The CIS High School Diploma

1.1 What is a High School Diploma?

A ‘High School Diploma’ is an academic school leaving qualification awarded upon graduation from High School. A High School Diploma is usually awarded following the successful completion of four years of high school, from Grades 9 to 12, (typically from the age of 14 to 18). All our CIS Grade 11 and 12 students are working towards achieving a High School Diploma, whether or not they are taking the IB Diploma or IB Courses.

1.2 Why is CIS able to award High School Diplomas?

Copenhagen International School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). This is a US body which accredits schools both in America and internationally. As CIS belongs to this organisation, it is therefore entitled to award High School Diplomas to its students on the successful completion of their secondary schooling, at the end of Grade 12.

1.3 CIS does not have a High School. It has a Secondary School. Why is it awarding a High School Diploma?

‘High School Diploma’ is the term used to describe this school leaving qualification, whether or not a school has a section named ‘High School’. The term is internationally recognised so it makes sense to continue to award a High School Diploma, even though CIS is now using the term ‘secondary school’. ‘High School’ specifically refers to the last four years of secondary schooling, from Grade 9 to Grade 12, and it is the grades achieved in these final four years which contribute to the CIS High School Diploma.

1.4 What do I need to do to earn a High School Diploma from CIS?

All High School Diplomas are awarded based on the successful completion of a set number of ‘credits’ over the course of the four years of High School (Grades 9 to 12).

A ‘credit’ is a year’s worth of study in one subject. So, one credit of English is one year of successfully completed English.

To earn a CIS High School Diploma, you need to complete 22 credits over four years - as follows:

1.5 What are ‘Electives’?

Electives refer to a range of possible subjects, often, but not necessarily, in areas such as the Arts and Design. An elective could also be an extra foreign language, or an additional language you have chosen to study. As long as you have met the other credit requirements, any additional subject will count as an elective.

1.6 Can I complete two credits of a subject in one year?

Technically, if you are taking two languages in one year, for example French and Danish, these would count as two credits. Both could be ‘additional language’ credits, or one might be an ‘additional language credit’ and one could be an ‘elective’ credit.

The same is true for the Sciences, and for the Social Sciences. In Grades 11 and 12, for example, students can take two sciences, or two social science subjects - so it is possible to complete more than one credit of one subject requirement in one year. As with the ‘additional languages’, you may decide that your second science will be counted as an elective.

However, the schedule is designed such that Maths and English can only constitute one credit in one academic year. We also specifically require that your fourth credit in English is taken in Grade 12.

1.7 What does ‘successfully completed’ mean when you write ‘successfully completed 22 credits’?

Successful completion requires that you receive a minimum of a 3 on the 1 - 7 grading scale for each semester grade, for each subject. If you receive a 2 for Semester 1 of Biology in Grade 11 and a 3 for Semester 2, then you have not ‘successfully completed’ a Science credit. You will be awarded half a credit, as you only passed one of two semesters in Science in Grade 11.

1.8 Is there any attendance requirement for the achievement of these credits?

Yes. Our attendance policy states that for credit to be awarded, you must have ‘no more than 8 absences in any one subject in one semester’. So, if you miss 9 classes of English in the first semester of Grade 10, and the additional absence has not been discussed with and accepted by the Secondary School Principal, you will lose half a credit for Grade 9 English. This is obviously very worrying, as you need four full credits of English to graduate with a High School Diploma. In this circumstance, you may need to take an additional online course in English after Grade 12, in order to be awarded a High School Diploma.

1.9 Are there any other requirements I should be aware of, beyond attendance and grades, in order to be certain of being awarded a High School Diploma?

Yes. During Grades 11 and 12, we require all students to complete a CAS programme - Creativity, Activity and Service. CAS is a compulsory aspect of the IB Diploma, but to graduate from CIS, we also require students who are working towards a High School Diploma only to complete a number of modified CAS requirements in order to graduate. These modified requirements are:

1. Complete an experience in each of Creativity, Activity, Service

2. Provide evidence of, and reflections on, your participation in each experience in ManageBac

3. Meet four of the seven Learning Outcomes, two of which must be ‘Collaboration’ and ‘New Skills and Challenges’

1.10 Looking at the number of credits required to graduate with a High School Diploma, I see that I could ‘successfully complete’ 21 of these credits by the end of Grade 11. Does that mean that in Grade 12 I can just take English and no other subjects?

It is correct to say that 21 of your 22 credits could be successfully completed by the end of Grade 11. It is not correct to envisage that you could spend Grade 12 just taking one subject - English. There are a number of reasons for this;

1. Universities expect to see students participating in a range of classes in Grade 12. They like to see that students are challenging themselves and working towards the achievement of more than just the minimum number of credits

2. Universities, particularly European universities, may require evidence of the completion of 12 years of education, in each year of which a range of subjects must have been taken. Therefore, one year of secondary education with just one subjects may not allow you to meet university requirements, even if you have successfully met CIS’s credit requirements.

3. Taking subjects into Grade 12 gives you the opportunity to raise your grades and increase your GPA (Grade Point Average - the average of your semester grades over four years)

4. If you are working towards the full IB Diploma, or some IB Diploma courses, because the Diploma Programme is a two year programme, then you must complete your IB subjects in Grade 12.

1.11 As my family has moved around a lot, between different educational systems, I have already met all of the CIS HS Diploma requirements, including four years of English. Can I graduate after Grade 11?

This is for the Secondary School Principal to decide, supported by the counsellors. However, because our graduation requirements state that the fourth year of English must be taken in Grade 12, technically you cannot graduate after Grade 11, as you have not taken a Grade 12 English course.