Students must earn a "competency" score (a minimum of 684) on the Algebra I and English II end-of-course exams. Students who do not earn a competency score after two attempts can use these alternate ways to demonstrate competency.
Alternate options
- Demonstrate two career-focused activities, including at least one foundational skill.
- Options for Foundational Skills
- Earn a cumulative score of proficient or higher on three or more WebXams in a single career pathway.
- Earn a 12-point industry credential.
- Successfully complete a pre-apprenticeship program or be accepted into an approved apprenticeship program that is registered with the Ohio State Apprenticeship Council.
- Options for Supporting Skills
- Work-based learning
- Earn the required score on the WorkKeys Exam
- Earn the Ohio Means Jobs Readiness Seal
- Enlist in the military — show evidence that you have signed a contract to enter a branch of the U.S. Armed Services upon graduation.
- Earn credit for one college-level math or college-level English course through Ohio's free College Credit Plus program.
- Obtain a remediation-free score in the math or English subject areas on the ACT or SAT. To demonstrate competency in English II, a student must be remediation-free in both English and reading on the ACT.
Excusal from Demonstrating Competency
Students with individualized education programs who are excused from the consequences of end-of-course tests according to Ohio Revised Code 3313.61(L) are eligible to be excused from the requirement to demonstrate competency if their IEP specifically exempts the student from the competency requirements and they meet the following criteria:
Students must test, receive remediation and retest in the subject area(s) in which they did not meet the competency score to be excused from consequences of the English Language Arts II and/or Algebra I/Math I assessments or math and/or English Language Arts Alternate Assessment.
Students with an excusal from the consequences of assessments are excused from demonstrating competency but still must earn at least two seals, one of which must be a state-defined seal. Students excused from the consequences of assessments do not inherently earn the Citizenship and Science seals.