What is the Certificate of Mastery?
The Certificate of Mastery is a credential of achievement signifying that a student has met the state’s Essential Academic Learning Requirements. Current plans call for the certificate to be a statewide graduation requirement awarded once students pass the high school assessments in reading, writing, listening and mathematics beginning in the year 2006, with science added as a requirement in 2008. Most students should earn a certificate by about the age of 16. Their remaining time in high school may be spent focusing on local graduation requirements and classes that will prepare them for higher education or for work.
