Graduation requirements -- how to interpret "20 credits" "15 credits" "5 credits" etc. -- NJ & other states

[provenance61]

I'm in NJ and having difficulty interpreting our graduation requirements.  When I was in school (many years ago and in another state) requirements were "1 year of", "4 years of", etc. \

But our state requirements include:

 

20 credits (including English I-IV)

At least 3.75 credits per year in physical education, health & safety during each year of enrollment, distributed as 150 minutes per week

15 credits of math (including Algebra 1, Geometry)

15 credits of science

15 credits of social studies  (including Modern World History/
geography, U.S. History I & II)

5 credits of world languages

5 credits of 21st century life & careers

2.5 credits of financial, economic and entrepreneurial literacy

5 credits visual and performing arts

15 credits of electives

for total of 120 credits

 

So...could someone help me please translate this into years of study?  I mean, it seemed clear at first with 20 credits of English, divided by 4 years, 5 credit hours for each year.

Math too.  But then 5 credits of foreign languages?  How would you divide that into years?  Etc.  Is this just set up for a public school system which has to calculate how many times a week a class would meet?  How do you do this as a homeschooler?

 

Thank you for any help here!

 

[RootAnn]

Sounds like a year of study = 5 credits.

4 years of English

a total of 3 years of PE, health & safety (with the 150 minutes/week division)

3 years each of math, science, social studies

1 year of world language

1 year of 21st century life & careers

1 semester of financial, economic, & entrepreneurial literacy

1 year of visual & performing arts

3 years of electives (or 6 semester-long classes)

 

Total of 24 "traditional" credits. (The math isn't right if you add all those up, but 120/5 =24. Six credits per year.)

That's my interpretation.

Edited September 1, 2017 by RootAnn

[Wheres Toto]

This is our local high school's requirements.  I'm in NJ.   Science has extra credits due to labs.    So, 4 years of English, 1 year of World and 2 years of US History, 1/2 year of Economics, 3 years of Math, 3 years of lab science, 1 year of language, 1 year of practical arts, 1 year of fine/performing arts.

 

20 Credits of English - 5 credits each year

5 Credits of World History

10 Credits of United States History

2.5 Economics

15 Credits of Mathematics

18 Credits of Science

5 Credits of World Language

5 Credits of Practical Arts (Home Ec., Drafting & Design, Computer Science)

5 Credits Fine/Performing Arts (Art, Band, Chorus, Guitar)

Physical Education each year of enrollment

Driver Education, Health and Safety

Satisfactory completion of NJ Testing Requirement

[regentrude]

Look like 5 credits per year. Since they go to school five days a week, I interpret this as 1 hour per week for an entire school year = 1 credit.

Courses that are 1 hour daily for a year = 5 credits.

5 credits of foreign language would translate into "1 year of foreign language" 

[MarkT]

Look like 5 credits per year. Since they go to school five days a week, I interpret this as 1 hour per week for an entire school year = 1 credit.

Courses that are 1 hour daily for a year = 5 credits.

5 credits of foreign language would translate into "1 year of foreign language" 

these support above except 1 hour each day per typical course is probably too long.

 

"3.75 credits in health, safety and physical education during each year of enrollment, distributed as 150  minutes per week, as required by N.J.S.A. 18A:35-5, 7 and 8."

 

"

MATHEMATICS

15 credits including algebra I and geometry or the content equivalent* and a third year of math that builds on the concepts and skills of algebra and geometry and prepares students for college and 21st century careers

"

http://www.state.nj.us/education/genfo/faq/faq_homeschool.htm

http://www.nj.gov/education/aps/option2.htm

 

 

of future interest for home schoolers:

http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/parents/GradReq.pdf

[regentrude]

these support above except 1 hour each day per typical course is probably too long.

 

Then lets call it "period" or whatever the school does. 50 minutes. Or some do shorter. (OTOH, they have homework, so class time does not clearly translate to a homeschool)

[Wheres Toto]

 

 

of future interest for home schoolers:

http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/parents/GradReq.pdf

 

Why of interest to homeschoolers?  We don't have to meet any of those requirements, unless there's something I haven't heard about?

[MarkT]

Why of interest to homeschoolers?  We don't have to meet any of those requirements, unless there's something I haven't heard about?

I am not in NJ

from the OP I thought NJ homeschoolers had to follow the state reqs

maybe someone from NJ could "help" the OP 

 

 

updated my other post

[Wheres Toto]

I am not in NJ

from the OP I thought NJ homeschoolers had to follow the state reqs

 

updated my post

 

That's a relief, I thought maybe I missed hearing about something.   :thumbup1:   I have one starting 7th grade so I'm starting to get a little obsessive about high school.

 

Right now, we don't have any requirements in NJ - no testing, no portfolio, no notification.  

[Lori D.]

In case it helps, I'm copying-pasting the pertinent part of my response on your related thread of "Progression of Social Studies/Civics/Government vs. US History" thread. BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

__________________________

...it looks like in NJ, homeschoolers do NOT have credit requirements for high school graduation, NOR do homeschoolers have to use the credit list, curriculum, or the schedule used by public schools...

Your list of NJ requirements:
20 credits (including English I-IV)
15 credits = Health & PE (3.75 credits x 4 years, as 150 minutes per week each year, which = 30 min. 5 days/week)
15 credits = Math (including Algebra 1, Geometry)
15 credits = Science
15 credits = Social Studies  (including Modern World History/Geography, U.S. History I & II)
5 credits = World Languages
5 credits = 21st century Life & Careers
2.5 credits = Financial, Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy
5 credits = Visual and Performing Arts
15 credits = Electives
120 = total credits (when I add up this list, I only come up with 112.5 credits total -- so, I guess it is implied that another 7.5 NJ credits (1.5 years) is additional academic courses/electives to fill in that gap...)

NJ diploma credit min. ----> translated into more traditional credits 
20 credits = LA Literacy  ----> 4 credits (4 years) = English
15 credits = Math ------------> 3 credits (3 years) = Math
15 credits = Science ---------> 3 credits (3 years) = Science
15 credits = Social Studies --> 3 credits (3 years) = Social Studies
5 credits = World Lang. ------> 1 credit (1 year) = Foreign Lang.
5 credits = Life & Careers ---> 1 credit (1 year) = Career Exploration
2.5 credits = Financial/Econ -> 0.5 credit (1 semester) = Personal Finance & Econ
15 credits* Health/PE --------> 3 credits (spread out over 4 years) = Health & PE
5 credits = Visual/Perf. Arts --> 1 credit (1 year) = Fine Arts
5 credits = Career-Tech ------> 1 credit (1 year) = Career-Tech (Computer, Vocational-Tech, Career Exploration)
15 credits = Electives --------> 3 credits (3 year) = Electives (credits beyond the above requirements) 
[7.5 credits to cover gap] ----> 1.5 credits (1.5 years) = additional academic classes/electives
120 credits total ------------> 25 credits total
* = as 3.75 credits/year, which equals 0.75 credit or 3 nine-week quarters per year

That's a good amount of credits, it's just some of the requirements are a little light on the academic credits needed to be college prep (meet admission requirements for a majority of colleges). Below is a pretty standard "college prep" amount of credits. I've marked in red where colleges want more than the NJ requirements, and marked in blue where NJ requirements that are not needed for college admissions could be placed:

4 credits = English (typically 1/2 Lit. & 1/2 Writing)
4 credits = Math (Alg. 1, Geometry, Alg. 2, + a 4th higher math with Alg. 2 as the pre-requisite)
3-4 credits = Science, with labs (a few colleges want Biology & Chemistry, most have no preference)
3-4 credits = Social Studies (most colleges want 1 credit = Amer. History; some also want either 1 credit = World History or World Geography, or 0.5 credit each of Gov't & Econ)
2-4 credits = Foreign Language (same language)
1 credit = Fine Arts
4-8+ credits = Electives (Computer, Logic, Health, PE, Bible/Religious studies, Personal Finance, Vocational-Tech, Career Exploration, personal interest areas, "Academic Electives" (additional credits in the first 5 subjects above, beyond required); additional credits of Fine Arts, etc.)
22-28+ credits = total

Edited September 24, 2018 by Lori D.

[MarkT]

Rutgers U (NJ) has different specific criteria (see Lori D post) depending on the major:

https://admissions.newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/applying/high-school-course-requirements

[provenance61]

Thank you, this is very helpful.  I'm still digesting some of the details.

 

As far as following public school requirements -- I was under the impression that we had to give an "equivalent" education.  Possibly not the same requirements, but I was planning to use the requirements as a starting point.  Also, I'm concerned about the PARCC tests (for those in NJ who know about these).  Right now they are not required for HS diploma but I'm concerned about this possibility in the future.  If so, I'd like to make sure DS has the coursework to do these tests.

 

And thanks for the reminder about colleges having different requirements -- someone above just posted about Rutgers.  That was helpful especially because they translated into academic credits, which was easier to understand! 

 

Where do we start if we don't know yet where DS will be attending?  Just start looking at requirements and majors and make sure we build on the minimums?  That's what I'd think.  I do know he's interested in science careers.

 

Which brings to mind one other question.  If the science credits are larger b/c of labs...do other Homeschoolers list labs separately on the transcript?  For instand, we're doing biology at home but a lab through co-op (some overlap but most of the labs at co-op).  Would this reinforce that we are doing labs with him?

 

 

[deerforest]

I graduated from hs in NJ 30 years ago and still have my old course schedules in my scrapbook. I just looked and even back then they counted 5 credits for a 5-day per week class. We had a standard set of 6 academic classes plus phys ed/health every year. So, that was 35 credits in their system. We didn't have any partial credit courses or semester classes classes then either. This explains why I've been struggling to understand how to count hs classes for DD! 1 credit per day apparently made more sense to my brain based on my history.

[Lori D.]

On 9/3/2017 at 7:25 AM, MarkT said:

Rutgers U (NJ) has different specific criteria (see Lori D post) depending on the major:

https://admissions.newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/applying/high-school-course-requirements

Thanks, MarkT. ?

Every college has slightly different admission requirements. The list of credits I posted is meant to be a very broad "blanket" in order to cover the vast majority of colleges (except for highly selective, competitive, or top tier schools, which often want more academic credits, plus advanced work such as AP scores).

Since in 12th grade families often find themselves needing up apply to more colleges than they originally thought they might back in 9th grade, I always suggest keeping the doors open to as many options as possible by shooting for the general college prep list of credits, to help prevent a panicked scramble of trying to fit in unexpectedly needed additional credits in the last year of high school. ?

Edited September 24, 2018 by Lori D.

[provenance61]

Deerforest -- my thoughts exactly.  A bit confusing, until I got some help with it.

 

Lori -- your breakdown (general) was great!  This will be a big help.

 

Now I'm starting to think about English, wondering if there's a standard progression for college-bound students. 

[Wheres Toto]

Thank you, this is very helpful.  I'm still digesting some of the details.

 

As far as following public school requirements -- I was under the impression that we had to give an "equivalent" education.  Possibly not the same requirements, but I was planning to use the requirements as a starting point.  Also, I'm concerned about the PARCC tests (for those in NJ who know about these).  Right now they are not required for HS diploma but I'm concerned about this possibility in the future.  If so, I'd like to make sure DS has the coursework to do these tests.

 

And thanks for the reminder about colleges having different requirements -- someone above just posted about Rutgers.  That was helpful especially because they translated into academic credits, which was easier to understand! 

 

Where do we start if we don't know yet where DS will be attending?  Just start looking at requirements and majors and make sure we build on the minimums?  That's what I'd think.  I do know he's interested in science careers.

 

Which brings to mind one other question.  If the science credits are larger b/c of labs...do other Homeschoolers list labs separately on the transcript?  For instand, we're doing biology at home but a lab through co-op (some overlap but most of the labs at co-op).  Would this reinforce that we are doing labs with him?

 

NJ does say you have to provide an "equivalent" education but it's not specifically defined what that means.   Many people take it to mean that they cover the basic skills and content subjects, not necessarily specifically what the schools do.  The burden of proof is also on the state if for some reason they become concerned that you are not providing an education. 

 

I'm not sure why you are concerned about the PARCC, even if it does become required for a state diploma.   It looks like that is one of the options that replaced the HSPA, but none of them are required for homeschoolers.  Are you hoping to get an official state diploma somehow?  

 

I'm not worried about the state upping the requirements for homeschoolers.  At this point, they have enough to worry about with the public schools and unless they were pulled out, most districts probably don't even know about the homeschoolers in their area.

[Lori D.]

On 9/3/2017 at 8:04 AM, provenance61 said:

As far as following public school requirements -- I was under the impression that we had to give an "equivalent" education.  Possibly not the same requirements, but I was planning to use the requirements as a starting point.  

No worries there. I think that by shooting for a college prep set of credits, you will not *just *provide "equivalent" education, but will very easily exceed NJ's minimum requirements. ?
 

On 9/3/2017 at 8:04 AM, provenance61 said:

Also, I'm concerned about the PARCC tests (for those in NJ who know about these).  Right now they are not required for HS diploma but I'm concerned about this possibility in the future.  If so, I'd like to make sure DS has the coursework to do these tests.

I really don't think you need to spend much time or worry about the PARCC tests. The only possible reason you might want to consider prepping for your state test (PARCC) is if it looks like your student will need to stop homeschooling and start at a public or private NJ high school. MUCH more important tests for homeschool high school students are:

- ACT/SAT (used by colleges for admissions and for awarding scholarships)
- SAT Subject Tests (these show student is working at high school level; required by some colleges for admissions)
- possible AP Tests (to show advanced level of work for admission to selective/competitive/top tier colleges)

If your student is using quality materials for your high school courses, not only will your student be fine for these above tests, but will be fine for your PARCC. Prepping for the above tests would also be solid prep for the PARCC. So, no need for concern there. ?

Even if in the very unlikely scenario that in the next few years NJ suddenly moved from being a low-regulation to high-regulation state as far as homeschooling, or if your student suddenly needed to move into a brick-and-mortar high school, there's a very good chance that if you've had your student taking some SAT Subject Tests along the way, that those scores from a national standardized test would smooth any potential issues. ?
 

On 9/3/2017 at 8:04 AM, provenance61 said:

And thanks for the reminder about colleges having different requirements -- someone above just posted about Rutgers.  That was helpful especially because they translated into academic credits, which was easier to understand! 

You'll quickly get it figured out -- NJ just is multiplying by 5, compared to what most other areas do. When looking at college admission requirements for colleges outside of NJ, just *divide* your NJ credit amounts by 5. ?
 

On 9/3/2017 at 8:04 AM, provenance61 said:

Where do we start if we don't know yet where DS will be attending?  Just start looking at requirements and majors and make sure we build on the minimums?  That's what I'd think.  I do know he's interested in science careers.

Which brings to mind one other question.  If the science credits are larger b/c of labs...do other Homeschoolers list labs separately on the transcript?  For instand, we're doing biology at home but a lab through co-op (some overlap but most of the labs at co-op).  Would this reinforce that we are doing labs with him?

Most students have no idea in the first 2-3 years of high school about what university might be a good fit for them, so many people go for the "4x5 plan" for credits, which will more than cover NJ requirements AND meet the majority of college admission requirements. The "4x5 plan" is 4 credits (years) each in the 5 academic areas:

4 credits (years) = English*
4 credits (years) = Math** (Alg. 1, Geom. Alg. 2, Pre-Calc. or other post-Alg. 2 math)
4 credits (years) = Science** (traditional progression is Biology, Chemistry, Physics, + an Advanced science)
4 credits (years) = Social Studies** (US History I, US History II, Modern World History, Govt & Econ -- you Econ could focus on NJ's Financial, Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy)
4 credits (years) = Foreign Language***
1 credit (year) = Fine Arts (Visual/Performing Arts)
5 credits (years) = Electives****
   - 1 credit/year = Career-Tech
   - 1 credit/year = Career Exploration (21st century Life & Careers)
   - 3 credits spread over 4 years = Health & PE
26 credits = total  (that works out to 6 credits in 2 years of high school, and 7 credits in the other 2 years)

* = meets NJ's required 20 credits
** = exceeds NJ's required 15 credits by 5 credits (1 year) -- extra credits are Academic Electives
*** = exceeds NJ's required 5 credits by 15 credits (3 years)-- extra credits are Academic Electives
**** = exceeds NJ's required 15 credits by 10 credits (2 years)-- extra credits are Academic Electives

Ideas for Scheduling:
You could schedule yourselves for 6 credits every year of high school (total of 24 credits), and knock out that last 2 credits as 0.5 credit of Electives each summer as summer school.

Your PE will probably accrue naturally in the afternoons/weekends/summers of whatever physical activities and/or sports your student participates, so that's usually a "freebie" sort of credit.

I am guessing that the 5 credits of NJ mean approximately 5 class meetings per week, with classes meeting between 50 minutes per class, 5x/week -- that would account for the 3.75 credits of Health & PE at 150 minutes/week, which is 50 minutes per class 3x/week) to earn those credits.

Similarly, in other states, a credit usually comes out as 50 min/week 5x/week or 60 min/week 4x/week...

All that to say: another way of working in an additional credit is to run 2 credits as 4x/week, and use that extra time once a week to do your Career Exploration credit (21st century Life & Careers) -- in 2 years of 2 hours on Fridays, you'd have that credit knocked out with no stress. ?
 

On 9/3/2017 at 8:04 AM, provenance61 said:

Which brings to mind one other question.  If the science credits are larger b/c of labs...do other Homeschoolers list labs separately on the transcript?  For instand, we're doing biology at home but a lab through co-op (some overlap but most of the labs at co-op).  Would this reinforce that we are doing labs with him?

No, science labs are NOT counted separately, but are part of the 1 credit (or NJ 5 credit) science course. On your transcript, just label your science class as: "Biology with labs".

(The ONLY time I've seen a lab being counted separately is if the student is taking a college-level Science course as dual enrollment, and it shows up on the college transcript as a separate components for the same class.)

My guess is that your Science Lab co-op will be 1-1.5 hours/week, for 12-16 weeks per semester, or something similar? That's not likely to put you way over on your hours for doing Science for 1 credit.

For "counting hours" towards credit, 180 hours = 1 year (1 credit, or NJ 5 credits). So if you're spending about 3.5-4 hours a week at home on Biology, and then another 1-1.5 hours/week on labs (and then on your non-co-op/lab weeks, spending 4-5 hours at home on Biology), you're right on track for a 1-credit (or NJ 5-credit) Science class.

While completing the textbook or program is one way of tracking credits, another option, esp. if doing a "homegrown" course, is to track hours. That can help you keep your credits roughly equivalent in rigor. In most places, 120 hours is the minimum for 1 credit (1 year) and 180 hours is the maximum for 1 credit (1 year), with 150 hours as the typical average for earning 1 credit (1 year of work).

Just in case it helps for sometime in the future, here's a standard credit hour chart:

credit earned for hours per year:   minimum .average .maximum
1.00 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 . . . 150 . . . 180 hours
0.75 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 . . . 110 . . . 135 hours
0.66 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 . . . 100 . . . 120 hours
0.50 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 . . . . 75 . . . . 90 hours
0.33 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 . . . . 50 . . . . 60 hours
0.25 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 . . . . 35 . . . . 45 hours

And here's what those hours would look like in NJ credits:
credit earned for hours per year:   minimum .average .maximum
5.00 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 . . . 150 . . . 180 hours
3.75 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 . . . 110 . . . 135 hours
3.33 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 . . . 100 . . . 120 hours
2.50 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 . . . . 75 . . . . 90 hours
1.66 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 . . . . 50 . . . . 60 hours
1.25 credit = . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 . . . . 35 . . . . 45 hours

In most cases, you can just roughly shoot for putting in 4-5 hours a week for a 1-year course, and you're right on target. ? BEST of luck as you move in to the administrative aspect of homeschooling high school! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited September 24, 2018 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

On 9/3/2017 at 9:37 AM, provenance61 said:

Now I'm starting to think about English, wondering if there's a standard progression for college-bound students. 

As far as the Literature portion of an English credit, I typically see these as the most frequent progressions:

Traditional Progressions:
9th = Introduction to Literature
10th = Intermediate Literature
11th = American Literature
12th = British or World Literature

OR
9th = Intro to Literature
10th = American Literature
11th = British Literature
12th = World Literature

Classical Model or Great Books study, matching up with the History:
9th = Ancient classics
10th = Medieval classics
11th = Early Modern World classics (with some American classics in the mix)
12th = Modern World classics (with some American classics in the mix)

College-bound booklists, if going the DIY route for English:
College Board: 100 Great Books for College-Bound Readers
Great Schools: 101 Books for College-Bound Kids
Arrowhead Library System: College-Bound Reading List

And here is Literature most commonly-covered in high school:
21 Classics You Probably Read in High School
Literary Pursuit: Top 10 Most-Taught Books in High School

30 Books Most Commonly Covered in High School:
*The Iliad (Homer) and/or The Odyssey (Homer)
*Shakespeare plays (a tragedy and a comedy)
*Pride and Prejudice (Austen)
*Frankenstein (Shelley)
*Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights (Bronte)
*The Scarlet Letter or The House of Seven Gables (Hawthorne)
*a short story by Edgar Allen Poe
*Moby Dick or Billy Budd or Bartleby the Scrivner (Melville)
*Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
*Great Expectations or Tale of Two Cities or David Copperfield or A Christmas Carol (Dickens)
*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Twain)
*Treasure Island (Stevenson)
*The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Stevenson)
*The Red Badge of Courage (Crane)
*Call of the Wild (London)
*All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque)
*The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
*Brave New World (Huxley)
*Animal Farm (Orwell)
*1984 (Orwell)
*Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien)
*Catcher in the Rye (Salinger)
*The Old Man and the Sea or A Farewell to Arms or a short story (Hemingway)
*To Kill A Mockingbird (Lee)
*The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men or The Pearl (Steinbeck)
*The Diary of Anne Frank (Frank)
*Lord of the Flies (Goldman)
*Death of a Salesman (Miller) or other play
*Cry the Beloved Country (Paten) or Things Fall Apart (Achebe)
*Farenheit 451 (Bradbury)

In case it helps, below I've copy-pasted a post of mine from a previous thread, answering the question of what makes an English credit. Warmest regards, Lori

_________________________

Typically, a high school English credit is composed of about 1/2 Composition (Writing Instruction and Assignments) and 1/2 Literature (reading classic literature and literary analysis) -- often a number of the Composition writing assignments "double dip" with the Literature and the student writes about the Literature.

Sometimes Grammar (which is learned for the support of Writing and Foreign Language) is included, as needed/desired.

Sometimes Spelling is included, if needed.

Vocabulary is an optional inclusion, frequently coming from the Literature, or possibly combined with Spelling.

Sometimes a unit, or semester, of Public Speaking or Speech & Debate is included as part of an English credit, as it requires similar thinking, organizing and writing skills as Writing/Composition.

Some typical goals for Literature might include:
- learn/use literary elements for discussion/analysis of Literature
- learn about topics in Literature
- exposure to a variety of types/forms of Literature (novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, plays, essays)
- exposure to a variety of genres of Literature (realistic, epic/adventure, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy, etc.)
- exposure to movements in Literature (Gothic, Romanticism, Naturalism, Magical Realism, etc.)
- familiarity with the most commonly referenced works of literature for cultural literacy
- college prep (read from "college-bound reading lists" for familiarity/foundation for future class discussions and prep for works read in college)

Typically, high school Writing/Composition focuses on essay writing, reader responses to prompts, and research papers with citations. But if you have a student interested in creative writing, then help the student develop the specific interest in poetry, fiction-writing, play-writing. Or, if the student has a specific interest in non-fiction, with journalism or technical writing. Some typical goals for Writing might include:

- writing in the 4 areas of Descriptive, Narrative, Expository, Persuasive
- writing various types of essays (compare/contrast; analysis; process; persuasive; etc.)
- timed essays from a prompt for SAT/ACT test practice
- written responses to discussion/analysis type of questions
- writing science lab report
- writing research papers
- writing for oral presentations or power-point presentations
- exposure to various types of "real life" writing (reports, articles, letters of recommendation/complaint/etc, business types of writing, resumes, etc.)

There are a number of ways of accomplishing the English credit:

Typical Writing Credits
- Composition (the writing process; paragraphs; structure; various types of essays)
- Creative Writing (poetry, fiction, plays, etc.)
- Non-Fiction Writing (also called creative non-fiction: essays, reviews, biographies, speeches, etc.)
- Journalism

Typical Literature Credits
- Intro to Literature
- Lit: focus on type of literature (poetry, or, plays, or, short stories, etc.)
- Lit: focus on a specific genre (ex: Dystopian Lit., or, Gothic Novels)
- Lit: focus on author(s) works (ex: Shakespeare, or, Dickens, or British female 19th century authors, etc.
- Ancient Literature
- Medieval Literature
- Renaissance Literature
- Modern Literature
- American Literature
- British Literature
- World Literature

Topics NOT Counted Towards English Credit
- Logic  (elective credit)
- Web Design (Fine Arts - OR - Elective)
- Drama (Fine Arts credit) 
- Yearbook (extracurricular)

Edited September 24, 2018 by Lori D.