Which States Still Require an Exit Exam to Graduate High School (2026) — And What "Repealed" Actually Means

Twenty-seven states once required a student to pass an exam before they could be handed a diploma. 6 still do. Two have just stopped, and the way they stopped is the single most misunderstood thing in this subject — because in both, students still sit the test.

This page is a reference, not an argument. Every line below was read from the state that sets the rule — a department of education, a state board, or the regulation itself — and the source is named against each one. Where we have not read it at source, the state is not here.

First, two different things that keep getting mixed up

They are both “a test for credit”, which is why they blur together. They are opposites. The rest of this page is about the first one; Texas, which has both, is at the foot.

The 6 states that still require it

One footnote worth having

Virginia. The rule moved: 8VAC20-131-51 was repealed on 25 September 2024 and the requirement now sits at 8VAC20-132-51. The requirement carried over; only the citation changed.

The two that stopped — and what that did not mean

Massachusetts — Class of 2025 onward

Repealed by ballot: Question 2 passed on 5 November 2024 with 58.9% in favour, effective 5 December 2024, first applying to the class of 2025.

What replaces it: A district certifies that the student has completed coursework showing mastery of the state standards in the areas the MCAS high school tests measured.

New York — Requirement ends in 2027-2028

The Board of Regents set the timetable; the framework was approved on 14 July 2025.

What replaces it: A new framework, the "portrait of a graduate", replaces it and is fully phased in by 2029-2030. Students entering grade 9 in autumn 2027 are the first cohort under the new credit rules.

What this means if you are choosing where to look

Three practical readings of the table above.

• The requirement is not one thing. Ohio wants a number (684). New Jersey wants a number (725) on one assessment taken in a single grade. Virginia wants five verified credits spread across four subjects. Louisiana lets a student choose one test from each of three pairs. Comparing them as “exit exams” hides how differently they behave.
• Almost every state has a second route. SAT and ACT substitutes, portfolio appeals, committee review, career and military pathways. A student who has failed a test has usually not run out of options — but the routes are specific and they have deadlines.
• The cohort matters more than the year. Several of these rules key off the year a student entered grade 9, not the year they graduate. Louisiana's third subject pair and Virginia's credit counts both work this way.

Texas is the state with both

Texas keeps its exit exam while others drop theirs — five STAAR end-of-course assessments, with an individual graduation committee for a student who has missed no more than two of them.

It also runs the other kind of exam entirely: Credit by Examination, which is how a Texas student earns credit for a course without taking it. Two separate systems, both called “testing”, pulling in opposite directions:

• STAAR EOC — a gate. Required for the diploma. 80% is not the bar here; passing standards are set per assessment.
• Credit by Examination — an accelerator. Optional. 80% without prior instruction (Texas Education Code §28.023), 70% with prior instruction (19 TAC §74.24).

A family that confuses the two ends up preparing for the wrong test. If you are in Texas and the question is “can my child skip a course”, that is Credit by Examination, and the dates are set by your district rather than the state.

Related guides

• Texas CBE district portal — testing windows and deadlines by district
• Complete guide to Texas Credit by Exam
• Texas CBE passing scores and retake rules
• Testing out of Algebra 1, state by state

How this page is maintained

The table is held as data and this page is generated from it, so a change to one state does not mean rewriting the article — and so we can tell, later, exactly which line moved. Each state carries the date we last read it at source.

Fifteen further states are commonly listed as having dropped a graduation exam at some point. We have not confirmed the year and mechanism for each of them at source, so they are not named here. We would rather publish a short list we can stand behind.

Sources

• Texas — Texas Education Agency — High School Graduation Requirements. Read 9 August 2026.
• Florida — Florida Department of Education — Graduation Requirements for Statewide Assessments. Read 29 June 2026.
• Louisiana — Louisiana Department of Education — high school assessment requirements (Bulletin 741). Read 9 August 2026.
• Ohio — Ohio Department of Education and Workforce — Demonstrating Competency. Read 9 August 2026.
• New Jersey — New Jersey Department of Education — Class of 2026 Graduation Assessment Requirements. Read 9 August 2026.
• Virginia — Virginia Administrative Code 8VAC20-132-51. Read 9 August 2026.
• Massachusetts — Massachusetts DESE — Update on Student Competency Determinations. Read 9 August 2026.
• New York — New York State Board of Regents — graduation measures framework (approved 14 July 2025). Read 9 August 2026.

Texas CBE™ is an independent preparation service and is not affiliated with any state education agency or school district. Requirements change; confirm with your state or district before relying on a date or a score.