We are living in a time in which nearly every student will need some form of education or career training following high school to earn a livable wage.

By 2020, nearly eight in 10 new jobs will require at least some education beyond a high school diploma. At the same time, Arizona high school graduation rates have stalled at about 70 percent, mirroring the national graduation rate for the past 40 years.

Many of the Arizona high school graduates who enter community college aren't prepared to take college-level math or English classes. Roughly half of incoming students require at least one non-credit, developmental math course. Forty-one percent of incoming community college students require at least one pre-college course in reading or English before they can advance to college-level studies. About 25 percent of Arizona's incoming community college students will need to take three or more of these developmental classes.

It is clear that the same educational system that we've had for the past 100 years cannot be expected to take us into the next 100 years.

We need a new way to prepare students for the realities of today's workplace. To be effective, it needs to recognize students' interests and goals, allow flexibility regarding where learning takes place, and let students move on once they have mastered the material.

The Move On When Ready initiative does all this, while raising academic achievement to national and international college- and career-readiness standards.

About Move On When Ready

Move On When Ready is designed to ensure that EVERY student, not just the high-achieving student, graduates from high school prepared to succeed in college and career, whether their next step is an occupational or technical license, an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree.

The state requires that any school interested in implementing Move On When Ready on its campus work directly with the Center for the Future of Arizona. CFA was selected by the Arizona State Board of Education to provide technical support and general supervision over the board examination system, which is an element of the Grand Canyon High School Diploma.

Fourteen Arizona high schools are offering the voluntary Move On When Ready strategy on their campuses beginning in fall 2011. Its key components are the Grand Canyon High School Diploma and the related board examination system.

Board Examination Systems

Move On When Ready schools are required to implement comprehensive instructional systems, called board examination systems, beginning with the incoming freshman class. This will raise the value of a high school diploma by raising academic achievement standards to national and international college- and career-readiness standards.

These comprehensive instructional systems are already in use in many of the most successful educational systems in the world. They have been proven effective in successfully preparing all students to high academic standards, not just the highest achieving students.

In addition to taking Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (the AIMS test), which measures what the state expects students to know upon completion of 10th grade, students who earn a Grand Canyon Diploma must pass a series of exams that are part of their school's board examination system (Cambridge International Examinations or ACT QualityCore).

Move On When Ready schools must offer students who pass these exams multiple pathway options including the Grand Canyon High School Diploma approved by the Legislature in 2010.

Grand Canyon High School Diploma

The Grand Canyon Diploma will provide students with the option of graduating as early as the end of the sophomore year. The 2012-2013 school year is the first year students will be eligible to receive the diploma. Qualifying students will NOT be required to graduate high school early. All existing options for high school study remain available to students.

Qualified students who wish to do so may:

•	Remain in high school and enroll in a series of courses designed to prepare juniors and seniors for entry into colleges and universities that grant bachelor's degrees. These courses will be part of an approved board examination system (Cambridge International Examinations, ACT QualityCore, International Baccalaureate or College Board Advanced Placement).
•	Graduate early and enroll in full-time community college courses on the students' current high school campus or on a community college campus. Upon completing community college, students may transfer to a college or university to pursue a bachelor's degree, if they so choose.
•	Remain in high school and enroll full-time in a career or technical (CTE) program leading to a technical certificate.
•	Take advantage of any existing academic programs already available through their school or district, such as dual enrollment or specialized programs of study.

Students who don't pass the series of exams that make up their school's board examination system can retake the exams during their junior or senior year. Another option is to stay in school and work toward a traditional diploma.