Policy 2413 - Equivalency Credit Opportunities
Prior to course scheduling or course registration for the next school term (for students in grades 9-12), the district will provide information to students and their parents or legal guardians about meeting credit-based graduation requirements through equivalency courses.
I. Experiential Education Opportunities
The district may grant credit, including high school graduation credit, for school planned or approved learning experiences which may be conducted away from the facilities owned, operated, or supervised by the district or conducted primarily by individuals not employed by the district. To grant credit for such experiences, a proposal for approval of credit must be submitted to the district’s designated team.
The proposal shall include the following elements:
Approved experiences may include, but are not limited to, the following: School planned or approved learning experiences such as travel study, work study, private lessons, paid work, volunteer work, and education programs sponsored by governmental agencies.
II. Career and Technical Education Courses Provided by the District
On or after September 1, 2021, any statewide equivalency course offered by the district or accessed at a skill center will be offered for academic credit. Any approved state and local equivalency course offered by a host district in a skill center in which the district participates under an interdistrict cooperative agreement will be honored as an equivalency course by the district. Students served at any core, branch, or satellite skill center campus must have access to academic credit for any approved local or state equivalency courses offered at those sites and in accordance with transcript requirements in RCW 28A.230.097.
The district may also adopt local course equivalencies for career and technical education courses that are not on the list of courses approved by the superintendent of public instruction under RCW 28A.700.070.
Each high school will adopt core academic course equivalencies for high school career and technical courses, provided that the career and technical course has been reviewed and approved for equivalency credit by a district team appointed by the superintendent or a designee.
Career and technical courses approved for equivalency must meet the following criteria:
- Align with the state's essential academic learning requirements and grade level expectations;
- Align with current industry standards, as evidenced in the curriculum frameworks. The local career and technical advisory committee will certify that courses meet industry standards; and
- Recorded on the student’s transcripts.
III. Mastery-based Credits
Students may obtain up to 4 mastery-based credits in world language, up to 1 mastery-based credit in language arts, mathematics, and science by passing an assessment that is aligned to state learning standards or course equivalency requirements adopted by the office of the superintendent of public instruction (OSPI). Students do not need to have attempted and failed a course before being eligible for this option.
The mastery examination must be offered in a proctored setting with appropriate technology. The district will approve the site(s) where the examination is offered, which could include individual schools, district buildings, community colleges, universities, education service districts, or other community settings.
The student will be responsible for the cost of taking a mastery examination. The district will offer financial assistance to students who demonstrate need, such as qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
The district will receive official test results for each student who takes a mastery examination. The district will provide a letter to the student with a copy of the test results and an indication of how many credits the student will be awarded. Credits awarded will be recorded on the student’s transcript with a grade of “Pass”.
To ensure cultural responsiveness and equity in awarding mastery-based credit, the district will collect and annually review disaggregated data to see which subgroups of students are receiving mastery-based credit. If disproportionality is found, the district will take appropriate actions to ensure equitable access to these credit opportunities.
IV. Competency-based Credits
One competency-based credit is available, per subject, in mathematics, science, social studies and language arts for a course when the student successfully completes the next higher-level course, with a C- or higher, in a sequence that includes a natural progression of the state learning standards from the previous course. This option is only available during the students’ senior year of high school.
Elective Credit for Paid Work Experience
Students may gain the knowledge and skills to earn competency-based credits through learning experiences such as independent study or experiential education, including paid work. Students ages 16 and older may earn up to two elective high school credits through paid work experience according to the requirements contained in chapter 28A.600 RCW, which include preapproval of a proposal and assessment of the student’s grade-level proficiency on the state financial education learning standards. Credits earned through this policy do not restrict students from earning additional credits through cooperative worksite learning (WAC 392-410-315) through competency policy.
Students who are legally eligible for paid employment may earn elective credit for paid work experience. Students who meet the requirements below as determined by the appropriate school official will be awarded one-half elective credit for each 180 hours of paid, verified work experience. Students may earn up to a maximum of two elective high school credits through this process.
In order to be eligible to receive elective credit, the students’ High School and Beyond Plan must be updated to reflect the paid work experience. In addition, the student’s paid work experience must be approved in advance and in writing by the school counselor, principal, or principal designee. Approval is contingent upon the student’s submission of the following information:
- Identification of the work-based sponsor (employer) who will serve as the point of contact for the employer and participate in supervising the student during the student’s employment;
- A student narrative describing how the paid work experience will enable the student to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the goals of basic education, including those essential to understanding the importance of work and finance and how performance, effort, and decisions directly affect future career and educational opportunities as provided in RCW 28A.150.210(4); and
- A plan for demonstrating or otherwise assessing the student’s:
- Grade-level proficiencies on the state financial education learning standards for employment and income or financial decisions as provided in the state financial education learning standards adopted in RCW 28A.300.469; and
- Growth in proficiency in meeting the state financial education learning standards that occurred between pre-work and post-work experiences.
The hours worked may occur during a student’s school day, outside of the regular school calendar, or in accordance with WAC 180-51-050 and 180-51-051. The district will verify the number of paid hours worked by a student at least once per term.
Courses Taken Before Attending High School
The district will award high school credit for computer science courses taken before attending high school if either of following occurs:
- The course was taken with high school students, if the academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth grade classes, and the student has successfully passed by completing the same course requirements and examinations as the high school students enrolled in the class; or
- The academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth grade classes and the course would qualify for high school credit because the course is similar or equivalent to a course offered at a high school in the district.
Students who have taken and successfully completed high school courses under the circumstances above shall not be required to take an additional competency examination or perform any other additional assignment to receive credit.
V. Computer Science Courses
The board will approve Advanced Placement (AP) computer science courses as well as other select courses, equivalent to high school mathematics or science, and may be used by a student to meet math or science graduation requirements. The district has adopted Procedure 2410 – High School Graduation Requirements to denote on the student’s transcript that certain computer science courses qualify as a math-based quantitative course.
Legal References:
Adoption: