The Research Department of the Minnesota House of Representatives is a nonpartisan office providing legislative,
legal, and information services to the entire House.
House Research Department ⏐ 600 State Office Building ⏐ St. Paul, MN 55155 ⏐ 651-296-6753 ⏐ www.house.mn/hrd/hrd.htm
K-12 Graduation Standards*
for students beginning 9
th
grade in
the 2004-2005 school year or later
K-12 Graduation Standards for
students beginning 9
th
grade in the
2011-2012 school year or later
Four-year College
Admission Requirements
2006-07
Foreign
Language
World languages is an elective
standard
No additional requirements 2 years of a single second or
world language
Arts
One arts credit No additional requirements
1 year visual or performing
arts, or
1 year world culture or fine
arts
Elective
standards
School districts must establish
elective standards for:
vocational and technical education
health and physical education and
world languages
School districts must offer courses in
all elective standards
No additional requirements
* School districts decide if students meet course credit requirements by (1) successfully completing an academic year of study or
(2) demonstrating mastery of the applicable subject matter. Minn. Stat. § 120B.024. One high school credit is equivalent to a
year of study for college admission requirements.
Revising academic
standards and
benchmarks
The Education Commissioner must revise required K-12 academic standards and
related benchmarks in the 2006-2007 through 2010-2011 school years. The
benchmarks (1) specify the knowledge and skills that students must have to satisfy
the academic standards and (2) contain information used to develop graduation tests.
Postsecondary
remedial and
developmental
education
Despite the apparent alignment of K-12 graduation and college admissions
requirements, reports on recent high school graduates show that many entering
students at Minnesota’s public postsecondary institutions take remedial and
developmental courses.
The percentage of students taking remedial courses varies by institution type,
institution admission standards, and year of high school graduation. The percentage
of students at the University of Minnesota taking remedial classes has declined from
15 percent for 1999 high school graduates to 8 percent for 2002 graduates. At four-
year state universities in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system
(MnSCU) the percentage of students taking remedial classes has increased from 21
percent for 1999 graduates to 29 percent for 2002 graduates. Two-year MnSCU
colleges are open enrollment institutions with much higher rates of remedial and
development course work (46 percent for 2002 high school graduates). (Source:
Getting Prepared: A 2005 Report on Recent High School Graduates Who Took
Developmental/Remedial Courses, Minnesota State Colleges and the University of
Minnesota, August 2005, page 6.)
For more information: Contact legislative analysts Lisa Larson at 651-296-8036 or Kathy Novak at
651-296-9253. Also see the House Research publication Minnesota’s K-12 Academic Standards and
Assessments, August 2006.