No diploma? No problem.

No diploma? No problem. In an era of strengthened K-12 academic standards and graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. requirements, some education officials are concerned that some students are enrolling in public and private colleges without a high school diploma A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED. or equivalent degree, such as a GED GEDabbr.1. general equivalency diploma2. general educational developmentGED(US) n abbr (Scol) (= general educational development) → . About 2 percent of college students nationwide were enrolled in colleges without possessing a diploma or equivalent degree in 2003-04, according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. a survey by the U.S. Department of Education. That's up from 1.4 percent four years earlier. About 1 percent of students at four-year colleges, 3 percent at community colleges and 4 percent at private, for-profit colleges fell into that category. Before receiving federal financial aid, such students must first pass an independently administered, federally approved test to show that they can benefit from college-level work--referred to as an "ability-to-benefit" test. States have split on the question of whether such students should receive state financial aid. Some, such as New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , provide state tuition grants to students, while others, like California, do not. Allowing the admission of such students sends the wrong message in light of states' heavy focus on accountability standards and assessments, says Dane Linn linn?n. Scots1. A waterfall.2. A steep ravine.[Scottish Gaelic linne, pool, waterfall.] , director of the education division of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. Allowing "students who haven't demonstrated that they hold the requisite skills to be successful in college is not only unfair to those who do stick it out and work their way through high school, but it's somewhat contradictory to the policy objectives we see a number of states focusing on," he says. Given that data show many high school graduates aren't ready for college-level work, "what makes us think that students who don't get a diploma or a GED are ready to do college-level work?" he asks. John Marinovich, assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. of secondary education at the Fresno Unified School District Fresno Unified School District (also known as F.U.S.D.) is a school district in Fresno, California, U.S.A. Facts and FiguresCalifornia's 4th largest school district 79,383 students (2004-05) $869 million budget in California, says he's not worried about community colleges' accepting such students, but is troubled that four-year colleges and universities would admit them. "It smacks to me of lowering their standards on accepting students to a college or university," he says. Like many other California districts, Fresno has been advising high school seniors who have not passed the high school exit exam of their options, including attending community college without a diploma or GED, he says. But, he notes, "we go back to discuss with each individual student the importance of goal number one"--earning a diploma. Nevertheless, community college remains a viable option for some, Marinovich says. "I don't believe that we ever want to say to a student, whether they are 18 years old or older, that now is a dead end, that you shouldn't further your education," he says.