620.0G Guidelines for Awarding Credit by Assessment

GUIDELINES FOR AWARDING CREDIT BY ASSESSMENT

While the process of obtaining credit by assessment may be substituted for taking the course, the actual course work and instruction would provide a richer and more complete experience.

The first time credit by assessment is requested for a particular course, the specific requirements for awarding the credit will be established. The same requirements will apply to other students who later request credit for that course.

Process for applying and receiving credit: Grades 9-12

1. The student and/or parent/guardian will discuss the request for Credit by Assessment (CbA) with the school counselor and then complete the application. This process should begin at least eight weeks prior to the start of the term the regular class would be taken. Special circumstances may be taken into consideration for students enrolling into the district after the start of the school year.
2. The student must be currently enrolled in the Anoka-Hennepin School District and continue to maintain full time status in accordance with district policy. Credit will be awarded and recorded on the transcript at the end of the current grade reporting period.
3. At the time the Application for Awarding Credit By Assessment (620.0F) is submitted it is assumed that the student is ready to begin the assessment process. All portions of the assessment must be completed prior to the start of the scheduled course with the exception of special circumstances noted above.
4. Students submitting an Application for Awarding Credit by Assessment will be assigned a teacher proctor, coordinated by the appropriate school counselor. The school counselor will coordinate communication between the student, family, and the teacher proctor.
5. The school counselor will contact the appropriate district personnel in the secondary curriculum office at the ESC once the Application for Awarding Credit by Assessment has been received. School counselors will make sure the Awarding Credit by Assessment form is correctly filled out with the correct name of the course that the student is applying to test out of, signed and dated, before sending to the appropriate district personnel in the secondary curriculum office.
6. When a request is made for an assessment that has not previously been administered, a district designated classroom teacher and at least one other teacher representative in collaboration with the Teaching and Learning Specialist supporting the course will determine the assessment for awarding credit for the course.
7. The design of the assessment used to determine proficiency in a course may vary by course. A predetermined passing rate will be identified for each assessment. If a course transcends multiple grading periods, the courses must be applied for and passed in sequential order before applying to earn credit in subsequent courses. If a student does not meet the passing rate for the part one assessment, the student will not continue on to part two. At the time the assessment is taken, the student may offer a written explanation/clarification in response to a submitted answer or assessment item perceived to be ambiguous.
8. Subsequent portions of the assessment process may be in the same format but may be performance based. For example, the student may be asked to demonstrate skills, answer questions in an interview, exhibit a portfolio of tasks, or be involved in some other performance based assessment.
9. The teacher proctor will administer all assessments. If that assessment contains a performance component or requires the use of special equipment or technology (such as a computer), the school will make the arrangements.
10. A student may attempt to test out only once for each course and may not test out of a course in which a grade or an incomplete was previously earned. Courses which are sequential must complete the Credit by Assessment process in the same sequence. If a course requires a prerequisite, the prerequisite must have been completed or satisfactorily tested out ahead of time. If a student fails to complete the entire assessment process (which includes completing all parts of the defined assessment requirements for a particular course) prior to the start of the initial term of the course, the application will be denied. This does not, however, prevent the student from applying for other courses through the credit by assessment process.
11. If the student completes the credit by assessment process at the expected level of proficiency determined, the student's transcript will show the credit earned and a course grade of “P.” The number of credits earned will be equal to the number of credits assigned to the course. Credit will be awarded and recorded on the transcript at the end of the current grade reporting period.
12. Counselors, students and their parents/guardians will be notified by mail of the results in printed form by the Teaching and Learning Specialist. The original copy of the student's application will be placed in the student's file.

Teacher Responsibility
A teacher that proctors a credit by assessment for a student will work with the curriculum department to offer the district course assessment, score the assessment, and report the results to the student, when applicable, and to the curriculum department.

Proficiency
Course Assessment(s)    80% correct unless otherwise noted WL Assessments    AAPPL guidelines
Performance Tasks    To be determined by the specific departments in conjunction with the Teaching and Learning Specialist and the teacher team who wrote the assessment.