OLYMPIA—March 17, 2026—In 2019, the Washington State Legislature established multiple pathways for students to demonstrate readiness to graduate from high school, in addition to meeting credit requirements and completing a High School and Beyond Plan.
Students have a variety of options for meeting the graduation pathway requirement, including but not limited to, demonstrating readiness on state tests, achieving a qualifying score on dual credit exams or college entrance exams, completing dual credit courses or a sequence of career and technical education courses, or achieving a qualifying score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB).
Since the graduation pathways were established, an increasing percentage of graduates each year complete the ASVAB. In the Class of 2025, more than 5,400 graduates (7.2%) reported having completed the ASVAB as a graduation pathway. Many of these ASVAB completers also meet other graduation pathway options.
While the percentage of graduates completing the ASVAB as a graduation pathway increases each year, Washington does not have data to match whether ASVAB completers enlist in the military or not.
Since June 2024, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has been working with federal military leaders; the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO); and state education leaders from Arkansas, Kansas, Ohio, and Tennessee to develop a plan for closing this gap in data access in Washington and across the country.
Today, CCSSO announced that the five participating states will soon begin data-sharing agreements with the U.S. Department of War (DoW) as part of a pilot project. The information that states will provide to the DoW through the agreement is limited, and Washington will only share student names and dates of birth.
For this pilot, OSPI will provide the DoW with a list of graduates from the Class of 2024. The DoW will then identify which of those graduates enlisted in the military.
"For decades, high schools across the country have helped connect colleges and universities to interested students in support of their college search process,” said State Superintendent Chris Reykdal. “Despite how many of our graduates enlist in the military and the fact that many of them have successful military careers, we have historically been unable to understand exactly how many Washington students join the military. Knowing this can help state leaders understand if we are providing the full breadth of high school offerings to empower multiple post-high school pathways.”
At the end of the pilot, the project team will decide whether any adjustments are needed to the data-sharing agreement or the data components. The team aims to make the data-sharing agreement available for other states to utilize starting in the 2026–27 school year.
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