At Montezuma Community School, the total number of credits a regular diploma requires is 52. Of those credits, the following is the breakdown by core and other state requirements:
- English (8 credits)
- English 1 (2 credits, 9th grade)
- English 2 (2 credits, 10th grade)
- English 3 (2 credits, 11th grade)
- English Electives (2 credits)
- Communications
- Nonfiction
- Film & Literature Analysis
- Creative Writing
- Humanities I
- Humanities II
- Contemporary Novel
- Comp. I* and Comp. II*
- Math (6 credits)
- Your math teachers help to determine the math path you will go on. The courses below are the ones we offer to help fulfill the minimum 6 credit requirement:
- Math Foundations I (2 credits)
- Math Foundations II (2 credits)
- Intergrated Math (2 credits)
- Algebra I (2 credits)
- Geometry (2 credits)
- Algebra II (2 credits)
- College Calc I* (1 HS credit)
- College Calc II* (1 HS credit)
- Statistics* (1 HS credit)
- Science (6 credits)
- Earth Science (2 credits, 9th grade)
- Biology (2 credits, 10th grade)
- Chemistry (2 credits, 11th grade)
- Environmental Science (2 credits, can be substituted for a course if student doesn't feel ready to take the next sequential course)
- Physics (2 credits, 12th grade)
- Social Studies (6 credits)
- US History (2 credits, 9th or 10th grade)
- World History (2 credits, 10th or 11th grade)
- Government (1 credit, 12th grade)
- Social Study Electives (1 credit)
- Military History
- American West History
- US Issues
- Introduction to Psychology* (1 HS credit)
- Abnormal Psychology* (1 HS credit)
- Social Psychology* (1 HS credit)
- Other Non-Core Requirements:
- Health (1 credit)
- PE (1 credit per year)
- Personal Finance (1 credit starting with the Class of 2020)
* = Dual Credit Courses (receive HS and College Credit)
The remaining credits for your diploma can be satisfied by electives or additional core courses. What you must keep in mind is "what do I plan on doing post high school graduation?".
If you're planning to go to an Iowa public university, you may want to look into their RAI (Regent Admission Index) information: http://www.iowaregents.edu/institutions/higher-education-links/regent-admission-index/rai-info.
If you're planning on going to a private Iowa college, you will want to look at their specific admission requirements/course suggestions.
If you're not sure, it may be best to just sample from the different departments to determine where your particular interests lie so you have a well rounded plan of study.