer Pathway |
Grade of C or better in a specific Guarantee Transfer Pathway |
|
| District Capstone | Capstone Completed | Capstone Completed | |
| Industry-based Certificates | Earned Certificate | Earned Certificate | |
| International Baccalaureate (IB) | 4 or above | 4 or above | |
| SAT Scores | 470 | 500 | |
|
Workforce Training Certificates (ACT Work Keys - National Career Readiness Certification) |
Bronze or higher | Bronze or higher | |
| Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) | 31 on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) | 31 on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) |