2011-2012 Student Handbook - McKinney Independent School District

The exit-level test, currently required for students in grade 11, covers English language arts, mathematics,science, and social studies and requires knowledge of Algebra I and Geometry; Biology, and IntegratedChemistry and Physics; English III; and early American and United States History, World History, andWorld Geography.Students in grades 10 and 11 during the 2011-2012 school year must pass the exit-level tests to graduate.A student in grade 12 that has not passed the exit-level test will have opportunities to retake it.Also see Standardized Testing for more information.Beginning with students who enter grade 9 in the 2011-2012 school year, EOC assessments will beadministered for the following courses and will replace the exit-level test, as mentioned above: English I,English II, English III, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, World Geography,World History, and United States History. Students graduating under the Minimum Program must takeEOC assessments only for courses in which they are enrolled and for which there is an EOC assessment.Each student will be required to achieve certain scores on the applicable EOC assessments to graduate,depending on the graduation program in which the student is enrolled. A student who has not achievedsufficient scores on the EOC assessments to graduate will have opportunities to retake the assessments.If a student fails to perform satisfactorily on an EOC assessment, the district will provide remediation tothe student in the content area for which the performance standard was not met.Also see Grading Guidelines above and Standardized Testing for more information.Graduation ProgramsThe district offers the graduation programs listed below. All students entering grade 9 are required toenroll in the Recommended Program or Advanced/Distinguished Achievement Program. Permission toenroll in the Minimum Program will be granted only if a written agreement is reached among the student,the student’s parent or person standing in parental relation, and the counselor or appropriate administrator.In order for a student to take courses under the Minimum Program, the student must be at least 16 yearsof age; have completed at least two credits each in English language arts, math, science, and social studiescourses that are required for graduation; or have failed grade 9 one or more times. [See policy EIF(LEGAL).]Effective with ninth graders in the 2011-2012 school year, in addition to the credit and courserequirements for each program, performance on EOC assessments will be inked to a student’s eligiblegraduation program. To graduate, as student must meet a minimum cumulative score set by the TexasEducation Agency (TEA) for each content area: English, mathematics, science, and social studies. Todetermine whether the student meets the cumulative score, the student’s EOC assessment scores in eachcontent area will be added altogether. If the student’s total score on the assessments within the contentarea is not equal to or greater than the cumulative score set by TEA, the student may retake any of theassessments in that content area until the student achieves the cumulative score. A student who does notmake the minimum required score on any individual assessment will be required to retake thatassessment.To graduate on the Recommended Program, a student must perform satisfactorily on the Algebra II andEnglish III EOC assessments, in addition to meeting the cumulative score requirements described above.To graduate on the Advanced/Distinguished Program, a student must demonstrate advanced academicperformance on the Algebra II and English III EOC assessments commonly referred to as college andcareer readiness standards, in addition to successfully meeting performance standards on the other EOCassessments. If this standard is not met, the student will graduate under the Recommended Program,- 27 -