The North Carolina Exit Standards

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The North Carolina Exit Standards

• The Graduation Project

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The North Carolina Graduation Project

• Is required by the state of N.C.
• Is a school-wide responsibility
• Is a community responsibility
• Is designed to prepare our students to be
  competitive in the 21st century

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Ultimately

• Starting with the Class of 2010, no student may
  graduate from any NC public institution without
  successfully completing the graduation project.
• Exceptions
• Student who transfer to NC second semester,
  senior year

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Project components

• Paper
• Product
• Portfolio
• Presentation

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The Paper

• Students will choose an area of interest and then
  focus on a specific topic for research
• School-based committee must approve topic
• MLA formatting must be followed when writing the
  research paper
• The paper should present the results of a
  purposeful, focused, in depth study on a specific
  topic of choice
• Students will identify, select, analyze, and
  evaluate information in print and non-print
• formats

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The Paper contd

• Students will develop their ability to develop a
  chosen topic, conduct research, and write
  proficiently on that topic
• 8 10 pages in length
• To be completed in the junior year
• Not an English class project/paper.

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The Product

• Requires students to create a tangible product
  related to the students research paper
• Selected, designed and developed by the student
• Process of creating will develop learning,
  critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and
  personal employability skills

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The product contd

• The quality of the product must reflect a minimum
  of 15 hours of work.
• The product should be creative and innovative.
  It may be tangible or intangible, short-term or
  long-term, personal or public.
• Can be completed anytime after the paper has been
  completed.

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Product Physical Objects (examples)

• Models
• Displays
• Artwork
• Charts
• Board games
• Crafts
• Costumes
• Scrapbooks

• Books
• Sheet Music
• Clothing
• Food
• Web pages
• Experiments
• Science projects
• Math programs

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Product Performance based (examples)

• Fashion show
• Musical performance
• Dance recital
• Athletic demonstrations
• Scientific experiments
• Art Show
• Drama production

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Product service based (examples)

• Volunteering at a local rest home
• Volunteering for the recreation dept.
• Volunteering at the local fire dept.
• Volunteering at the local food bank
• Work possibly in conjunction with Eagle Scout
• Tutoring
• Organizing a fund raiser such as for Relay for
  Life, Cystic Fibrosis, etc
• HOWEVER, there still must be a product

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Service based products

• Scrapbook
• Photo journal
• Could be something that fulfills a need
• Scoreboard
• Handicap accessible ramp
• Mural or other beautification product
• Habitat for humanity house

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Career oriented product

• Job-shadowing experience
• Internship
• Apprenticeship
• Again, students must have a product
• Journal
• Scrapbook
• Photo-journal
• Something that fulfills a need

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Advanced/Honor Studies Products (can be in
connection to any of the following)

• National Honor Society
• Service Club connections
• Advanced Placement classes
• Career and Technical Education
• Business Education
• Family and Consumer Sciences
• Health Occupations
• Marketing Education
• Technology Education
• Trade and Industrial Education

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Product parameters

• The product must be
• Student generated based on interest
• Based on student generated proposal
• Approved by designated committee
• Tangible evidence of time and effort
• Adequately documented with photographs, logs,
  journals, letters, etc
• Directly connected to the research paper

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The Portfolio

• Is a learning record of the students process and
  progress throughout the entire graduation project
  process
• Is a log of work completed
• Is a log of time spent on the product
• Is a log of material learned
• Is a reflective journal
• Is a way for the advisor and mentor to keep track
  of the students time and work

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The Portfolio

• Is an on-going part of the graduation project
• Should be started as soon as the student starts
  working on his/her graduation project
• Should document every step of the entire project

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The Oral Presentation

• The presentation will occur during the senior
  year after the three other components have been
  completed.
• If students have the opportunity to graduate
  early, they would have the opportunity to do the
  oral presentation in December or early January

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Oral presentation contd

• Is the culmination of the entire graduation
  project
• Is a combination of the research, the effort and
  the reflections of the student
• Allows the student to share with a committee of
  adults what he/she has done

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Oral presentation contd

• Demonstration of public speaking skills
• Delivery of accurate, credible information on the
  topic of choice
• Confidence building
• Approximately 15 minutes in length
• At the end of the formal presentation, the
  student should be prepared to answer questions
  from
• the panelists

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The Presentation

• Use of visual aids to be decided
• The product itself
• A photo journal of the steps included
• A power point supporting the material presented
• A tri-fold poster to present material

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• 1/3 of presentation should be the research
• 1/3 of the presentation should include the work
  involved in creating the product
• 1/3 of the presentation should be personal
  reflection what I learned, what I should have
  done more of, what I suggest for others

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What does all this have to do with me?

• Honestly, the graduation project cannot happen
  without you!
• Heres how you can help.

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Parents

• Encourage your child to take this very seriously
• Work with your child to determine an excellent
  topic with a high level of interest to them
• Help your child determine a project/product that
  is both interesting and challenging
• Help us to find qualified mentors and review
  panelists

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Mentors

• Must have time to work with the student outside
  of school in most cases on the project
• Provide suggestions and advice
• Provide honest and accurate verification of the
  students work
• Serve as a support and resource person to the
  student
• Sign and return all paperwork
• Must be willing to go through a criminal check
• Must be 21 or older
• Must be an expert in the field needed
• May not be a household family member

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Review Panel Members

• Allocate time to attend the oral presentations
  probably one afternoon and evening one to two
  days
• Review the students work/portfolio before the
  presentation
• Listen to the presentation
• Ask questions afterwards
• Be consistent and fair in evaluating the
  students work
• Allocate time to be trained in evaluation using
  the states rubric
• You may not assess your own childs presentation,
  but you may assess others

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YES, we need you

• School Counselor
• School Social Worker
• Media Coordinator
• Technology People
• Administration
• School Board
• Superintendent
• Community