Sarah+Nolan's+Annotated+Bibliography

(1) Baslow, L. (1994). High Schools Mandating Community Service for Graduation. //New York Times//, Retrieved from []

Baslow discusses how community service as a graduation requirement is growing increasingly popular. Most articles argue that graduation requirements have a negative impact on students’ attitudes; however, Baslow does the opposite. She suggests that encouraging students to volunteer in their own community gives them a sense of fulfillment. Mrs. Falk the director of the Student Service Center at Mineola High School states, “ They get a sense of filling a need, of feeling important, and as corny as it sounds, of making a difference" (Baslow). According to the teachers interviewed by Baslow, community service is a more satisfying component of their graduation requirements.

It is refreshing to see an article that highlights the positive aspects of graduation requirements. Having community service as a graduation requirement pushes students to give back to their community in a way they may not have thought of on their own. Most students that participate in community service their senior year walk away feeling proud and accomplished. This article was written in 1994 and my high school still has community service as a graduation requirement for the advanced regents diploma nearly fifteen years later. I believe that this requirement has been around for so long because of its positive results and the positive attitudes towards it.

(2) Moser, L. (2015). More Students Are Graduating High School Than Ever Before. But Can They Read? //Slate//, Retrieved from []

According to Moser, many schools are changing their graduation requirements to increase the amount of students that graduate. They are attempting to increase their graduation rates by making it easier for students to receive a diploma. Moser cites an investigation NPR did that suggests that lowering graduation requirements may have negative effects on students. “…researchers found that it wasn't enough just to earn a regular high school diploma; you had to achieve a GPA of at least 2.5 (a B- or C+ average) to reap long-term social and economic benefits” (Moser). This article argues that more challenging graduation requirements are necessary for students to be sufficiently prepared to enter college or the workforce.

I thought that this article was interesting because it proposed the idea that maybe graduation requirements are necessary to a degree. I agree that it is important to send students out into the world prepared to face what is next, and maybe graduation requirements are the answer. However, the problem lies within determining to what degree do we enforce graduation requirements.

(3) Mears, D. (2008). The Effects of Physical Education Requirements On Physical Activity of Young Adults. //American Secondary Education//, Retrieved from []

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This article questioned whether or not physical education has merit as a graduation requirement. The research found suggests that “ graduates of states with greater credit requirements reported significantly higher levels of cardio respiratory endurance activity, indicating that mandating multiple credits may have a positive impact on increasing physical activity levels of young adults” According to this article, students with physical education credits as graduation requirements are more likely to continue exercising on their own as adults. In addition, students who have physical education every day are happier according to this study. ======

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I chose this article because it showed that not all graduation requirements must be primarily educational. I think that with our country’s growing obesity epidemic, physical education as a graduation requirement is not a bad thing. Not only does physical education have physical health benefits, it also has mental health benefits. This study showed that by requiring students to partake in some form of exercise each day, the students were in better moods than students without regular physical education class. ======

(4) Pavlova, T. and Bannikov, G. Loneliness and Hopelessness in Teenagers. //ScienceDirect//, Retrieved from [] According to this journal, students often develop feelings of loneliness and hopelessness during the school year, particularly due to the stress of their high school graduation requirements. Pavlova and Bannikov state that feelings of hopelessness may be a precursor to suicidal behavior. Their study compared the hopelessness and loneliness of students in school and children in camp over the summer. The students in school showed to be significantly more lonely and depressed than the children at camp. Pavlova and Bannikov believe that the depression they saw in the students at school can be traced back to the high pressure and stress of graduation requirements and challenging exit exams.

It is important to take into consideration the mental health effects that come with high- pressure graduation requirements. It is scary to read statistics on how many students claim to be depressed or hopeless because of school. School is supposed to be a place that inspires students and raises them up. Instead, it seems that stress of graduation requirements is doing the opposite.

(5) Reardon, S. F., Arshan, N., Atteberry, A., & Kurlaender, M.. (2010). Effects of Failing a High School Exit Exam on Course Taking, Achievement, Persistence, and Graduation. //Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis//, //32//(4), 498–520. Retrieved from [] This article discussed how graduation requirements have caused students to value extrinsic motivation over intrinsic motivation. This means that students are trying to succeed because they know they need to so they can graduate. Instead of wanting to succeed for their own happiness and pride, students are studying for the tests instead of to really learn. Many students are simply memorizing material for a test and then forgetting it all afterwards because they only care about their scores instead of actually learning the material. This article argues that this is the result of standardized testing and rigid graduation requirements.

I agree with this article’s stance on graduation requirements and motivation. As a result high school graduate, I know it to be true that most students study for the test, not for the knowledge. It is sad because school should be interesting for students to learn new things and broaden their minds and strict graduation requirements are causing students to forget why they are really at school.