Real Answers

Planning the High School Years to Maximize Options

Students typically begin planning their high school schedules during 8th grade. Since each year builds upon the one before it, it is wise to understand the diploma options offered by the State of Indiana to students graduating from high school. Each involves certain educational requirements which can lead to unique options after high school.

Currently, Indiana sophomores, juniors, and seniors have three diploma options to choose from:

The Core 40 Diploma
The Core 40 with Technical Honors Diploma
The Core 40 with Academic Honors Diploma

The Indiana General Assembly has made completion of Core 40 a graduation requirement for all students beginning with those entering high school fall, except in certain circumstances following an opt-out process. “Opting-out” of Core 40 is strongly discouraged as it will make your college choices very limited. Core 40 is now the minimum college admission requirement for the state’s public four-year universities beginning in fall 2011.

Current Core 40 Diploma Requirements

Requirements	Core 40¹	Core 40 with Technical Honors^2,3	Core 40 with Academic Honors^2,4
English / Language Arts	8 credits	8 credits	8 credits
Mathematics	6	6	8
Science	6	6	6
Social Studies	6	6	6
Physical Education	2	2	2
Health & Wellness	1	1	1
Directed Electives Foreign Languages Fine Arts Career/ Technical Program	5* 0-5 0-5 0-5	8-10 0 0 8-10	8-10 6-8 2 0
Electives	6	8-10	6-8
Total Credits (minimum)	40	47	47

¹ CORE 40 is considered the minimum college-prep curriculum and will be required for graduation. The total number of credits in the areas of foreign language, fine arts and career/technical program combined must equal a minimum of 5 credits.

² For Core 40 with Technical Honors or Core 40 with Academic Honors students must complete all of the Core 40 requirements, earn a grade of "C" or above in courses that will count toward the diploma and must have a cumulative GPA or "B" or above.

³ For Core 40 with Technical Honors students must complete a career-technical program (related sequence of 8-10 credits) and also complete the necessary state recognized certification requirements which includes two of the following - one of which must be a) or b) below:

	a) WorkKeys, an industry-driven assessment, and score a level 6 or higher on each of the three core readiness subject areas (including mathematical reasoning, reading for information and locating information)
	b) Technical, transferable dual high school/college credit courses resulting in 6 college credits (in chosen career/technical area)
	c) Professional career internship or cooperative education (in chosen career/technical area)
	d) A state approved industry recognized certification (in chosen career/technical area)

⁴ For Core 40 with Academic Honors students must also complete one of the following:

	a) Two Advanced Placement (AP) courses and corresponding AP exams
	b) Academic, transferable dual high school/college courses resulting in 6 college credits
	c) One AP course (and corresponding AP exam) AND academic, transferable dual high school/college courses resulting in 3 college credits
	d) A composite score of 26 or higher on the ACT
	e) A score of 1200 or higher on the SAT (total score required to be modified to incorporate the writing section now standard in the SAT)
	f) An International Baccalaureate Diploma

⁵ Must include 6 credits in a career academic sequence, 5 flex credits and 6 general electives.

Note: Specific courses are required to obtain the necessary credits in several of the categories listed above. For more information on these diplomas and the specific courses required, visit the Core 40 section of the Indiana Department of Education's website at: http://www.doe.state.in.us/core40/welcome.html.

Admissibility

Typically, students should expect to see a relationship between the diploma they receive and the types of colleges where they would be a good candidate for admission. Naturally, there are no “guarantees” that a student will be admitted based strictly on the type of diploma s/he receives, but generally speaking, obtaining a certain type of diploma will open up certain options.

Note: The term “selective” refers to a college's admission standards and the level of difficulty associated with being admitted.

*Some colleges and universities and/or specific university programs focused on the mastery and application of specific skills may place greater value on the associated requirements of the Core 40 with technical honors diploma than the standard Core 40 diploma. Contact the institutions you are considering for more information on how the various diploma types may affect the likelihood of admittance to these institutions/programs.

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