| Extra Help for Students |
| 31 | How can schools utilize the "extra-help" courses (Math Lab, Science Tutorial) to help students master challenging courses? | Recognizing that many students need extra help in order to master challenging courses, the Indiana Department of Education has developed "extra-help" courses in math, English, and science. The extra-help courses may be used to help students master the content of courses required for the Minimum, Core 40, Core 40 with Academic Honors, or Core 40 with Technical Honors diplomas. The courses may be used in many ways including the following two scenarios: 1. Students may take a challenging course and a "help course" during the same semester. For example, a student could take Algebra 2 and Math Lab at the same time. Ideally, the content of the Math Lab course would be coordinated with Algebra 2 and two credits in Math Lab. The credits in Algebra 1 would count toward the math requirements for their diploma while the Math Lab credits would count as elective credits. Note: When extending course content over a two-year period, it is recommended that schools not award two credits in the challenging course in the first year, following by two credits in the extra-help course in the second year. If this were the case, a student's transcipt would give the false impression that she/he had mastered all the content of the challenging course in the first year. | 32 | Can a student who has passed a course retake that course for higher mastery? | Yes. Students may wish to retake a course they have already passed for higher mastery before tackling a more difficult course. For example, a student who received a D- for both semesters of Algebra 1 may choose to repeat Algebra 1 for better mastery prior to continuing in the math sequence. Credits: Regardless of how many times the student repeats Algebra 1, the student may only receive two credits for the course. Grades: While the student may not receive more than two credits for Algebra 1, the awarding of grade associated with those credits is a local decision. Some schools may choose to give one grade based on an average of the two grades, while other schools may choose to award the highest grade earned for each semester. Transcript: The Indiana Transcript Guidelines recommend that all courses taken should appear on a student's transcript. Schools can meet this recommendation by placing both courses on the transcript and indicating that one course was taken for credit while the other course was taken for no credit (audit). Grade Point Average: If audited courses are not considered as "attempted credits," the audited course would not impact the student's GPA. |