America’s High School Graduates: Results of the 2009 NAEP High School Transcript Study

This report presents information about the types of courses 2009 high school graduates took during high school, how many credits they earned, and the grades they received. Information on the relationships between high school records and performance in mathematics and science on the twelfth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is also included. Transcripts were collected from a nationally representative sample of 37,700 high school graduates. The 2009 results are compared to the results of earlier transcript studies, and differences among graduates by race/ethnicity, gender, and other demographic characteristics are examined. In addition, the report takes a closer look at science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) coursetaking, ways in which graduates may earn more credits, and the coursetaking patterns of students with disabilities and English language learners.