Edmonds School District No. 15
Lynnwood, WA 98036-5789
 

7511-R1 - PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING EQUIVALENCY CREDIT

Adopted
10/23/07

 

I. THE EQUIVALENCY COMMITTEE

  1. The Equivalency Committee will consist of the Director of Secondary Education, Director of Career and Technical Education, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, a building administrator, a lead school counselor, a core academic teacher, a Career and Technical Education teacher, and curriculum coordinators from the Teaching and Learning department
  2. The Equivalency Committee shall be responsible for evaluating and determining equivalencies for Career and Technical Education and core academic courses, and annually publishing a district list of approved equivalencies.

II. THE DISTRICT APPROVED EQUIVALENCY LIST

  1. The Equivalency Committee will annually review and publish a district list of approved core academic and Career and Technical Education equivalencies which may be used to satisfy Edmonds School District graduation requirements. This list will be published and made available to the high schools for inclusion in their course catalogs no later than December 10 of each school year.
  2. Updates to the District Approved Equivalency list will be made in accordance with the Criteria and Procedures outlined below.
  3. Deletions of course equivalencies from the equivalency list will apply only to the following year's freshman and sophomore students. Students who will be juniors and seniors the year following publishing of the deletions will be allowed to finish high school under previously published equivalencies.
  4. Additions of courses equivalencies from the equivalency list will apply to all students for the following school year.

III. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING AND DETERMINING COURSE EQUIVALENCIES

The following criteria will be used to evaluate and determine course equivalencies for core academic and Career and Technical Education courses:

A. Equivalency within a core academic area

  1. Core academic areas include Visual and Performing Arts, English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Health and Fitness
    1. Visual Arts courses include and are not limited to sculpting, ceramics, glass, painting, calligraphy, drawing/sketching, photography, film, video, TV, animation, holography, graphic design, and printmaking.
    2. Performing Arts courses include and are not limited to music, opera, dance, theatre, film, mime, comedy, puppets, and performed poetry.
    3. Courses in economics, sociology, civics, political science, international relations, or related courses with an emphasis on current world problems may be accepted as equivalencies for contemporary world history, geography, and global issues.
  2. A course seeking equivalency with a core academic course must demonstrate alignment with the Essential Academic Learning Requirements and Grade Level Expectations taught and assessed within the core academic course for which the equivalency is sought.
  3. Alignment must be demonstrated through the Curriculum Map/Framework and Assessments of the course seeking the equivalency.

B. Equivalency within Career and Technical Education:

  1. A course seeking equivalency with an approved Career and Technical Education course* must demonstrate alignment with the following:
    1. Contextual application of Essential Academic Learning Requirements and Grade Level Expectations within the approved Career and Technical Education course for which the equivalency is being sought.
    2. Foundational and occupational industry skills taught and assessed within the approved Career and Technical Education course for which the equivalency is being sought.
    3. CTE Core Leadership and Employability skills taught and assessed within the approved Career and Technical Education course for which the equivalency is being sought.
    4. Depth of Career Exploration and Exposure within the approved Career and Technical Education course for which the equivalency is being sought.

    *An approved Career and Technical Education course is one for which there is an existing CIP Code registered and approved with the Office of Superintendent for Public Instruction Career and Technical Education office.

  2. Alignment must be demonstrated through the Curriculum Map/Framework and Assessments of the course seeking the equivalency.

IV. PROCESS FOR EVALUATING AND DETERMINING COURSE EQUIVALENCIES

The following process will be used to evaluate and determine course equivalencies for core academic and Career and Technical Education courses:

A. Initiating an Equivalency Evaluation

  1. A teacher or department may initiate a course equivalency request for review by the district equivalency committee by submitting a proposal form and curriculum map/framework for the course seeking the equivalency to the Teaching and Learning department.
  2. The equivalency committee may initiate a review of an existing course equivalency by requesting a copy of the curriculum map/framework for the course in question.

B. Initial Equivalency Evaluation based on Curriculum Map/Framework

  1. Requests for equivalency will be evaluated initially by the evaluation committee based on the content of the Curriculum Map/Framework for the course seeking an equivalency.
  2. Course Curriculum Maps/Frameworks will be reviewed according to the criteria for evaluating and determining an equivalency for a core academic or Career and Technical Education course.
  3. The initial evaluation of a course Curriculum Map/Framework will yield one of three results:
    1. The Curriculum Framework is determined to be Meeting Initial Standard for Equivalency , and the course will undergo a second evaluation by the equivalency committee based on the Assessments for the course; or
    2. The Curriculum Framework is determined to be Approaching Initial Standard for Equivalency , and opportunity is provided for the course Curriculum Map/Framework to be corrected to address minor gaps and be resubmitted to the committee at a later date; or
    3. The Curriculum Framework is determined to be Far Below Standard for Equivalency and feedback is given regarding gaps and areas of deficit. If the course is currently on the district approved equivalency list, it will be removed for the next publishing of the list.

C. Secondary Equivalency Evaluation based on Course Assessments

  1. A course which is determined to be “Meeting Initial Standard for Equivalency” based on an evaluation of its Curriculum Framework/Map will qualify for a second level of evaluation by the evaluation committee. This second evaluation will be based on review of the assessments for the course.
  2. Assessments will be reviewed according to the criteria for evaluating and determining an equivalency for a core academic or Career and Technical Education course.
  3. The secondary evaluation of a course's assessments will yield one of three results:
    1. The course assessments are determined to be Meeting Standard for Equivalency . In this case, 1:1 or 1:.5 equivalency credits will be granted and will be reflected on the next publishing of the district approved equivalency list; or
    2. The course assessments are determined to be Approaching Standard for Equivalency , and opportunity is provided for the course Assessments to be corrected to address minor gaps and be resubmitted to the committee at a later date; or
    3. The course assessments are determined to be Far Below Standard for Equivalency , and feedback is given regarding gaps and areas of deficit. If this course is currently on the district approved list, it will be removed for the next publishing of the list.

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