High school diploma
A high school diploma is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is studied for over the course of four years, from Grade 9 to Grade 12; the diploma is awarded by the school in accordance with the requirements of the local state or provincial government. Requirements for earning the diploma vary by jurisdiction, there may be different requirements for different streams or levels of high school graduation, they include a combination of selected coursework meeting specified criteria for a particular stream and acceptable passing grades earned on the state exit examination. In British Columbia, the diploma is known as the British Columbia Certificate of Graduation; the province of BC has two distinct graduation programs: the BC Certificate of Graduation and the BC Adult Graduation Diploma. Students have the opportunity to meet their educational goals through the BC School Completion Certificate; the current Dogwood requirements have been in place since July 1, 2004.
Under current regulations, students must earn a minimum of 80 credits to graduate, which must include 48 credits for required courses, a minimum of 28 elective credits, 4 credits for "graduation transitions", a standards-based assessment evaluated by schools under BC Ministry of Education guidelines. Required courses include, among other things, language arts, social studies and science courses in grades 10, 11, 12. Part of the evaluation of students includes standardized provincial examinations in a number of the required courses in grades 10 and 12; as part of the 80 credits for the Dogwood, 16 credits must be at the Grade 12 level, must include English 12 or Communications 12. In Ontario, the high school diploma is known as the Ontario Secondary School Diploma; the diploma is awarded to all students. The requirements for the diploma include compulsory credits in English or French, Science, Canadian History, Canadian Geography, Arts and Physical Education, a second language; those who leave school after completing 14 credits but prior to obtaining the diploma can obtain the Ontario Secondary School Certificate.
Quebec issued the D. E. S. Formerly Quebec Certificate of Education before it changed into HS Diploma/Diplôme D. E. S. at the end of secondary V, for graduation from secondary school, a five-year school spanning secondary I to secondary V. To earn a high school diploma, Saskatchewan students are required to earn a total of 24 credits from grades 10 to 12. For a regular English program diploma, they must earn 5 credits in English Language Arts, 3 credits in Social Studies, 2 credits in mathematics, 2 credits in science, 1 credit in Physical Education/Health Education, 2 credits in Arts Education/Practical and Applied Arts, 9 elective credits. A United States high school diploma refers to the satisfactory completion of grade schooling including kindergarten through the 12th grade and is issued by the school district and the high school after a student's graduation. In Alabama, all students are required to earn 24 credits; the required credits are: English, Science, History, PE/JROTC, Career Prep, CTE/arts education/Foreign language, Electives.
County schools offer Honors, AP classes. In California, students are required to take, complete the following minimum requirements to earn a high school diploma: 3 years of English, 2 years of Math including Algebra I, 3 years of History/Social Studies including one year of U. S. history and geography. Most schools' individual graduation requirements far outweigh the state's minimum standards; the California exit exam was suspended until 2018. This information is taken from the California Department of Education. In Illinois, students are required to take English, science, social science, world language, fine arts, physical education, elective classes meeting selected criteria as part of the program of study for the High School Diploma. Electives may include advanced courses and technical education, Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, dual-enrollment, or additional classes in the required subjects that meet school board requirements. Driver's Education is required for all students. An additional requirement is a passing grade on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, taken in Grade 11.
Accommodations are made for select students with unique needs. English Language Learner students may substitute English as a Second Language for English to meet the graduation requirements. Students receiving special education services may complete modified requirements accord
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate is a not-for-profit non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge, which operates under the brand name Cambridge Assessment. It provides education assessments for over 8 million learners in over 170 countries and marked by over 30,000 examiners every year; these include the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations examination board, Cambridge Assessment International Education, Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing, Cambridge Assessment English for learners of the English language. Cambridge Assessment is one of Europe's largest assessment agency and is responsible for setting and marking a large number of examinations, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Cambridge Assessment is not responsible for internal examinations at the University of Cambridge, it is one of the largest international assessment agencies and recognised by governments around the world. It has units that focus on research, expanding e-assessment capabilities and delivering university admissions tests as well as three examination boards: OCR is one of the three UK-wide awarding bodies.
OCR offers GCSEs, A levels and a wide range of vocational qualifications to learners of all ages through 13,000 schools and other institutions within the United Kingdom. Each year over 4 million people take a Cambridge Assessment English qualification. Cambridge Assessment provides a programme of development in related issues; every year over 30,000 people work with Cambridge Assessment by either attending conferences or by taking part in topical debates from their desktop. UCLES was established in 1858 to administer examinations for persons who were not members of the University of Cambridge and to inspect schools, with the aim of raising standards in education; the Syndicate soon began examining in territories overseas and this aspect of its work grew quickly. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Syndicate was empowered to hold examinations for commercial certificates; the Certificate of Proficiency in English, the Syndicate's first examination in the field of English as a foreign language, was introduced by UCLES to deliver proof of language proficiency to native speakers of languages other than English.
Over the years, UCLES adopted further English language examinations, the First Certificate in English and the Certificate in Advanced English. On the CEFR ranging from A1/A2, B1/B2 to C1/C2, the FCE is set at B2, the CAE at C1 and the CPE at C2; the universities of Oxford and Cambridge created the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board which became part of UCLES. The UCLES Group absorbed several other examination boards, including the Southern Universities Joint Board, the Midland Examining Group and the RSA Examinations and Assessment Foundation. Cambridge Assessment celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008. Cambridge Assessment called for "league tables taken out of ministers' hands", because it felt recent reforms of the British education system had disfavoured International GCSEs offered by its Cambridge Assessment International subsidiary. Cambridge Assessment Cambridge Assessment Singapore website OCR website Cambridge Assessment English website
AQA
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance is an awarding body in England and Northern Ireland. It compiles specifications and holds examinations in various subjects at GCSE, AS and A Level and offers vocational qualifications. AQA is a registered charity and independent of the government. However, its qualifications and exam syllabi are regulated by the Government of the United Kingdom, the regulator for the public examinations system in England and Wales. AQA is one of five awarding bodies. AQA is recognised by the regulators of the public exams systems for England and Northern Ireland to offer GCSE, AS and A Levels in the United Kingdom. AQA offers the AQA Baccalaureate, a qualification intended for students in Year 12 and 13 and which includes the study of three A-Levels, an extended project and extra-curricular enrichment activities. AQA is GCE A Levels in England; the organisation has several regional offices, the largest being in London and Manchester. The current Chief Executive Officer of AQA is Toby Salt.
Due to the growing number of students taking GCSE and A Level exams, AQA has introduced computerized and digital marking in addition to traditional marking of examinations in order to increase efficiency and accuracy of the examination correction. AQA was formed as an alliance of NEAB and AEB / SEG exam boards and City & Guilds vocational awarding body. NEAB and AEB/SEG formally merged. City & Guilds continues to cooperate with AQA, the AQA holds some candidate records for the City & Guilds; the AQA holds the candidate records and awards for the following historic exam boards: Associated Examining Board Associated Lancashire Schools Examinations Board Joint Matriculation Board Northern Examining Association Northern Examinations and Assessment Board North Regional Examinations Board North West Regional Examinations Board North West Secondary Schools Examinations Board Southern Examining Group South Eastern Regional Examinations University of Bristol School Examinations Council South West Regional Examinations Board Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Examinations Board Yorkshire Regional Examinations Board The West Yorkshire and Lindsey Regional Examinations Board The Conservative Party under Prime Minister David Cameron initiated reforms for A Levels to change from a modular structure to a linear one.
British examination boards regulated and accredited by the Government of the United Kingdom responded to the government's reform announcements by modifying syllabi of several A Level subjects. However, the Labour Party and in particular the Member of Parliament Tristram Hunt announced that it would seek to halt and reverse the reforms and maintain the modular A-Level system. Labour's policy, the modular AS- and A-Level system, are supported and promoted by the University of Cambridge and by the University of Oxford; the organisation announced that it will begin offering courses for which all assessment is carried out through examinations at the end of the course. This is referred to as a linear course. Beforehand, they offered modular courses in England with several exams. AQA Anthology
Central Board of Secondary Education
The Central Board of Secondary Education is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools and managed by Union Government of India. CBSE has asked all schools affiliated to follow only NCERT curriculum. There are 19,316 schools in India and 211 schools in 28 foreign countries affiliated to the CBSE; the first education board to be set up in India was the Uttar Pradesh Board of High School and Intermediate Education in 1921, under jurisdiction of Rajputana, Central India and Gwalior. In 1929, the government of India set up a joint Board named "Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Rajputana"; this included Ajmer, Central India and Gwalior. It was confined to Ajmer and Vindhya Pradesh. In 1952, it became the "Central Board of Secondary Education". CBSE affiliates all Kendriya Vidyalayas, all Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, private schools and most of the schools approved by central government of India. CBSE conducts Class 12 every year in the month of March; the results are announced by the end of May.
The board earlier conducted the AIEEE Examination for admission to undergraduate courses in engineering and architecture in colleges across India. However the AIEEE exam was merged with the IIT-Joint Entrance Exam in 2013; the common examination is henceforth conducted by National Testing Agency. CBSE conducts AIPMT for admission to major medical colleges in India. In 2014, the conduct of the National Eligibility Test for grant of junior research fellowship and eligibility for assistant professor in institutions of higher learning was outsourced to CBSE. Apart from these tests, CBSE conducts the central teachers eligibility test and the Class X optional proficiency test. With the addition of NET in 2014, the CBSE has become the largest exam conducting body in the world. On 10 November 2017, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared a proposal for creation of a National Testing Agency which will conduct various entrance examinations. Central Board of Secondary Education conducts National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Central Teacher Eligibility Test UGC's National Eligibility Test and the entrance test for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
For promotion from Secondary to Senior Secondary, a student must obtain, for all subjects, 33% overall, without any minimum theory mark requirement. The passing criteria was set such that a student had to get 33% in both the theory and practical components. However, an exemption was granted for students writing the exam in 2018 as they went through the old CCE system in the previous year. However, CBSE extended this relief for students writing the exam from 2019 and as well. For a student who does not manage to pass up to two subjects, he/she can write the compartment in those subjects in July. For those who fail the compartment, or those who fail in three subjects or more, he/she must rewrite all the subjects taken in the next year. For class 12 students the promotion criteria is 33% overall, with 33% in both theory and practical examinations. For a student who does not manage to pass in one subject, he/she can write the compartment for that subject in July. For those who fail the compartment, or those who fail in two subjects or more, he/she must rewrite all the subjects taken in the next year.
For the Class 10 and Class 12 exams, CBSE includes the positional grade obtained by the student, dependent on the average performance of the students in that subject. The cutoffs required to obtain a particular grade vary every year; the cutoffs required to obtain a particular grade in 2018 are listed below: During 2010-2017, when CBSE implemented a CCE for grade 10 students, only the grades obtained by the student were mentioned in the report card in a 9-point grading scale, which translates as below: It is the practice adopted by CBSE of'tweaking' candidates' marks to account for paper difficulties and variations. This has been criticized in the past for inflating students' marks in a hyper-competitive society where one mark counts, CBSE is in the process of ending it. In 2017, CBSE informed that it would end moderation but its decision was challenged by a court case at the Delhi High Court, which ruled that moderation should continue for that year. With the exception of 2018, moderation was applied to account for variations in region sets.
In 2018, when everyone around the world answered the same questions, this practice was renamed as standardisation, with the CBSE phasing out the practice with the reduction on subjects which were given the offset. In 2018, Physics and Accountancy were given offset of +9, Business Studies given +6, English given a +3 offset; the total mark obtained by a student through moderation cannot exceed 95. This is the reason a mark of 95 is common for such subjects, why it is much tougher to get 96 than to get a 95. Moderation was applied in the infamous CBSE Class 12 mathematics papers of 2015 and 2016, wherein the paper created a huge furore as students and teachers complained that the paper was too tough. Despite a heavy offset of +16, students' marks reduced, as while the A1 cutoff was stable, the A2 cutoff reduced to 77, with other grades expe
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme aimed at 16 to 18 year olds. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education and is recognized by many universities worldwide, it was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva, Switzerland, by a group of international educators. After a six-year pilot programme that ended in 1975, a bilingual diploma was established. Administered by the International Baccalaureate, the IBDP is taught in schools in over 140 countries, in one of three languages: English, French, or Spanish. In order to participate, students must attend an IB school. IBDP students complete assessments in six subjects, one from each subject group, three core requirements. Students are evaluated using both internal and external assessments, courses finish with an externally assessed series of examinations consisting of two or three timed written tests. Internal assessment varies by subject: there may be oral presentations, practical work, or written work.
In most cases, these are graded by the classroom teacher, whose grades are verified or modified, as necessary, by an appointed external moderator. The IBDP has been well received, it has been commended for introducing interdisciplinary thinking to students. In the United Kingdom, The Guardian newspaper claims that the IBDP is "more academically challenging and broader than three or four A-levels". A pledge to allow children in all areas to participate in the programme, was shelved amid concerns that a "two-tier" education system was emerging, because the growth in IB was driven by private schools and sixth form colleges. British students who take the IB with its six subjects, Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge, Creativity and Service receive differently structured university offers to those who sit three A-levels, with universities working to construct appropriate equivalent offer conditions. In 1945 the "Conference of Internationally-minded Schools" asked the International School of Geneva to create an international schools programme.
When he became director of Ecolint's English division, Desmond Cole-Baker began to develop the idea, in 1962, his colleague Robert Leach organised a conference in Geneva, at which the term "International Baccalaureate" was first mentioned. An American social studies teacher, Leach organized the conference—with a $2500 grant from UNESCO—which was attended by observers from European schools and UNESCO. Writing about the genesis of the International Baccalaureate in Schools Across Frontiers, Alec Peterson credits Leach as "the original promoter of the International Baccalaureate." At the end of the conference, Unesco funded the International School Association with an additional $10,000, inadequate to do more than produce a few papers, or bring teachers together for meetings. By 1964, international educators such as Alec Peterson, Harlan Hanson, Desmond Cole and Desmond Cole-Baker founded the International Schools Examination Syndicate. Cole and Hanson brought experience with college entrance examinations in the United States, Hanson, in particular, brought his experience from a long relationship with the College Board.
According to Peterson, "the breakthrough in the history of the IB" came in 1965 with a grant from the Twentieth Century Fund, which commissioned Martin Mayer, author of The Schools, to produce a report on the feasibility of establishing a common curriculum and examination for international schools that would be acceptable for entry to universities worldwide. This led to conferences involving Ecolint, United World College of the Atlantic, others in the spring and fall of 1965, at which details about the curriculum for the Diploma Programme were discussed and agreed upon; the Ford Foundation grant, secured in 1966, funded Peterson's study at Oxford University, which focused on three issues: a comparative analysis of "secondary educational programmes in European countries...in cooperation with the Council of Europe". As a result of the study and the curriculum model developed at UWC Atlantic College, Peterson initiated the pattern of combining "general education with specialization", which melded with the curricula of the United States and Canada, became the "curriculum framework" proposed at the UNESCO conference in Geneva in 1967.
Late in 1967, ISES was restructured and renamed the IB Council of Foundation, John Goormaghtigh became the first president in January 1968. In 1967, the group, which by also included Ralph Tyler, identified eight schools to be used for the experimentation of the curriculum. In 1968, the IB headquarters were established in Geneva for the development and maintenance of the IBDP. Alec Peterson became IBO's first director general, in 1968, twelve schools in twelve countries participated in the IBDP, including UWC Atlantic College and UNIS of New York; the aim was to "provide an internationally acceptable university admissions qualification suitable for the growing mobile population of young people whose parents were part of the world of diplomacy and multi-national organizations."The first six years of the IB Diploma Programme, with a limited number of students, are referred to as the "experime
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world, the second oldest after Cambridge University Press. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the vice-chancellor known as the delegates of the press, they are headed by the secretary to the delegates, who serves as OUP's chief executive and as its major representative on other university bodies. Oxford University has used a similar system to oversee OUP since the 17th century; the Press is located on opposite Somerville College, in the suburb Jericho. The Oxford University Press Museum is located on Oxford. Visits are led by a member of the archive staff. Displays include a 19th-century printing press, the OUP buildings, the printing and history of the Oxford Almanack, Alice in Wonderland and the Oxford English Dictionary; the university became involved in the print trade around 1480, grew into a major printer of Bibles, prayer books, scholarly works. OUP took on the project that became the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 19th century, expanded to meet the ever-rising costs of the work.
As a result, the last hundred years has seen Oxford publish children's books, school text books, journals, the World's Classics series, a range of English language teaching texts. Moves into international markets led to OUP opening its own offices outside the United Kingdom, beginning with New York City in 1896. With the advent of computer technology and harsh trading conditions, the Press's printing house at Oxford was closed in 1989, its former paper mill at Wolvercote was demolished in 2004. By contracting out its printing and binding operations, the modern OUP publishes some 6,000 new titles around the world each year; the first printer associated with Oxford University was Theoderic Rood. A business associate of William Caxton, Rood seems to have brought his own wooden printing press to Oxford from Cologne as a speculative venture, to have worked in the city between around 1480 and 1483; the first book printed in Oxford, in 1478, an edition of Rufinus's Expositio in symbolum apostolorum, was printed by another, printer.
Famously, this was mis-dated in Roman numerals as "1468", thus pre-dating Caxton. Rood's printing included John Ankywyll's Compendium totius grammaticae, which set new standards for teaching of Latin grammar. After Rood, printing connected with the university remained sporadic for over half a century. Records or surviving work are few, Oxford did not put its printing on a firm footing until the 1580s. In response to constraints on printing outside London imposed by the Crown and the Stationers' Company, Oxford petitioned Elizabeth I of England for the formal right to operate a press at the university; the chancellor, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, pleaded Oxford's case. Some royal assent was obtained, since the printer Joseph Barnes began work, a decree of Star Chamber noted the legal existence of a press at "the universitie of Oxforde" in 1586. Oxford's chancellor, Archbishop William Laud, consolidated the legal status of the university's printing in the 1630s. Laud envisaged a unified press of world repute.
Oxford would establish it on university property, govern its operations, employ its staff, determine its printed work, benefit from its proceeds. To that end, he petitioned Charles I for rights that would enable Oxford to compete with the Stationers' Company and the King's Printer, obtained a succession of royal grants to aid it; these were brought together in Oxford's "Great Charter" in 1636, which gave the university the right to print "all manner of books". Laud obtained the "privilege" from the Crown of printing the King James or Authorized Version of Scripture at Oxford; this "privilege" created substantial returns in the next 250 years, although it was held in abeyance. The Stationers' Company was alarmed by the threat to its trade and lost little time in establishing a "Covenant of Forbearance" with Oxford. Under this, the Stationers paid an annual rent for the university not to exercise its full printing rights – money Oxford used to purchase new printing equipment for smaller purposes.
Laud made progress with internal organization of the Press. Besides establishing the system of Delegates, he created the wide-ranging supervisory post of "Architypographus": an academic who would have responsibility for every function of the business, from print shop management to proofreading; the post was more an ideal than a workable reality, but it survived in the loosely structured Press until the 18th century. In practice, Oxford's Warehouse-Keeper dealt with sales and the hiring and firing of print shop staff. Laud's plans, hit terrible obstacles, both personal and political. Falling foul of political intrigue, he was executed in 1645, by which time the English Civil War had broken out. Oxford became a Royalist stronghold during the conflict, many printers in the city concentrated on producing political pamphlets or sermons; some outstanding mathematical and Orientalist works emerged at this time—notably, texts edited by Edward Pococke, the Regius Professor of Hebrew—but no university press on Laud's model was possible before the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.
It was established by the vice-chancellor, John Fell, Dean of Christ Church, Bishop of Oxford, Secretary to the Delegates. Fell regarded Laud as a martyr, was determined to honour his vision of the Press. Using the provisions of the Great Charter, Fell persuaded Oxford to refuse any further payments from the Stationers and drew
International school
An international school is a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting a curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate, Edexcel or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national curriculum different from that of the school's country of residence. These schools cater to students who are not nationals of the host country, such as the children of the staff of international businesses, international organizations, foreign embassies, missions, or missionary programs. Many local students attend these schools to learn the language of the international school and to obtain qualifications for employment or higher education in a foreign country; the first international schools were founded in the latter half of the 19th century in countries such as Japan and Turkey. Early international schools were set up for families who traveled, like children of personnel of international companies, international organisations ons, non-governmental organisationss, embassy staff.
The schools were established with the people and organisations having large interests in the hosting nation: for instance, American diplomats and missionaries set up schools to educate their children. Over time globalisation has created a market for international education. "In a global economy, it is no longer improvement by national standards alone. The best performing education systems internationally provide the benchmark for success," said Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Secretary-General José Ángel Gurría when launching the annual Education at a Glance report in Paris. Increased movement of people around the globe has created a generation of children growing up and residing in foreign countries and expanding this market for international schools that can cater for their educational needs. In April 2007 there were 4,179 English-speaking international schools, expected to set to rise with globalisation. In New Delhi worldwide entries for the University of Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education June 2009 examination session are up by 20% on the same session last year.
The strong growth confirms the status of Cambridge IGCSE as the world's, India's, most popular international curriculum for 14- to 16-year-olds, indicating that despite the global financial crises education is still a valued investment. International schooling allows children to become global citizens by providing a rigorous and comprehensive education with full immersion into multiple languages and cultures. At a conference in Italy in 2009 the International Association of School Librarianship came up with a list of criteria for describing an international school, including: Transferability of the student's education across international schools. A moving population. Multinational and multilingual student body An international curriculum. International accreditation. A transient and multinational teacher population. Non-selective student enrollment. English or French language of instruction, plus the obligation to take on at least one additional language; the most common international schools represent Education in the United Kingdom, Education in the United States or are based on curricula specially designed for international schools such as the International General Certificate of Secondary Education or the IB Diploma Programme.
These international curriculae are committed to internationalism, developing the global citizen, providing an environment for optimal learning, teaching in an international setting that fosters understanding, independence and cooperation. Like other schools, international schools teach language arts, the sciences, the arts, physical education, information technology, design technology. More recent developments for primary school include the IB Primary Years Programme. There are 3063 schools offering the international baccalaureate curriculum in the world. For expatriate families, international schools allow some continuity in education and most prefer to stay in the same curriculum for older children. Relocation services and institutions like School Choice International can help families choose the right school and curriculum for their child; the United Nations International School was established in 1947 by a group of United Nations parents to promote an international education for their children, while preserving their diverse cultural heritages.
The school was one of twelve schools who trialled the pilot International Baccalaureate Program and the school has offered it since. The school promotes the appreciation of the diversity of persons and cultures, provides an optimal environment for learning and teaching, offers a global curriculum that inspires in its students the spirit and ideals of the United Nations Charter. Following the establishment of UNIS, three other international schools around the globe were opened with a direct connection to the United Nations: Vienna International School in 1959, United Nations International School of Hanoi in 1988 and NIST International School in 1992. An international school teacher or educator is someone engaged in the education of pupils in schools other than their country of citizenship; the term refers to teachers who are teaching in pri
