Certificate of attendance

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In the United States and Canada a certificate of attendance is a certificate given to students who complete the K-12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) program but do not meet the requirements for the high school diploma. Students who complete 12th grade but do not obtain enough credits, do not complete all core courses or do not pass required testing will still be acknowledged in the graduation ceremony; they will walk across the stage in cap and gown, and will look like a graduate. Instead of receiving a diploma, however, they will receive a certificate of attendance.

Certificates of attendance are considered letdowns and are sometimes described as having gone to school for the last four years but not learning anything. Students who receive certificates of attendance usually return to school for either a full year (and graduate with the next grade down) or a half year, to make up their credits, and finally obtain the diploma (belatedly).

This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

• Jacob, Brian A.; "Getting Tough? The Impact of High School Graduation Exams"; Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis; v. 23, n. 2, pp. 99-121 (Summer 2001)
• Cameron, S. V. & Heckman, J. J., "The Nonequivalence of High School Equivalents";

Journal of Labor Economics; v. 11, n. 1, pt. 1, p. 1-? (1993)