Providing Utah districts with policies and procedures in awarding academic credit based upon demonstrated competency

Accredited: means evaluated and approved under the standards for accreditation of the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools or the accreditation standards of the board. (Available from the USOE accreditation specialist.

Accelerated Learner: means a student is able to complete a course in less than the usual time.

Core Curriculum content standard: means a broad statement of what students enrolled in public schools are expected to know and be able to do at specific grade levels or following completion of identified courses.

Demonstrated competence: means subject mastery; a student demonstrates all essential knowledge, skills and dispositions of a specific course, as determined by school district standards and review.  School district review shall be based upon a valid assessment.

Early Graduate: means a student who has completed all required courses or demonstrated mastery of required skills and competencies, and with the approval of the student, the student’s parent or guardian, and an authorized local school official, can graduate at any time.

High School: means grades 9 – 12.

Highly mobile: means a student who frequently changes schools.

Home schooled: means a student who attends a home school, is exempt from school attendance and attends no more than two regularly scheduled classes in a public school per semester.

Non- accredited: means a public/private school lacking approval by the State Board of Education or that has not been recognized by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools.

C.  The assessments will provide students an opportunity to earn required and/or elective        credit.

D.  The assessments may be used for students to accelerate their education.

E.  The use of the assessments, as a means of earning credit toward graduation,
      may be discussed during the SEOP process.

F.  The student is responsible for acquiring and retaining the content knowledge and skills                    required for passing any assessment.

G.  The areas of assessment to be developed during the 06/07 school year are: 
      Geography for Life, General Financial Literacy, United States Government
      and Citizenship, Computer Technology, Earth Systems, Biology, Algebra I,
      Fitness for Life, and World Languages.

H.   The content area assessments will reflect a semester of subject content for all
       semester courses and will be worth .50 credit toward meeting graduation  
       requirements.  Content area assessments for full year courses will reflect 1.00
       credit toward meeting graduation requirements.  (World Language credit will
       be issued in increments of 1.00 credit to 2.00 credits.)

I.   Administration of assessments will be coordinated at the district level.

1. Credit for passing assessments will be awarded at the district level and applied to the

student’s transcript at the home school location.
     

1. A fee of up to $85.00 will be charged for each assessment section.  The fee is non-

refundable.  Fee waiver applications apply.

L.   A written request for taking an assessment must be submitted by the student to his/her
      local school counselor.

M.   Assessments may be taken only once per school year.

N.   No citizenship credit will be given for passing an assessment.

1. Students will receive a “P” for demonstrated competency on the assessment.

(No letter grade will be given.)