All students must meet District 211 graduation requirements to be eligible to receive a diploma. Students will complete a four year course plan with assistance from their assigned school counselor. The four-year plan accounts for all requirements as well as elective courses connected to a student's individualized areas of interest.

Complete 20 units of credit:

1. Successfully complete:
   a. One unit of United States History
   b. One unit of Social Science Survey or 1/2 unit each of Government and Economics (includes Civics coursework requirement)
   c. Three years of mathematics course work is required, with successful completion of a 300-level course. One of the three required units must be Algebra I, and one unit must include   Geometry content.
   d. Two units of science (1 year — Biological Science / 1 year — Physical Science)
   e. One unit of art, world language, music, or career and technical education (Applied Technology, Business Education, Family and Consumer Sciences)
   f. Four units of English
   g. Two years of writing-intensive courses, one of which must be English.
   h. One-half unit of Consumer Education/Management (or equivalent)
   i. One-half unit of Health (ending with the class of 2021)
   j. Wellness credit for each semester of attendance (or equivalent). Beginning with the class of 2022, two units of Wellness which incorporates physical education and health education
2. Complete 30 hours of instruction in safety education (Driver Education classroom instruction)
3. Pass a qualifying examination on the State and Federal Constitutions, Declaration of Independence, use of the American flag, and the Australian (secret ballot) method of voting
4. Participate in State testing at an appropriate Level
5. File one of the following: (1) a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) with the U.S. Department of Education (ISBE); (2) an application for State financial aid; or (3) an Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) waiver form indicating that the student is not at least 18 years of age or legally emancipated, the student’s parent/guardian must file one of these documents on the student’s behalf.

(A student is exempt from additional requirement 5 is: (1) the student is unable to file a financial aid application or an ISBE waiver due to extenuating circumstances; (2) the building principal attests that District made a good faith effort to assist the student or the student’s parent/guardian with filing a financial aid application or an ISBE waiver form; and (3) the student has met all other graduation requirements).

The chart below compares the academic expectations of various post-high school opportunities available to graduates. It is intended only as a general guide. Colleges expect a student to program at least four core academic subjects into each year. Those college preparatory subjects are: English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and World Languages. Highly selective institutions require greater numbers of these core academics.

Counselors act as a resource but many specific questions are better directed to the college or university admissions staff. Final decisions are always up to the colleges. They are usually based on the number of academic courses and the grade point average in those courses, as well as the student's scores on standardized admissions tests (ACT, SAT).

Requirements for admission to individual colleges and universities vary. Students who cannot maintain a "C" grade average (2.0) in high school may have some difficulty qualifying for college entrance. Some colleges may admit students with lower grade point averages, but who score well on entrance exams.

*Additional District 211 requirements include: health, consumer education, driver education, and 4 years of physical education.

**World Language preparation may be recommended or required by colleges and universities. State supported universities in Illinois may accept vocational education or fine arts courses in lieu of foreign language. Check with college of your choice or your counselor for details.