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Profile of a Graduate

Launch Profile of a Graduate graphicLearn more about how we're collecting feedback to align current graduation requirements to this Profile.

"Profile of a Graduate" -- a guiding vision for our K-12 education system, developed with local input, that identifies the skills, knowledge, attributes, and competencies necessary for a successful transition to life after high school. The Washington State Profile of a Graduate will also be used to review state education policy, including graduation requirements. The Profile is featured in the recent Mastery-based Learning Work Group's 2021 report.

Reports related to graduation and student success:

Profile of a Graduate graphic: 

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Washington law (RCW 28A.230.090) states that the purpose of a high school diploma is to declare that a student is ready for success in postsecondary education, gainful employment, and citizenship, and is equipped with the skills to be a lifelong learner. The Profile of a Graduate will help us to realign our focus to the areas that are most important or that have not been emphasized in school.

Examples from other states:

"Knowing how to learn" and "work ethic" are just some of the skills highlighted in South Carolina's Profile of Graduate. “Technical knowledge (content knowledge)” and “productive workplace skills” are featured in Virginia’s. Wyoming’s graduates must be “curious, kind, and ready to work hard to make their community a better place.”

Other district examples:

Glenbard (school district in Illinois) graduates "embrace diversity" and are "self empowered." In Clayton (school district in Missouri), their Profile calls for a graduating senior to display "cultural competency" and "self-actualization." Our state's own, Snoqualmie Valley has created a Portrait of a Graduate where "empathy" and "global citizen" are featured skills.

Creating these state-wide visions is impossible without community input, especially without feedback from our passionate partners, leaders, students, and educators in the field.