Policy Information | |
Series Regulations - Regulations | |
COURSE CREDIT BY EXAMINATION Policy # 7220R.1 |
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As an alternative to specific Regents and local diploma requirements, the Commissioner of Education is permitting a student to earn a maximum of 6 1/2units of credit for either a Regents or local diploma without completing units of study.
In such a situation, and to be consistent with the Commissioner's Regulations, the following conditions are in effect:
1) The High School Building Principal will be the Superintendent of Schools' designee to determine that the student will benefit academically by exercising this alternative.
2) The student must achieve a score of at least eighty-five percent (85%) or its equivalent as determined by the commissioner on a State-developed or State-approved examination. Regents examinations can be used to meet this condition for Regents or local diploma qualification: State-wide General Examinations can be used only for local diplomas.
3) The student must attend school or received a substantially equivalent instruction in
accordancewith the law and complete either (a) or (b):
a. The student must pass an oral examination and have attended school in accordance with the law. The oral examination will be in the subject field in which the student wishes credit and cover suitable content to be comprehensive. Questions will be formulated by the department chairperson and a subject teacher and submitted to the Principal for approval: The examination questions must be:
(1) Comprehensive:cover each of the major topical areas of the subject.
(2) Deep: demonstrate a level of difficulty consistent with the proposed State examination.
(3) Balanced: the examination questions will require a group of the objective and general concepts of a course.
There will be three-person oral testing board consisting of the Principal (or the Principal's designee), the subject area chairperson, and a teacher- level of the subject. (Scoring will be done holistically for each question on a "Pass" or "Fail" basis, with a minimum of two (2) "Pass" grades needed.) To pass the examination, a "Pass" score is required for each question.
b. The student must complete a special project to demonstrate proficiency in the subject matter area. The following specific requirements must be met:
(1) Science: project will demonstrate proficiency in laboratory techniques.
(2) Mathematics: project will demonstrate proficiency in problem solving skills.
(3) English/Social Studies: project will demonstrate acceptable research paper writing.
(4) Foreign Language: project will demonstrate proficiency in conversation and literature or culture.
(5) Visual Arts/Practical Arts/Fine Arts: project will demonstrate individual accomplishment of merit (this may include tasks such as a research paper, an exhibit, a portfolio, or a recital).
The project proposal is submitted by the required date. The student must first meet with a project committee consisting of the Principal (or the Principal's designee), the subject area chairperson, and a subject teacher to determine if the project will demonstrate acceptable proficiency.
The review committee must determine that the proposed project contains the following essential elements:
(1) Comprehensiveness: the project will demonstrate that the applicant has an understanding of the major topical areas of the subject. Projects which do not include required major topical areas will be unacceptable.
(2) Depth: the project will demonstrate that the applicant has a depth of understanding which is consistent with the level of academic difficulty of the proposed examination.
(3) Magnitude: the project's magnitude will encompass the entire subject area of the proposed examination. Projects of narrow scope will be unacceptable.
(4) Preparation: The project's preparation will demonstrate equivalency with regular course preparation.
(5) Perseverance: ordinarily, the project must be equivalent to a minimum of forty
(40) hours of work.
The project committee will meet after completion to determine acceptability.
4) A student may obtain the required unit of credit for art and/or music by participating in a school's major performing organization or in exceptional circumstances, in an advanced out-of-school art or music activity.
5) The following timetable will apply:
a. For January examinations:
Application to Guidance Counselor by October 1st. Project application (if appropriate) by October 31st. Oral examination/project completion by December
31st. Examination- January.
b. For June examinations:
Applicationto Guidance Counselor by March 1st. Project application (if appropriate) by March 31st. Oral examination/project completion by May 31st. Examination - June.
The student will be able to take the Regents/State-wide examination only after the student has passed the oral examination or has had the student project accepted by the project committee. If the student fails the oral examination or the project is rejected, then the student will be INELIGIBLE to take the State examination that semester, and may reapply the following semester.
Regulations - Regulations |