Supporting Materials
This resource section is an annotated description of documents that provide additional support and information about the history and design of Rhode Island's Diploma System, each of which is available for download. This section is offered primarily for policy makers and school and district leaders; it is not necessary to read all the supporting policy documents in order to use the exhibition and portfolio toolkits.
Strategies for Transforming Rhode Island High Schools
The 2001 report summarizing the first Rhode Island High School Summit and identifying eight areas of secondary education in need of transformation. This report laid the foundation for subsequent series of comprehensive high school reform initiatives.
Rhode Island's Common Core of Learning for a New Century
Rhode Island's 2001 touchstone document written to describe the knowledge, skills, and competencies that all Rhode Island students should learn to succeed in post-secondary education and work. It describes these competencies in four main areas: communication, problem solving, body of knowledge, and responsibility.
Regulations of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education Regarding Public High Schools and Ensuring Literacy for Students Entering High School
The 2003 Rhode Island Regents' High School Regulations that articulated a vision of high school reform in three areas: literacy, graduation by proficiency, and personalization.
http://www.ridoe.net/HighSchoolReform/hsregulations.htmRegents Regulations Section 4.0 Literacy Guidance
The 2003 RIDE guidance that provides a description of the state requirements for school-wide, targeted, and intensive high school literacy instruction and details a plan for diagnosis, intervention, and progress monitoring.
Regents Regulations Section 5.0 Graduation by Proficiency Guidance
The 2004 RIDE guidance that offers a description of exhibitions, portfolios, common tasks, end-of-course assessments and detailed parameters for local assessment systems that will comply with the graduation by proficiency component of the Regents' Regulations.
Regents Regulations Section 6.0 Personalization and Restructuring Guidance
The 2004 RIDE guidance that details the new requirements for advisories, career academies, common planning time, job-embedded professional development for teachers, individual learning plans, and other support structures.
Rhode Island Diploma System Overview
The 2004 RIDE guidance that describes the Rhode Island Diploma System, including guidelines and parameters for school wide diploma systems, RIDE responsibilities for review and oversight, and a timeline for implementation.
Rhode Island Diploma System Technical Assistance Bulletin
The 2005 RIDE guidance that provides further detail on Rhode Island's Diploma System, and introduces the peer review process, including the eight dimensions of review against which all districts will be evaluated to enhance rigor and ensure compatibility between and amongst districts.
Rhode Island High School Diploma System: All Kids Well Prepared for High-Performing, Bright Futures
The 2005 publication written for parents and community members and designed to offer a simple, succinct, and clear description of the changes in the system of diploma issuance in Rhode Island, including a detailing of the requirements for students and schools.