The way that states structure student graduation choices -- as this new brief shows -- has a significant impact on the number and diversity of students who complete a college- and career-ready (CCR) graduation option. Some states automatically expect students to complete a CCR graduation option, giving them the ability to opt out into less rigorous classes and still graduate. In other states the burden falls squarely on students and their families to opt in to the more rigorous CCR diploma. The difference in where students begin has a large impact on where they end up.