MTHS Graduation Requirements

In order to graduate from Manchester Township High School, students are required to successfully complete the following courses:

• 20 credits of English*
• 15 credits of Mathematics*
• 15 credits of Science*
• 15 credits of Social Studies (including World Cultures, US History I, US History II)*
• 5 credits of Health/Physical Education for each year of enrollment* (20 credits total)
• 5 credits of World Language
• 2.5 credits of Personal Financial Literacy
• 5 credits of Career-Technical Art*
• 5 credits of Visual and Performing Arts*

*Elective courses do not necessarily fill these requirements and are taken in addition to your core courses. See your guidance counselor for more information.

• ALL STUDENTS MUST COMPLETE 130 CREDITS FOR GRADUATION

In addition to the above-listed curricular requirements, a student must successful pass a state approved assessment, or meet the threshold scores on a state approved substitute assessment.* Students who do not satisfy the testing requirement will be required to successfully complete a portfolio appeal with the State of New Jersey.

*Subject to New Jersey Department of Education revisions.

Credit shall be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the entire course. The student must achieve a numerical average of 70 or better as the final average. The student must also adhere to the State of New Jersey’s mandatory attendance laws.

Credit Recovery/Summer School Information

STATE GRADUATION ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS

Course Selection

Selection of courses for the next school year begins in the second semester. Course selection should depend on achievement and interests. This process should not be taken lightly. The master schedule at Manchester Township High School is “student request driven” meaning the entire school schedule is based upon the sum of all students’ course selections. Many important decisions are made based upon these selections, including: decisions about which courses will be offered and which will be dropped, how many students will be in every class, and how many teachers of each subject will be needed.

Therefore, choices should reflect serious thought, and there should be little or no need for changes at a later date. At the end of the school year, students will be provided with a reminder of the courses that have been selected for the next year. Choices should be analyzed in light of final achievement in each course. If there is a need to change a course, a written request must be submitted to the Principal by June 30.

A schedule of courses will be mailed home in August. There will be a period of time in August when course change requests will be considered. This will be the only time when requests will be considered. Any course changes must be approved by the parent and principal. Because of the technicalities of trying to schedule students, it is impossible to honor all requests. For this reason, careful thought must be given to selecting alternate courses.

Preparation for College

If a student plans to enter a four-year college or university, he/she must be aware that entrance requirements vary with each institution. Individual college web sites should be visited so the student can become familiar with specific entrance criteria.

Students interested in college enrollment are strongly urged to pursue a rigorous academic schedule as every college admissions committee looks favorably upon the student who has studied beyond the minimum requirements. In addition, colleges prefer students who have been involved in co-curricular and community service activities during high school.

Almost all colleges require applicants to take either the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Testing Program (ACT). It is recommended that these be taken in the spring of junior year and again in the fall of senior year.

Preparation for Trade and Industrial Employment

Students not interested in attending an academic two- or four-year college, university may choose from any of a number of post-secondary trade, or technical schools or they may begin their training while still in high school. The opportunity for training in one of a variety of trade and technical fields is provided through a shared-time program in which students study at Manchester Township High School and at Ocean County Vocational/Technical School (OCVTS). Students must submit an application and may be required to take an entrance exam.

Preparation for General Employment/Military Service

Not every student will choose to go on to higher education after high school. Some will choose to enter the work force directly, or to attend a technical or trade school. A solid foundation of academic courses is the best preparation for this career goal. Employers want workers who can communicate effectively, follow directions, and get along with other people. Therefore, challenging academic courses should be chosen.

Representatives from each of the branches of the Armed Services make frequent visits to the MTHS campus to discuss opportunities in the military.

The U.S. Department of Education organizes all occupations into career clusters. Career clusters are groups of similar occupations and industries. The U.S. Department of Education created career clusters to assist students with career planning. Career clusters will provide students the opportunity to select courses based on their interest and decide their future career pursuits.

Numerical grades are given at the end of each marking period. Below is an interpretation of the marking system.

• 93-100 Excellent
• 85-92 Above Average
• 76-84 Average
• 70-75 Below Average
• 69 & Below Failing
• I - Incomplete (make-up necessary)
• NC - No Credit
• UC - Unfilled Credit
• WP - Withdrawn Passing
• WF - Withdrawn Failing

Students who withdraw from a class will have WP (withdrawn passing) or WF (withdrawn failing) recorded on their transcript based on the grade at the time of the withdrawal. A WP or WF on your transcript may affect a college admissions counselor’s decision for acceptance into the college/university you have applied to.

Those students selecting Honors Courses in accordance with standards established by each department will have those courses noted on their Transcript Forms. The only required courses are those mandated by the State of New Jersey and the Manchester Township Board of Education. Thus, each student will have the opportunity to plan his/her own program in accordance with his/her educational and vocational goals.

• Rank in class refers to the student’s relative position in his/her class based on a numerical average.
• Rank in class is mainly used by colleges as one of the criteria in selecting students.
• In order to accurately and fairly determine a student’s class rank, it is necessary to weight some courses.
• Honors & Advanced Placement (AP) courses have been marked in the course descriptions with asterisks denoting their relative weight.

** 12 additional points added to final average of AP courses

* 8 additional points added to final average of Honors courses

Any course taken during the summer is not included in class rank. This includes remediation and enrichment classes.