Background

The passage of Question 2 from the November 2024 statewide election shifts the responsibility for awarding Competency Determination (CD) from the state to local districts, applying equally to charter schools and traditional districts, starting with the class of 2025.

There are currently two elements to receiving a high school diploma in Massachusetts:

1. Meeting local graduation requirements, including specific numbers of high school credits and courses
2. Meeting a Competency Determination standard, which was formerly assessed by the state with a passing score on the English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science MCAS assessments

Purpose

This policy ensures compliance with the new state law that shifts responsibility of competency determination from the state to the local district. All PVPA students will meet local graduation requirements and state-required Competency Determinations before earning a diploma.

Policy Overview

Effective beginning with the class of 2025, CD requirements align with Massachusetts academic standards in mathematics, science, and English. Students will earn a CD by satisfactorily completing coursework aligned with the Massachusetts 10th-grade curriculum frameworks in these subject areas.

Implementation Guidelines

Class of 2025

• Students who previously met state CD via MCAS are exempt from additional local CD requirements, but must meet all other graduation requirements
• Students who have not met the state CD via MCAS will be assessed under PVPA’s local CD requirements

Former Students

• While the law requires pathways for former students who met local graduation requirements but did not meet the state CD requirement, PVPA has no such students

Beginning with the class of 2026, all students must meet PVPA’s graduation requirements including the new CD requirements.

PVPA Competency Determination Requirements

ELA - Satisfactory completion of ELA 9 and ELA 10

Math - Satisfactory completion of Algebra and Geometry

Science - Receive an average final grade in  Biology

Students who transfer to PVPA during high school may satisfy PVPA’s CD requirements through satisfactory completion of courses aligned with the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks for grade 10 taken at another school.

PVPA Graduation Requirements

PVPA has adopted MassCore, a state-recommended program of study intended to align high school coursework with college and workforce expectations. The program of studies includes the successful completion of four units of English, four units of mathematics, three units of a lab-based science, three units of history, two units of the same world language, one unit of the arts, and five additional "core" courses.

PVPA MASSCORE ALIGNED GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

• ELA - Four Years (40 Credits)        

• ELA 9
• ELA 10
• ELA 11
• ELA electives (taken in grade 12) have included American Literature, World Literature, LGBTQIA Literature, Creative Writing and Literature, and Themes in Dystopian Literature

• Math - Four Years (40 Credits)

• Fundamentals of Math
• Algebra
• Geometry
• Algebra 2
• Pre-Calculus
• Calculus
• Math electives have included Statistics and Financial Math, which can be taken in place of Pre-Calculus or Calculus as the fourth year of Math

• Science - Three Years (30 Credits) Lab Science

• Grade 9 - Environmental Science
• Grade 10 - Biology
• Grade 11 - Chemistry or Physics
• Science electives have included Anatomy, Physiology, and Psychology (AP&P), and Botany

• History - Three Years (30 Credits) History (must include 1 year of US History)

• Grade 9 - World History
• Grade 10 - Modern US History
• Grade 11 - One semester of Civics, One Elective
• History Electives have included Latin American History and Culture, Globalization, Holocaust Studies, We the People, Electoral Politics, 1960s Art and Culture

• World Language - 2 Consecutive Years (20 Credits) of the same world language

• Spanish 1, 2, 3, and Intensive
• French 1, 2, 3

ADDITIONAL PVPA GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

• 80 credits in the Arts (16 semester-long courses, if a student starts in 9th grade)
• 60 credits in the Arts (12 semester-long courses, if a student starts in 10th grade)
• There are no Arts credit requirements for students who transfer to PVPA in 11th or 12th grade, but common scheduling practices encourage students to take at least 2 arts classes per semester.
• Arts Concentration (If starting in 9th grade)

• 40 arts credits within the area of concentration
• Participation in 2 Mainstage Productions

• Arts Concentration (If starting in 10th grade)

• 30 arts credits within the area of concentration
• Participation in 1 Mainstage Production

• Arts Concentration Graduation requirements are waived if students transfer to PVPA in 11th or 12th grade.

OPPORTUNITIES TO ACCESS MORE RIGOROUS COURSEWORK

• Honors Policy - Allows students to earn Honors credit in any high school class by completing additional coursework assigned by the teacher as honors work. Students will earn an additional 0.5 GPA points to reflect the difficulty of honors level work.
• Dual-Enrollment at Holyoke Community College or Springfield Technical Community College
• AP courses through Virtual High School
• Fourth year of Science
• Fourth Year of History