Policy 223 - Program of Study for High School (Grades 9 through 12)
Adopted on July 25, 2024
Effective July 25, 2024
The county shall provide for a curriculum of rigorous and challenging coursework, career-focused experiences, and awareness of postsecondary education and employment to all students in grades 9 through 12. This curriculum shall comply with and exceed the requirements specified by West Virginia state law and West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) policy.
Graduation requirements
As provided in WVBE Policy 2510, the Roane County Board of Education does set as its requirements for high school graduation as those that are required by WVBE Policy 2510 and additional requirements above and beyond those. The number of credits in each content area and courses required are summarized below.
English Language Arts - 4
English 9, English 10, English 11, English 12 or English 12 CR or Transition ELA for Seniors
Mathematics - 4
Algebra I, Geometry, Two additional math courses
Science - 3
Earth and Space Science, Biology, One additional science course
Social Studies - 4
World Studies, United States Studies or United States Studies Comprehensive, Civics, One additional social studies course
Physical Education - 1
Physical Education 9 12
Health - 1
Health 9 12
The Arts - 1
(any arts credit)
Career Preparation - 1
(any career pathway foundational course)
Electives - 4
Elective courses shall be chosen to complement required courses in completion of a student's Personalized Education Plan (PEP).
Personal Finance - 1
Beginning with the freshman class of 2024-25, one credit in Personal Finance.
A required course may be substituted by an appropriate course of higher rigor, such as an Advanced Placement or college-credit-bearing course. The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines to detail which courses may be substituted in this manner and specify which courses may serve as substitutes.
All students who complete the requirements for graduation shall be awarded a diploma indicating their completion of this program of study. A student who has been determined by his/her Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team to be unable to complete these requirements, even with modifications and /or accommodations appropriate to his/her exceptionality(ies), may be awarded a modified diploma.
Alternative means to earn high school credit
Pursuant to WVBE Policy 2510 Section 5.4.g, the Roane County Board of Education offers the following alternative means to earn high school credit:
a. Credit earned prior to 9th grade
Students may earn high school credit prior to 9th grade through the delivery of a course(s) that allow the students to demonstrate mastery of the content standards and objectives of a high school course.
The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines to detail which courses will be offered to students in county schools prior to 9th grade.
b. Embedded credit
If the completion of one course(s) sufficiently allows a student to demonstrate mastery of the content standards and objectives of a second course, then high school credit may be earned for this second course.
The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines to detail which credits may be earned through completion of other credits pursuant to this policy.
c. Dual-credit and other college-credit-bearing courses
Students may earn high school credit through completion of dual-credit and other college-credit bearing courses.
To be considered for dual-credit, a course must be offered as part of the approved program of study at one of the Board's schools with instruction or facilitation provided by a teacher employed by the Board in partnership with an institution of higher education.
A college-credit-bearing course taken outside of the Board's dual-credit program may be substituted for a graduation requirement if and only if there is a corresponding high school course found in the Board's adopted program of study and the standards and objectives required of the corresponding high school course are shown to be met by successful completion of the college course. Such credit shall be placed on a student's transcript and assigned the letter grade equivalent to that found in the Board's Uniform Grading Scale. For the purposes of considering grade point average, a college-credit-bearing course taken outside of the Board's dual-credit program shall be assigned weighted quality points.
In the case of a dual-credit course only, a student may earn high school credit even when college credit is not granted due to administrative reasons, but failure of the college credit due to academic reasons shall also result in failure of the high school credit.
d. Credit recovery
Students who have failed a course required for graduation shall have the opportunity to earn that credit through a rigorous and research-based credit recovery program that focuses on content mastery rather than repeating the time spent in a course.
e. West Virginia Virtual School
If a course(s) is not offered to students in the county or if a student cannot take a course offered due to a scheduling conflict or other administrative reason, then the student may take the course through the West Virginia Virtual School, if available.
The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines to detail under what circumstances the West Virginia Virtual School should be used and how financial, administrative, and other considerations should be addressed.
Uniform grading
In accordance with WVBE Policy 2510, all courses for which a high school credit is earned shall be assigned grades as follows. The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines to detail which courses are to be assigned weighting.
A: 90 - 100, 4 quality points, 5 weighted quality points
B: 80 - 89, 3 quality points, 4 weighted quality points
C: 70 - 79, 2 quality points, 3 weighted quality points
D: 60 - 69, 1 quality points, 2 weighted quality points
F: 0 - 59, 0 quality points, 0 weighted quality points
Honor Roll
School principals may publish a list(s) of students who have achieved academic excellence as measured by grade point average (GPA) at the end of each instructional term and/or year. For the purposes of these recognitions, GPA shall be computed by adding the assigned quality points earned during that instruction term or year for all courses for which the Uniform Grading Scale is applied and dividing that sum by the total number of courses offered on each typical school day or equivalent. Courses that are offered irregularly or on a rotating daily schedule shall be considered proportionally to the time students are actually present in the courses as compared to other regular and/or daily courses.
The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines governing honor roll publication method(s) and frequency and student eligiblity.
Class rank
Students in grades 9 through 12 may be ordered in terms of class rank according to their grade point averages. Students entering the county school system shall not be considered to hold a class rank until completion of two consecutive semesters within the county school system immediately prior to the semester for which a rank is calculated.
For the purposes of calculating class rank, a student's grade point average shall be computed by adding all quality points assigned at the time each credit was earned and dividing by the total number of credits attempted. All courses for which high school credit has been earned to date, including any credits earned outside the county school system or prior to 9th grade, shall be included in this calculation.
If a student earns a high school credit through embedded credit, the quality points assigned to the completed credit(s) shall also be assigned to the embedded credit.
If a student earns a high school credit through a dual-credit course, the quality points assigned shall correspond to the letter grade assigned for the high school credit, which may or may not be the same as the letter grade assigned for the college credit. If a student earns a high school credit through an equivalent college-credit-bearing course that is not considered dual-credit, the quality points assigned shall correspond to the letter grade assigned for the college credit.
If a student earns a high school credit through credit recovery, quality points shall be assigned to that credit according to the grade earned during credit recovery. The credit failed shall still be considered in the calculation of total number of credits attempted.
If a student earns a high school credit through the West Virginia Virtual School, the quality points assigned shall correspond to the letter grade assigned by the instructor of the West Virginia Virtual School course.
Beginning with the graduating class of 2025, students shall be designated as graduates with honors as determined by a classification system proposed by each high school and approved by the school's LSIC.
Graduation ceremonies
Students who complete the requirements for graduation shall be permitted to participate in the appropriate ceremonies unless under disciplinary sanction at the time of such ceremonies.
Those students who are expected to complete these requirements by the end of the current school year may be included in the appropriate ceremonies at the discretion of the school principal.
All students receiving a modified diploma and participating in graduation ceremonies shall be permitted to do so with their cohort.
High School Diploma for Veterans
The Board of Education recognizes the service provided to the country and the individual sacrifices made by veterans of World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam Conflict.
Since many of these veterans left school in order to fight for their country, the Board wishes to recognize their efforts by awarding such persons a high school diploma.
The Board shall cooperate with appropriate state agencies should a qualifying veteran be determined to be eligible for issuance of a Roane County high school diploma under the High School Diploma for Veterans program.
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