Article: OSDE Builds New Graduation Guidance Grounded in Real Field Input
The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), with technical support from the Southwest Comprehensive Center (Southwest CC), is preparing to release new practitioner-ready guidance and related supports to help districts implement updated state graduation requirements.
Taking effect immediately for new ninth-graders, Oklahoma’s updated graduation requirements reflect the legislature’s expectation that every student graduates through a single, rigorous diploma pathway. This approach will be supported by personalized course sequences and career-aligned pathways with clarity and consistency, leading to postsecondary readiness across all districts.
Districts are now quickly working to make pathways available. However, some districts, particularly in rural areas, face the challenge of offering sufficient pathways with limited staffing. In addition, some counselors seek clarity on how to advise students whose interests exceeded local course offerings.
Clear, actionable statewide guidance is urgently needed.
Guidance Derived From Local Needs
To deliver this guidance, OSDE partnered with the Southwest CC to translate the legislative language into plain, actionable steps with concrete models for implementation in real schools with real constraints.
The process began with a statewide needs-sensing survey in April that engaged more than 200 school and district leaders, counselors, and practitioners. The response was unusually strong—both in volume and substance.
“We were impressed by the depth of the feedback we received,” notes Thomas Torre Gibney, project lead for Southwest CC. “There was a real desire from the field to help shape what the graduation guidance looked like, from the perspective of those who would ultimately be using it.”
Among other things, the state’s survey validated the need for clear, stable, practical guidance, especially for rural districts.
For example, concentrations of respondents specifically asked for:
- Differentiated rural versus urban implementation examples
- Sample course maps and pathways
- Clarity on what counts for 4th year math and CareerTech credit
- Guidance on complex scheduling
- Tools to help families understand options
- Training for teachers, counselors, and leaders
Furthermore, survey responses led to a new idea: What if practitioners had the opportunity to get together with their peers and provide feedback on the guidance before it was published?
On July 22, the Southwest CC team facilitated a Graduation Guidance Feedback Forum in Oklahoma City to do just that. Educators from rural, suburban, and urban communities, including many high school counselors, drove (in some cases hours) to spend a full day reviewing early drafts.
“We literally gave them printed copies and pens and said: 'Mark this up. Tell us what needs to change,'” Torre Gibney explains. “That’s the kind of thing you can’t do over Zoom.”
Guidance That Reflects Oklahoma’s Real Schools
The final guidance is not just a compliance document. It is a field informed tool that reflects feedback on:
- Rural staffing realities
- Counselor advising needs
- Principal perspectives
- District budget constraints
- The urgency of immediate implementation
This fall, OSDE will take the guidance directly to school and district practitioners, with a focus on school counselors, through a roadshow-style format called the Counselor Caravan. From September through November, OSDE staff will visit 12 locations across the state, sharing the new resources and providing educators with an opportunity to connect with one another.
Southwest CC continues to support the rollout at OSDE’s request with:
- Training materials for OSDE staff
- A suite of one-pagers designed for different audiences, such as a family-facing one-pager to help parents understand the new requirements
- Additional supports to ensure consistent communication across regions
A Replicable Model for Meaningful Field Engagement
Beyond the guidance itself, Southwest CC reports that OSDE has built something with lasting value: a replicable model for authentic, high-quality field engagement.
As Torre Gibney explains, the project demonstrated that:
- Local educators and education leaders want to be involved.
- They will show up—in large numbers—when invited to collaborate.
- Their feedback improves the clarity and usability of state guidance.
Above all, the new guidance is the latest sign of Oklahoma’s commitment to ensuring that every student has access to a meaningful, personalized pathway through high school.
We are deeply grateful to the Westat team for creating a space where Oklahoma educators could come together, share their expertise, and build meaningful graduation guidance for their peers. Their commitment ensures that educators have the tools to guide students with confidence, support families with clarity, and help every Oklahoma student navigate a pathway toward graduation and future success. This is what happens when educators come together not simply to develop guidance, but to create a stronger future for Oklahoma students.
