Generally, each successfully completed semester course 0.5 credits; a full year course is generally equal to two semester courses for 1.0 total. Credit is earned when a successful final grade is assigned at the end of the semester. Courses that cover more content and/or are offered for two or more hours per day may earn more than 0.5 credits per semester. (EXAMPLE: dual enrollment, KCTC, and KTC courses.)
In high school, each school year consists of two semesters, which are approximately 18 weeks long. Summer school is considered a “third semester” of the same school year. At the Success Centers, courses may be offered on a ‘term’ calendar. Terms allow scholars to expedite their credit earnings as there are four nine-week terms in each school year plus a summer school term.
High school credit is only earned with the successful completion of a high school course and the assignment of a final passing grade. In addition, high school graduation requirements may be met by testing out of a course during the district’s identified testing out window (see “testing out” section for more details).
Successful completion of a course is based upon the letter grade earned and assigned by the certified teacher. All letter grades except an E (failed), NC (no credit), or I (incomplete) earn credit. The amount of credit earned for each course is set by the district at the beginning of the school year. A full schedule of six courses per semester will allow a scholar to earn up to 3.0 credits per semester or a total of 6.0 credits per school year (two semesters X 3.0 credits). Every scholar is expected to enroll full-time; any exception to this full-time expectation must have prior approval of the principal or designee.