The Missing High School Graduation Requirement |
The end of the school year is here. The days are longer, temperatures are rising, flowers are blooming, the energy for schoolwork is waning, finals are looming, summer vacations are booked, and high school seniors and their families are planning celebrations for graduation, the capstone moment demonstrating that the student has demonstrated a certain level of skill competency in a variety of academic areas and is now ready to launch into the world as an “adult”, prepared to chart their own path. Upon receiving their diploma, each graduate, for the first time in their lives, “gets” to choose what they will do next and how they will move forward on their path to adult independence. For some graduates, this “opportunity” can be quite daunting because for the past 18-ish years of their lives, their path and daily schedule has been mostly defined for them. While they have had some opportunities to choose what they do outside of school, they primarily have been required to go to school and meet the expectations and responsibilities of their family. After graduating, though, those requirements no longer exist; they become responsible for choosing the next step:
On average, more than half of high school graduates choose to go to college, making it a likely next step for most students, but no matter the choice after high school, each graduate will have responsibilities for their lives that they have not previously had. To manage those responsibilities and meet the expectations of the next step in their lives, whether boot camp, a job, a gap year, or of college, a student needs to have and use important life skills known as executive function skills. These skills are crucial for navigating everyday adult responsibilities and making a successful transition from teen to adult. |
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So what are executive function skills? As I shared in a previous blog, there is not one agreed-upon definition of executive function skills, but in general most psychologists and physicians agree that they are the skills needed for goal-directed behavior and include things such as:
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As you might imagine, these skills are required to manage everyday adult living, whether in the military, working, or in college:
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So, when in the course of their 12 years of school are our kids learning these skills and how have they demonstrated to the school that they have a certain level of executive function skill proficiency to manage these adult responsibilities? The answer is that some students have learned them over the course of their education and are college and career-ready from an academic and executive function perspective. They have learned these skills incidentally from parents and from teachers who have introduced the concepts of using a planner, chunking assignments, studying for tests, providing folders and binders for classes, and so forth, but there are no standards for teaching these skills much less demonstrating a specific level of competency with these skills. Neither comprehensive state assessments nor state graduation requirements include anything specific to a student demonstrating a certain level of proficiency in these important life skillsd. Furthermore, there is not a consistent mechanism in most schools for providing specialized instruction for students who have a demonstrated disability that substantially impacts their ability to learn and use these skills, especially when a student is not failing any class. This situation is unfortunate for all students, but especially for neurodivergent students with learning differences like ADHD, autism, and dyslexia, because in receiving their diploma, high school graduates have met the standards for the academic skills needed to be college and career-ready, but a diploma does not guarantee that a high school graduate has the executive function skills necessary to be college or career-ready. As such, they have an even greater challenge ahead of them upon graduation, especially if they choose to attend college. |
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Worse yet, during the course of a student’s schooling, a lack of executive function skills can often look like a lack of motivation, interest, ability, or even disrespect and laziness which if approached in that way, can lead to learned helplessness, damaged self-esteem, low confidence, behavioral challenges, and more. Our children need us to understand the impact of executive function skills on everyday life and college and career readiness, and we need to advocate for changes to our educational system so that all students can receive the support they need for learning executive function skills and truly become college and career ready upon graduation. In the meantime, when your child walks across the stage to receive their diploma, we should relish in the moment and celebrate everything that they have accomplished while also being mindful of what they still may need to learn to be successful in whatever next step they choose. |
CONGRATULATIONS!![]() to all of the high school seniors who will be graduating in the coming weeks! You have worked hard (as have your parents and guardians to support you)! Enjoy the moment and everything it represents. BEST OF LUCKas you embark on the next chapter in your life that YOU GET TO CHOOSE! |
And, if college is your graduate’s next step, join 2TTS Coach Kristin Wilcox, PhD and me on Thursday, May 30th at 7:30 PM EST for our FREE live webinar: “Deposit Down, Now What? Preparing Your Neurodivergent Student for College”. The webinar will empower you with the knowledge and practical strategies to prepare your student for success, including information about how to boost executive function skills and self-esteem, so they are prepared BEFORE the semester begins, and you and your student can arrive at college feeling confident in their ability to succeed. Register here or learn more about the webinar in the section below. |
Yours in the journey of empowering students to be college and career ready, Courtney and the 2TTS, Inc. Team |
The Missing Graduation Requirement
Courtney Edman
Updated: Sep 26, 2024
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