Dr. Tracy S. Weeks, Chief Academic and Digital Learning Officer. Dr. Robin B. McCoy, Director, K-12 Curriculum and Instruction

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1 May 1, 2014 TO FROM LEA Superintendents Principals Counselors Dr. Tracy S. Weeks, Chief Academic and Digital Learning Officer Dr. Robin B. McCoy, Director, K-12 Curriculum and Instruction POWERSCHOOL GRADUATION UPDATE Please read this communication carefully. It contains information designed to help principals ensure that eligible high school seniors are able to graduate as planned. The Pearson PowerSchool development team has been working on automated evaluation of student records for multiple student statuses related to high school graduation. These include evaluating each high school student for: Completion of the SBE-required Future Ready Core, Completion of UNC-system Minimum Admission Requirements (MARs), Local graduation requirements status, CTE Concentrator status, Math Rigor status, and College/Career Endorsement status (beginning in the school year). For the school year, the following limited functionality is expected to be available no earlier than mid-may 2014: PowerSchool will evaluate students for completion of the minimum SBE Future Ready Core graduation requirements (21 credits for students graduating this year). With respect to the mathematics requirements of the Future Ready Core, PowerSchool will only be able to evaluate against standard mathematics courses and single Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses that satisfy the fourth math requirement. For students who have used a combination of two or more courses to meet a graduation requirement (such as two CTE or community college courses for the fourth math), or who fall under a previous graduation plan such as College Tech Prep (a very small number of students), PowerSchool will identify the students as not eligible to graduate. These students will have to be manually checked to verify completion of the necessary requirements. PowerSchool will evaluate students for completion of UNC MARs. ACADEMIC AND DIGITAL LEARNING Tracy S. Weeks, Ph.D., Chief Academic and Digital Learning Officer 6307 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER

2 PowerSchool Graduation Update May 1, 2014 Page 2 PowerSchool will evaluate students CTE Concentrator status. The transcript will indicate No if a student is not a CTE concentrator; you may choose to manually validate/verify these students. If a student has achieved a CTE concentration, PowerSchool will indicate the actual concentration(s) achieved by the student (up to three) using the standard threeor-four letter abbreviation for the concentration (see Attachment 1). PowerSchool will evaluate each student s Math Rigor status. The transcript will show Yes or No for each student, depending upon his or her status. As in the past, Math Rigor status depends upon successful completion of Math III or its equivalent, such as Algebra II. The planned functionality that will NOT be available for is as follows: PowerSchool will NOT evaluate multi-course combinations (i.e., CTE course pairs for the fourth math; see above) against the SBE-required Future Ready Core. This functionality will be available in PowerSchool will NOT evaluate against local graduation requirements above and beyond the SBE-required Future Ready Core. This functionality will be available in PowerSchool will NOT evaluate students against College and/or Career Endorsement requirements. This functionality is planned for to coincide with the legislative requirement for awarding Endorsements. PowerSchool will NOT evaluate against earlier, non-future Ready Core plans of study such as College Tech Prep, College Prep and others. The numbers of current students who entered ninth grade prior to and are subject to these plans statewide is very small. Therefore, PowerSchool will not evaluate students against these plans now or in the future. It will identify these students as not eligible to graduate and they will have to be evaluated manually. Please remember that in all cases, students statuses are not final until marks and credits for spring semester 2014 have been entered. How to address current seniors who are scheduled to graduate in May: Unfortunately, because the PowerSchool report will not be available until mid-may, PowerSchool will not be able to evaluate any students graduating in May against SBE graduation requirements. These are Cooperative Innovative High School students in schools that typically finish in the first or second week of May. To assist in evaluating these students, NC DPI will produce Student Diploma Reports for each Cooperative Innovative High School in the state. These reports, produced from NC WISE, will provide a snapshot of the completed coursework and missing requirements for each senior in the school as of the end of the school year. Using the information from this snapshot, counselors will then be able to review each senior s coursework to verify that the graduation requirements missing at the end of were completed during

3 PowerSchool Graduation Update May 1, 2014 Page 3 The only other option available to these schools is to review each senior s complete transcript in PowerSchool, a task likely to consume significantly more time. We believe the process outlined above will reduce the time and effort needed to verify the graduates in these schools. The Student Diploma Reports will be delivered to the district Testing Coordinator no later than May 1, The reports will arrive as a PDF file that contains information for each 12th and 13th grade student. How to address current seniors scheduled to graduate in June identified by PowerSchool as not having met minimum graduation requirements: For seniors planning to graduate in June, principals and/or counselors must manually evaluate the transcripts of students identified by PowerSchool as not having met Future Ready Core minimum requirements. Many of these students may fall into the category of students using a non-standard math course to meet the fourth math requirement. PowerSchool will provide a diploma override that will allow a student to be graduated based upon a manual evaluation. The override will require documentation (the counselor or principal will be required to identify in writing, for example, that the student used SAS Programming I and SAS Programming II to satisfy the fourth math requirement, or that a non-future Ready Core graduation plan applies to the student). PowerSchool will record an audit trail documenting the override date and the system user who approved the override. Principals and counselors shall NOT override students who do not satisfy SBE minimum graduation requirements; for example, a senior with 20 total credits or a student with only 2 math credits may NOT be graduated using the override function. (All students graduating this year must have earned at least 21 credits and follow the Future Ready Core course of study per SBE policy GCS-N-004; see Attachment 2) If your district has additional graduation requirements beyond those specified in the Future Ready Core, remember that PowerSchool will NOT evaluate against those. The local board of education or their designee may choose to require principals and counselors to evaluate each senior manually to verify local requirements are met or may choose to waive local requirements. This is, as always, a local decision. How to address current seniors scheduled to graduate in June identified by PowerSchool as not having met CTE Concentrator requirements: If PowerSchool identifies a student as not having met CTE Concentration requirements but the student transcript indicates completion of courses necessary for a concentration, the counselor or principal may override the system and indicate the CTE concentration(s) met by the student. When a CTE override is executed, the information will appear on the student s PowerSchool transcript. PowerSchool will record an audit trail documenting the override date and the system user who approved the override.

4 PowerSchool Graduation Update May 1, 2014 Page 4 Next Steps Based upon the expected mid-may availability date of the limited functionality, districts may exercise one of two options for confirming June 2014 graduates: Districts may wait for the scheduled release and use the functionality at that time to evaluate seniors against minimum graduation requirements, or Districts may begin a manual evaluation process of those seniors expected to fall into one of the categories described above or of all seniors, if they choose. Questions Questions regarding this memo should be directed to Dr. Robin McCoy, Director of K-12 Curriculum and Instruction, /robin.mccoy@dpi.nc.gov, or to Rob Hines, Director of LEA Program Support, /rob.hines@dpi.nc.gov. Questions regarding acceptable courses to meet the fourth math requirement should be directed to Dr. Jennifer Curtis, Math Section Chief, at /jennifer.curtis@dpi.nc.gov. Questions regarding the system process for executing an override should be directed to the Home Base Support Center: /dpi.incidents@its.nc.gov. TSW/RBM/rh/rk c: Dr. June St. Clair Atkinson, State Superintendent, NCDPI Dr. Rebecca Garland, Deputy State Superintendent, NCDPI Mr. Philip Price, Chief Financial Officer, NCDPI Mr. Michael Nicolaides, Chief Information Officer, NCDPI Mr. Rob Hines, Director, LEA Program Support Dr. Tammy Howard, Accountability Services Ms. JoAnne Honeycutt, Director, Career and Technical Education Ms. Melissa Conover, Director, Home Base Support Center Dr. Jennifer Curtis, K-12 Mathematics Section Chief Ms. Cynthia Floyd, School Counseling, NCDPI Attachment 1 Career and Technical Education Cluster Codes Attachment 2 SBE Policy GCS-N-004: State Graduation Requirements

5 Attachment 1 Career and Technical Education Cluster Codes AGNR - Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources ARCH - Architecture & Construction AAVC - Arts, AV Technology & Communication BMA - Business Management & Administration FINA - Finance HLTH - Health Science HOSP - Hospitality GOVT - Government & Public Administration EDUC - Education & Training HUMA - Human Services INFO - Information Technology LAW - Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security MANU - Manufacturing MRKT - Marketing STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics TRAN - Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

6 ATTACHMENT 2 SBE POLICY GCS-N-004 NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY MANUAL POLICY IDENTIFICATION PRIORITY: GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE STUDENTS CATEGORY: STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS/GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS POLICY ID NUMBER: GCS-N-004 POLICY TITLE: 16 NCAC 6D.0503 STATE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS CURRENT POLICY DATE: 08/08/2013 OTHER HISTORICAL INFORMATION: PREVIOUS BOARD DATES: 12/01/1999, 05/04/2000, 06/01/2000, 07/12/2001, 10/04/2001, 03/07/2002, 05/02/2002, 07/11/2002, 06/03/2004, 01/06/2005, 10/06/2005, 05/03/2007,09/11/2008,06/04/2009,10/07/2010,12/02/2010, 10/06/2011, 04/05/2012, 07/11/2012, 10/04/2012 STATUTORY REFERENCE: GS 115C-12(9B); GS 115C-81(B)(4); NC CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE IX, SECTION 5 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT (APA) REFERENCE NUMBER AND CATEGORY: 16 NCAC 6D.0503 *** BEGIN POLICY *** (DO NOT TAMPER WITH THIS LINE) THIS POLICY HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY THE NC STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, BUT IS STILL PENDING CODIFICATION IN THE NC ADMINISTRATIVE CODE. ALL CODIFIED RULES MAY BE ACCESSED BY GOING TO THE OAH WEBSITE. The year a student enters grade nine for the first time determines the graduation course requirements the student must meet. I. FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 9 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN and or In order to graduate and receive a high school diploma, students entering grade nine for the first time in and or shall pass as defined in State Board of Education Policy GCS-L-004 (High School Transcript) the Future-Ready Core course of study, meet proficiency standards defined in State Board of Education Policy GCS-N-003. Note: The Occupational Course of Study is available for those students with disabilities who are specifically identified for this program.

7 FUTURE-READY CORE COURSE OF STUDY. (21 credits) Students entering ninth grade for the first time in and or and are following the Future- Ready Core must pass the following courses: 1. 4 sequential English credits which shall be: a. Starting with English I b. English II c. English III d. English IV (Effective with the 10 th grade class of , Early College High School students shall either complete the English I-IV courses referenced above or shall complete the courses described below: English I English II English III and IV shall be satisfied by the following combination of four courses: English 111 (Expository Writing); Either 112 (Argument-Based Research), 113 (Literature-Based Research), or 114 (Professional Research and Reporting); and Either English 231: American Literature I (literature to the Civil War) English 232: American Literature II (literature from the Civil War to modern day) English 233: Major American Writers; English 234: Modern American Poets; and Either English 241: British Literature I (literature to the Romantic Period) English242: British Literature II (literature from the Romantic Period to modern day), and English 243: Major British Writers 2. 4 Mathematics credits which shall be either: a. Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and a fourth mathematics course to be aligned with the student s post high school plans or b. Integrated Mathematics I, II, and III and a fourth mathematics course to be aligned with the student s post high school plans Note: Students seeking to complete minimum application requirements for UNC universities must successfully complete four mathematics courses which include a mathematics course with either Algebra II or Integrated Mathematics III as a pre-requisite. Note: In the rare instance a principal exempts a student from the Future- Ready Core mathematics sequence, except as limited by N.C.G.S. 115C-81(b), the student will be required to pass: i. Algebra I and Geometry plus either AlternativeMathematics I and Alternative Mathematics II or two application-based mathematics courses as determined by the LEA or

8 ii. iii. Algebra I and Algebra II plus either Alternative Mathematics I and Alternative Mathematics II or two application-based mathematics courses as determined by the LEA or Integrated Mathematics I and Integrated Mathematics II plus either Alternative Mathematics I and Alternative Mathematics II or two other application-based mathematics courses as determined by the LEA Science credits which shall be: a. a physical science course b. Biology c. an earth/environmental science course 4. 3 Social Studies credits which shall be: a. Civics and Economics b. US History c. World History Note: Effective with students entering the ninth grade for the first time in , World History must be taken to meet the requirements of World Studies Health and Physical Education credit a. Students are required to successfully complete CPR instruction to meet Healthful Living Essential Standards as a requirement for high school graduation by the school year. b. Accommodations/alternative assessments for students identified by ADA or IDEA will be provided Elective credits of any combination from either: a. Career and Technical Education (CTE) or b. Arts Education or c. World Language (Credits in the same second language or demonstration of proficiency in a language other than English as determined by the LEA. Minimum application requirements for UNC universities require students to pass two years of a world language.) Note: For clarification, possible elective combinations may include 2 World Language credits; or 1 CTE credit and 1 Arts Education credit; or 2 CTE credits; or 1 Arts Education credit and 1 World Language credit; or other (combinations from a., b. and c.) Elective credits (four-course concentration recommended) from one of the following: a. Career and Technical Education (CTE) b. ROTC c. Arts Education (e.g., dance, music, theater arts, visual arts)

9 d. Any other subject area or cross-disciplinary courses (e.g., mathematics, science, social studies, English and courses e.g., dual enrollment, Huskins or Learn and Earn.) II. FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 9 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN and beyond. In order to graduate and receive a high school diploma, students entering grade nine for the first time in and beyond shall pass as defined in State Board of Education Policy GCS-L-004 (High School Transcript) the Future-Ready Core course of study, meet proficiency standards defined in State Board of Education Policy GCS-N-003. Note: The Occupational Course of Study is available for those students with disabilities who are specifically identified for this program. FUTURE-READY CORE COURSE OF STUDY. (22 credits) Students entering ninth grade for the first time in and beyond and are following the Future-Ready Core must pass the following courses: 1. 4 sequential English credits which shall be: a. Starting with English I b. English II c. English III d. English IV 2. 4 Mathematics credits which shall be either: a. Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and a fourth mathematics course to be aligned with the student s post high school plans or b. Integrated Mathematics I, II, and III and a fourth mathematics course to be aligned with the student s post high school plans Note: Students seeking to complete minimum application requirements for UNC universities must successfully complete four mathematics courses which include a mathematics course with either Algebra II or Integrated Mathematics III as a pre-requisite. Note: In the rare instance a principal exempts a student from the Future- Ready Core mathematics sequence, except as limited by N.C.G.S. 115C- 81(b), the student will be required to pass: i. Algebra I and Geometry plus either Alternate Mathematics I and Alternate Mathematics II or two application-based mathematics courses as determined by the LEA or ii. Integrated Mathematics I and Integrated Mathematics II plus either Alternate Mathematics I and AlternateMathematics II or two other application-based mathematics courses as determined by the LEA Science credits which shall be: a. a physical science course b. Biology c. an earth/environmental science course

10 4. 4 Social Studies credits which shall be: a. Civics and Economics b. American History I: The Founding Principles American History II OR AP US History and One additional social studies course (elective) Note: Effective with students entering the ninth grade for the first time in and beyond, American History I: The Founding Principles and American History II courses must be taken to meet the requirements for graduation. Students may substitute AP US History for American I and American History II, but they are then required to take a fourth social studies course. c. World History 5. 1 Health and Physical Education credit a. Students are required to successfully complete CPR instruction to meet Healthful Living Essential Standards as a requirement for high school graduation by the school year. b. Accommodations/alternative assessments for students identified by ADA or IDEA will be provided Elective credits of any combination from either: a. Career and Technical Education (CTE) or b. Arts Education or c. World Language (Credits in the same second language or demonstration of proficiency in a language other than English as determined by the LEA. Minimum application requirements for UNC universities require students to pass two years of a world language) Note: For clarification, possible elective combinations may include 2 World Language credits; or 1 CTE credit and 1 Arts Education credit; or 2 CTE credits; or 1 Arts Education credit and 1 World Language credit; or other (combinations from a., b. and c.) Elective credits (four-course concentration recommended) from one of the following: a. Career and Technical Education (CTE) b. ROTC c. Arts Education (e.g., dance, music, theater arts, visual arts) d. Any other subject area or cross-disciplinary courses (e.g., mathematics, science, social studies, English and courses e.g., dual enrollment, Huskins or Learn and Earn.)

11 III. FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 9 FOR THE FIRST TIME PRIOR TO In order to graduate and receive a high school diploma, students entering grade nine for the first time prior to the school year shall select and pass as defined in State Board of Education Policy GCS-L-004 (High School Transcript) one of the four courses of study (i.e., College/University Preparation, College Technical Preparation, Career Preparation, or Occupational), and meet proficiency standards defined in State Board of Education policy GCS-N-003, and meet local school board requirements. A. COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY PREPARATION COURSE OF STUDY. (For students entering ninth grade for the first time prior to ) Students following the College/University Preparation course of study must pass the following 20 credits plus any local requirements: 1. English credits which shall be: a. English I b. English II c. English III d. English IV 2. Mathematics credits depend on the year the student entered grade 9: a. Students entering the ninth grade for the first time in and beyond must pass 4 Mathematics credits which shall be either: i. Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and a higher level mathematics course for which Algebra II is a prerequisite or ii. Integrated Mathematics I, II, and III and one course beyond Integrated Mathematics III. b. Students entering the ninth grade for the first time prior to must pass 3 Mathematics credits which shall be either: i. Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II or a higher level mathematics course for which Algebra II is a prerequisite or ii. Integrated Mathematics I, II, and III Science credits which shall be: a. a physical science course b. Biology c. an earth/environmental science course 4. 3 Social Studies credits which shall be: a. Civics and Economics b. US History c. World History Note: Effective with students entering the ninth grade for the first time in , World History must be taken to meet the requirements of World Studies Health and Physical Education credit

12 6. 2 credits in the same world language or demonstration of proficiency in a language other than English as determined by the LEA. 7. Elective credits depend on the year the student entered grade nine: a. Students entering the ninth grade for the first time in and beyond must pass 3 elective credits b. Students entering the ninth grade for the first time prior to must pass 4 elective credits B. COLLEGE TECHNICAL PREPARATION COURSE OF STUDY. (For students entering ninth grade for the first time prior to ) Students following the College Technical Preparation course of study must pass the following 20 credits plus any local requirements: 1. 4 English credits which shall be: a. English I b. English II c. English III d. English IV 2. 3 Mathematics credits which shall be one of the following: a. Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II or b. Algebra I, Technical Mathematics I and II or c. Integrated Mathematics I, II, and III. Note: A student who is pursuing this course of study may also meet the requirements of a College/University course of study by passing one additional mathematics course for which Algebra II or Integrated Mathematics III is a prerequisite, and effective with the class entering the ninth grade for the first time in the school year, two credits in the same second language Science credits which shall be: a. a physical science course b. Biology c. an earth/environmental science course 4. 3 Social Studies credits which shall be: a. Civics and Economics b. US History c. World History Note: Effective with students entering the ninth grade for the first time in , World History must be taken to meet the requirements of World Studies. 5. World Language is not required. Note: A student who is pursuing this course of study may also meet the requirements of a college/university course of study by passing one additional mathematics course for which Algebra II is a prerequisite, and

13 effective with the class entering the ninth grade for the first time in the school year, two credits in the same world language Health and Physical Education credit 7. 4 Career/Technical Education credits which shall be in a career concentration or pathway that leads to a specific career field and which shall include a secondlevel (advanced) course elective credits Note: A student who is pursuing this course of study may also meet the requirements of a College/University course of study by passing one additional mathematics course for which Algebra II is a prerequisite, and effective with the class entering the ninth grade for the first time in the school year, two credits in the same second language. C. CAREER PREPARATION COURSE OF STUDY. (For students entering 9th grade for the first time prior to ) Students following the Career Preparation course of study must pass the following 20 credits plus any local requirements: 1. 4 English credits which shall be: a. English I b. English II c. English III d. English IV 2. 3 Mathematics credits, one of which shall be Algebra I (except as limited by G.S. 115C-81(b)); Note: This requirement may be met with Integrated Mathematics I and II when accompanied with the Algebra I end-of-course (EOC) science credits which shall be: a. a physical science course b. Biology c. an earth/environmental science course 4. 3 Social Studies credits which shall be: a. Civics and Economics b. US History c. World History Note: Effective with students entering the ninth grade for the first time in , World History must be taken to meet the requirements of World Studies Health and Physical Education credit

14 6. 2 elective credits 7. 4 credits in Career/Technical Education, which shall be in a career concentration or pathway that leads to a specific career field and which shall include a second-level (advanced) course; or 4 credits in one of the four disciplines in arts education (e.g., theatre, music, visual arts, or dance) or 4 credits in ROTC; IV. Eligible students entering ninth grade for the first time in and beyond may follow the Occupational Course of Study. Students following the Occupational Course of Study must pass the following 22 credits plus any local requirements: 1. 4 English credits which shall be: a. Occupational Course of Study English I b. Occupational Course of Study English II c. Occupational Course of Study English III d. Occupational Course of Study English IV 2. 3 Mathematics credits which shall be: a. Occupational Course of Study Introduction to Mathematics b. Occupational Course of Study Algebra I (Math A) c. Occupational Course of Study Financial Management 3. 2 Science credits which shall be: a. Occupational Course of Study Applied Science b. Occupational Course of Study Biology 4. 2 Social Studies credits which shall be: a. Social Studies I: Government/U.S. History b. Social Studies II: Self-Advocacy/Problem Solving 5. 1 Health and Physical Education credit 6. 6 Occupational Preparation Education credits, which shall be Occupational Preparation I, II, III, and IV (i.e, completion of 300 hours of school-based training, 240 hours of community-based training, and 360 hours of paid employment or 360 hours of unpaid vocational training, unpaid internship, paid employment at community rehabilitation facilities, and volunteer and/or community services hours to be approved until the unemployment rate reaches 6% or less) Career/Technical Education Elective credits 8. A career portfolio 9. Completion of the student s IEP objectives History Note: Authority G.S. 115C-12(9b); 115C-81(b)(4); N.C. Constitution, Article IX, Sec. 5; Eff. December 1, 1999;Amended Eff. January 2, 2006; April 1, 2005; September 1, 2002; December 1, 2001; December 1, 2000.

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