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There are a few ways to graduate from High School. There is the traditional way of four years in a public school system, there is home school which is a mixture of home and some school, there is straight home school with online classes, or you could just take your GED and show you have a basic education of things if you want to start work in something you love.
Many states offer some sort of exit exam without the schooling. What’s the point of an exit exam?
“to make sure no student graduates or moves on to other courses without proving they have mastered what they have studied.”
As youth workers, we should also ask the question “Have our students mastered what they have studied?” Mastering may be too strong a word, but do our students understand the basics of faith? How to read their Bibles? How to mature and grow their own faith?
How do we know if a student is prepared to leave our youth ministry?
We may never know if our students are ready to leave. We may never create an exam for our students to take, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t quietly ask ourselves the question, “what would better equip our students to get ready for the world waiting for them?’
Would it be a written test? Oral test?
How many questions would they have to answer to satisfy you to move them on?
Would it contain Bible questions? Theology questions? Practical questions?
Would it be multiple choice? Essay?
Here are six questions I’d put on an exit exam/interview that, if answered correctly, would satisfy me that a student in my ministry was ready to leave
Do you believe God loves you? How do you know?
Do you believe God loves everyone?
In light of God’s love for you and others, how should you live?
How can someone go to heaven? Do you believe you are going to heaven? Why?
How does/should knowing Christ impact how you live?
What impact do you want to have in world for Christ?
Bonus Question
How will you go about doing this? How can we continue to help you do that?
Let me be clear, no senior will know everything they need to know to face the world. No matter how hard you work, teach, preach, or mentor; students will still have to discover Jesus, just like we did, in every stage of life.
To even consider the question, “What kind of kids do I want to graduate?” is a step in the right direction.
I would encourage you to create your own list and then teach, preach and program to accomplish whatever is on that list, and you’ll have fewer regrets when graduation time comes.