A minimum of 21.5 credits are required for graduation from Sycamore High School. It is the student’s responsibility to see that requirements for graduation are met. Specific units required by the Sycamore Board of Education are listed below.
CLASS OF 2024 & 2025
|
SUBJECT
|
CREDITS
|
English
|
4.0
|
Mathematics
Algebra lI or equivalent course required
|
4.0
|
Science
Life Science (Biology, Biology Accel), Physical Science (Science Investigations,
Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy & Geology), and an Advanced Science are required
|
3.0
|
Social Studies
World History, American History, and US Government are required
|
3.0
|
Fine Arts
Selected from Art, Drama and/or Music
|
1.0
|
Health
|
0.5
|
Physical Education (2 semester courses - Each semester course = .25 credits)
Foundations of Personal Fitness is required
|
0.5
|
Electives
At least one elective credit or two elective half credits must come from business,
technology, fine arts or world languages.
|
5.5
|
For the Graduating Classes of 2026 and Beyond
Students entering ninth grade for the first time on or after July 1, 2022 are required to complete one-half unit of financial literacy to be used toward the elective credits required for graduation.
CLASS OF 2026 AND BEYOND
|
SUBJECT
|
CREDITS
|
English
|
4.0
|
Mathematics
Algebra lI or equivalent course required
|
4.0
|
Science
Life Science (Biology, Biology Accel), Physical Science (Science Investigations,
Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy & Geology), and an Advanced Science are required
|
3.0
|
Social Studies
World History, American History, and US Government are required
|
3.0
|
Fine Arts
Selected from Art, Drama and/or Music
|
1.0
|
Health
|
0.5
|
Physical Education (2 semester courses - Each semester course = .25 credits)
Foundations of Personal Fitness is required
|
0.5
|
Financial Literacy
|
0.5
|
Electives
At least one elective credit or two elective half credits must come from business,
technology, fine arts or world languages.
|
5.0
|
Mathematics Graduation Requirements
Students may take any combination of high school and/or college level mathematics courses to earn the four credits of high school mathematics as long as one of the credits is Algebra 2 or its equivalent.
The fourth math course can, but does not need to be, higher than Algebra 2 or its equivalent. Suggested fourth math courses can be, but are not limited to Pre-Calculus, Discrete Mathematics, Statistics and Probability, Data Science Foundations, Computer Science, AP mathematics courses, Advanced Quantitative Reasoning, College Credit Plus mathematics courses, and many Career-Technical Education courses.
Elective Credits
Elective units must include one or any combination of world language, fine arts, business, career-technical education, family and consumer sciences, technology, agricultural education or English language arts, mathematics, science or social studies courses not otherwise required.
If a district chooses to require elective units in addition to the five required for state graduation requirements, those additional credits and the allowable course areas are subject to locally-determined policy. This is the case for the graduating class of 2025. Credits earned from coursework such as additional physical education, or additional health courses may not be used to meet the five units of electives requirement.
Note: While not a state or district requirement for graduation, many four-year colleges and universities require a minimum of two years of sequential world language study at the secondary level as a college admissions requirement. This is the case for many in-state and out-of-state colleges and universities.