Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 160-5-1-.15 - Awarding Units of Credit and Acceptance of Transfer Credit and/ or Grades
(1)
DEFINITIONS.
(a)
Accredited School - an
elementary, middle, or secondary school accredited by or holding provisional
status from one of the accrediting agencies identified in O.C.G.A. §
20-3-519(6)(A)
or O.C.G.A. §
20-3-519(6)(B).
The term does not include entities that are accredited as home study programs
or non-traditional educational centers.
(b)
End-of-Course (EOC)
Assessment - Assessments administered at the completion of core high
school courses specified by the State Board of Education, in accordance with
O.C.G.A. §
20-2-281(f), to
measure student achievement in the four content areas of English/Language Arts,
Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.
(c)
Home Study Program - an
educational choice option conducted in Georgia in accordance with O.C.G.A.
§
20-2-690(c) or
conducted in another state in accordance with the laws applicable to that
state.
(d)
Non-traditional
Educational Center - educational institutions that support home study
programs or other independent learning initiatives. This term does not include
alternative/non-traditional education programs operated by local boards of
education.
(e)
Private
School - an educational choice option conducted in Georgia in accordance
with O.C.G.A. §
20-2-690(b) or
conducted in another state in accordance with the laws applicable to that
state.
(f)
Subject Area
Competency - a unit of high school credit awarded to students based on
subject area competency as demonstrated by a pre-defined score on state-adopted
or approved assessment instruments, instead of or in combination with the
completion of courses through traditional classroom instructional minutes as
described in section (2)(f) of this rule.
(g)
Unit of Credit - evidence of
course completion as demonstrated by a final course grade of 70 or higher on a
numerical scale; or competency-based course credit as demonstrated by a
pre-defined score on state-adopted or approved assessment
instruments.
(h)
Validation - the process of verifying credits earned at another
educational institution.
(2)
REQUIREMENTS.
(a)
Applicability.
(1) Local boards of education shall apply the
requirements of this rule to all students regardless of the date in which they
first entered ninth grade.
(b)
Awarding Units of Credit for
Courses Taken in Georgia Public Schools
1. Local boards of education shall award
units of credit only for courses that include concepts and skills based on the
state-adopted curriculum for grades 9-12 approved by the State Board of
Education.
2. Local boards of
education may award units of credit for courses offered in the middle grades
that are based on the state-adopted curriculum for grades 9-12 approved by the
State Board of Education.
3. Local
boards of education shall not award units of credit for courses in which
instruction is based on the state-adopted curriculum for grades K-8.
(c)
Awarding Units
of Credit for Dual Enrollment Courses.
1. Local boards of education shall award
units of credit to students for high school courses taken through postsecondary
institutions as described in the State Board of Education Rule
160-4-2-.34 DUAL ENROLLMENT - MOVE
ON WHEN READY.
(d)
Awarding Units of Credit for Career, Technical and Agricultural Education
(CTAE) courses with Embedded Academic Core Standards.
1. Local boards of education shall award
course credit for the CTAE course and course credit for the associated academic
core course to students who successfully complete a course or course sequence
in the CTAE program of study that includes embedded standards from an academic
core subject area as adopted by the State Board of Education.
2. A student shall not earn more than three
units of credit for academic core courses by completing CTAE courses that
include embedded standards from an academic core subject area.
3. Units of credit earned through CTAE
courses that contain embedded standards from an academic core subject area
shall be awarded as outlined in the Georgia Department of Education's
Guidance for Awarding Units of Credit.
4. Local boards of education shall administer
the appropriate End of Course (EOC) assessment to a student taking a CTAE
course with embedded academic core courses of an area for which an EOC
assessment has been adopted unless the student has already passed such EOC
assessment.
(e)
Awarding Units of Credit for Mathematics Courses for Students Receiving
Special Education Services Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA).
1. In addition to other
provisions of this rule, local boards of education shall award units of credit
for mathematics courses that will satisfy the mathematics course requirements
in State Board of Education Rule
160-4-2-.48 to a student receiving
special education services under IDEA if the student meets all of the
following:
(i) Prior to the student entering
the ninth grade, the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team
identified that the student had a disability that affected mathematics
achievement.
(ii) The student
successfully earns two units of credit, in accordance with this rule. The first
unit of credit will be earned from one of the following: Mathematics I, GPS
Algebra, CCGPS Coordinate Algebra, GSE Coordinate Algebra, or GSE Algebra I.
The second unit of credit will be earned from one of the following: Mathematics
II, GPS Geometry, CCGPS Analytic Geometry, GSE Analytic Geometry, or GSE
Geometry.
(iii) The student
successfully earns course credit, in accordance with this rule for at least two
other state-approved mathematics courses, which may include, but are not
limited to, Mathematics Support courses.
2. Local boards of education shall inform
parents and students that students who do not complete Mathematics III, GPS
Advanced Algebra, CCGPS Advanced Algebra, GSE Advanced Algebra, or GSE Algebra
II may not meet the mathematics admission requirements for entry into a
University System of Georgia institution or other post-secondary institution
without additional coursework.
3.
The IEP Team for students who receive Mathematics course credit in accordance
with paragraph (2)(e) of this rule shall document that:
(i) The student's disability has precluded
the student from achieving grade-level proficiency, as demonstrated by the
student's pattern of performance on the state-mandated test in the area of
Mathematics;
(ii) The student's
progress to date in response to appropriate instruction, including special
education and related services designed to address the student's individual
needs, is such that, even if significant growth occurs, the IEP team is
reasonably certain that the student will not successfully master the standards
in Mathematics III, GPS Advanced Algebra, CCGPS Advanced Algebra, GSE Advanced
Algebra, or GSE Algebra II. Additionally, the determination of the student's
progress has been based on multiple measurements that are valid for the content
area of mathematics and that have been collected over a period of time;
and
(iii) The student has access to
instruction in the state-adopted curriculum. The student's IEP includes goals
that are related to mathematics, support access to the content standards, and
are designed to promote the student's progress in the content area
state-adopted curriculum.
(f)
Subject Area Competency to Receive
Course Credit.
1. Local boards of
education shall award a unit of credit to a student when:
(i) The student successfully completes
courses of study based on the state-adopted curriculum. As provided in State
Board of Education Rule
160-4-2-.13 Statewide Passing Score,
the student must receive at least a course grade of 70 to be eligible to
receive credit for a course; or
(ii) The student successfully demonstrates
subject area competency through a pre-defined score on state-adopted or
approved assessment instruments as outlined in the Georgia Department of
Education's Guidance for Awarding Units of Credit. Students
may earn no more than three units of credit by demonstrating subject area
competency under this paragraph.
(g)
Accepting Transfer Credit and
Grades.
1. Local boards of education
shall accept student course credit earned in an accredited school. The school
shall have been accredited or holding provisional status at the time the credit
was earned.
(i) Local boards of education
shall not substitute courses and exempt students from the required secondary
minimum core curriculum unless the student transferred from an accredited
secondary school or the courses presented for credit
shall meet criteria identified in paragraph (2)(b) of
this rule and any applicable local policy.
2. Each local board of education shall adopt
a policy for validating credit for courses taken at a nonaccredited schools,
home study programs, and non-traditional educational centers. The policy shall
include the following:
(i) Definitions
consistent with this rule;
(ii)
Procedures for determining whether transfer courses meet the state-adopted
curriculum;
(iii) Procedures for
placing transfer students in elementary and middle grades at the appropriate
level and for granting units of credit for high school students;
(iv) Procedures for administering EOC
assessment in accordance with the Georgia Department of Education's assessment
guidelines and paragraph (2)(h) of this rule; and
(iv) At least one of the following:
(I) A probationary placement based on the
student's records in prior school(s), home study programs or non-traditional
educational centers and satisfactory performance of the student in a school
under the authority of the local board of education for one or more grading
periods; or
(II) Student
performance on assessments administered by the local board of education. These
assessments may be standardized or locally developed and should focus on group
placement, subject area and grade level.
(h)
End
of Course (EOC) Assessment Administration to Transfer Students.
1. Local boards of education shall administer
the EOC assessment to students enrolled in a Georgia public school while also
enrolled in a private school, home study program, or non-traditional
educational center for which they receive graduation credit for one of the
required EOC assessment courses. These students must take the EOC assessment
regardless of the private school, home study program, or non-traditional
educational center's accreditation status.
2. Local boards of education shall not
require students who enroll from accredited schools to take and pass the EOC
assessment to receive credit for an EOC assessment course unless the student
was concurrently enrolled in a Georgia public school while taking the course at
an accredited private school.
3.
Local boards of education shall require students who enroll from non-accredited
private schools, home study programs, or other non-traditional educational
centers to take and pass the EOC assessment with a minimum of 70 grade
conversion score to receive credit for the course. A student enrolling from a
non-accredited school will receive one test administration opportunity to
demonstrate proficiency in order to earn credit for a course that requires the
EOC assessment. If the student does not pass the EOC assessment on that
administration, the local board of education shall not grant credit for that
course. If the course is required to be eligible to receive a high school
diploma, the student shall enroll in the course and take the EOC assessment at
the completion of the course.
(i)
Military Dependents.
1. Notwithstanding any other portion of this
rule, local boards of education shall utilize O.C.G.A. §
20-17-2 to award course credit for
students who are dependents of military personnel as defined by that code
section.
Notes
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