DHS Academic Requirements

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION

All students, in order to graduate from Darien High School, must acquire a minimum of 21 academic credits as shown in the Credit Distribution Requirements listed in Sections II, III, and IV below. In addition, they must meet the Performance Standards Requirements for Reading, Writing, and Mathematics, as explained in Section V.

Any student who has not met the requirements for graduation may not participate in the graduation ceremony.

*Credit earned in any course requires a final course grade of 60 or greater.

TRANSFER OF CREDITS

A parent who seeks to have academic credits transferred to Darien High School from some other educational program or school must know that Darien High School might not recognize credits for work done outside of the Darien High School program. In order for Darien High School to accept transfer credit for any student enrolling or re-enrolling at Darien High School, including from home schooling, an official transcript from an accredited secondary school or program must be provided that clearly identifies courses and credits awarded by the school, as well as the date when those credits were awarded. Also, Darien High School reserves the right to make the sole determination as to which credits, if any, it will accept for transfer credit. The parent must take heed of these requirements if there is any possibility that in the future the child will enroll or re-enroll at Darien High School and seek academic credit for any or all of a program conducted elsewhere.

It is the parent’s responsibility to ascertain in advance that the school or program providing school instruction is accredited as defined in the Administrative Regulations for this policy. Further, if a parent has the intention to seek a Darien High School diploma for his/her child, it is also the parent’s responsibility to know of the current graduation requirements of the Darien Board of Education and to monitor the child’s program in relation to those requirements. In any event, a Darien High School diploma is awarded only to those students who have fulfilled the graduation requirements, including attendance, as set forth by the Darien Board of Education in Policy HL5.

A copy of the full Administrative Regulations governing this policy can be obtained from the Guidance Office.

ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENT

Students, to be eligible to receive a Darien High School diploma and participate in the graduation ceremony, must have been fully enrolled and meet the attendance requirements of Darien High School for the full and final semester before graduation. This requirement may be waived for seniors whose families moved to Darien after the start of the final semester. Exceptions to this policy may be made by the Superintendent of Schools after reviewing each case with the high school administration.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS

A. The Reading and Writing Performance Standard Criteria

As evidence of meeting the Reading and Writing Performance Standard Criteria, students will read and respond to a literary text in individual, literal, critical, and evaluative ways. They will edit their writing using standard English conventions. While academic courses are designed to prepare students to meet these expectations, attaining the Reading and Writing Performance Standard Credit requires students to demonstrate, under specific conditions, that they can both read and understand a literary work and respond to it by producing a focused, organized, adequately supported essay that meets standard English conventions.

B. Mathematics Performance Standard Criteria

As evidence of meeting the Mathematics Performance Standard Criteria, the student must show proficiency in the following mathematical areas: problem solving and reasoning; communicating; and computing and estimating. These skills should be attained in the four content areas: algebraic functions and variables; geometric measurement and shape manipulation; statistics; and probability and data analysis. Much of the assessment focuses on generalized abilities and an integrated understanding of key mathematical concepts drawn from everyday experiences.

Legal References: Ct. General Statutes, Section 10-221 and Section 10-223b
Prior Policy Approvals: HL5 Approved October 23, 1979
HL5.1 Approved October 9, 1984
Approved by the Board of Education on: September 24, 2002

CREDITS

The following are the policies on awarding credits toward graduation:

1. One full credit is equivalent to one Carnegie Unit.

One Carnegie unit is equivalent to 120 hours of seat time (in-class instruction).

One credit is awarded for the successful completion of a course which meets full time for a year. Half credit is given for a one-semester course which meets full time. Courses which meet every other day for a semester are given a quarter credit. Courses which meet every other day for a quarter (e.g., Physical Education) earn one sixteenth credit.

High school credit begins to accrue with the successful completion of high school level courses taken in high school. High school level or college level courses taken prior to enrollment in high school will, if pertinent, be included on the student's transcript and may be used to satisfy prerequisites to courses offered at DHS or at post-high school institutions, but they will not be used in computing credit toward a DHS diploma.

Courses are offered on a quarterly or one-semester basis and credits are earned on that basis. Some courses are complete after one quarter, some after one semester, and others for two semesters. Even in cumulative subjects such as foreign languages and mathematics, “final” grades are awarded at the end of each semester. These are determined by the average of the two quarter grades and the final exam grade.

The passing grade in all courses is D- (60) or CR (credit).