ISID Credit Proficiency Policy

602.0  CREDIT PROFICIENCY POLICY

In relation to High School Graduation Requirements:

In lieu of the credit requirements for graduation for High School, as provided for in School Policy 911.0 and Idaho Code 33-6404, a high school student may request credit for a course by demonstrating understanding of a subject area and content standards.  Students will work closely with their assigned counselor to determine the best method to demonstrate understanding of a subject area and content standards to earn a high school credit.  Students may earn a high school credit by taking an assessment/performance-based assessment, completing a presentation, completing a project, completing a paper/essay, creating a portfolio, or other methods as determined by student, teacher, administrator, and counselor. 

A student may demonstrate understanding of a subject area and content standards to earn a high school credit by completing one or more of the following: 

• Assessment/Performance Assessment: The assessment must include content standards for the course, the assessment will be scored by administrator and/or teacher, the assessment must be proctored and may be completed virtually or in-person.  A student must pass the assessment with a score or 80% or higher.  A student may only attempt to take the designated test to obtain credit via “testing out” of a class on two (2) separate occasions. For a student to be given the opportunity to take a test to obtain mastery credit on a second occasion, the student must demonstrate, at the judgment of the school’s administration, a reasonable ability to pass the test to obtain credit on a second attempt. (For example, if the test requires an 80% passing grade, the student shall be required to score at least 70% on the student’s first attempt to take the test a second time.)

• Presentation, Project, Paper/Essay, or Portfolio: Presentation, project, paper/essay, and portfolio expectations will be outlined in collaboration with teachers and administrators.  All presentations, projects, papers/essays, and portfolios must demonstrate an understanding of the subject area and content standards.  A rubric will be aligned to the subject area and will measure understanding of content standards.  Students must score 80% or higher to earn a high school credit. 

• Other: Other methods independent of instructional time and credit hours will be considered.  Any method will be determined in collaboration with the student, parent, teacher, counselor, and administrator.  Any other method will have a rubric that is aligned to and measures understanding of subject area and content standards.  Students must score 80% or higher to earn a high school credit. 

• Extended Learning Opportunities: Idaho Code 33-6402 allows a student to request a credit for an extended learning opportunity by contacting their counselor.  An extended learning opportunity may be completed by working with a nonprofit organization, business, trade association, the United States armed forces, etc.  An extended learning opportunity may count for core or elective graduation requirements.  A student will collaborate with their counselor and administrator to outline all expectations.  The expectations will outline how the student will demonstrate understanding of required skills or standards to earn a core or elective credit.  Credits earned outside of school via extended learning opportunities may not be used to calculate average daily attendance or enrollment for school funding purposes. 

The grading scale for this policy is pass/fail.  All credits earned via this policy will be posted to a student’s high school transcript.  There will be no appeal process for a student who disagrees with the outcome or score obtained by any method selected to demonstrate understanding of subject area or content standards. 

Adopted:             September 2010

Amended:            May 2012

Amended:            April 2017

Amended:            April 2022