Memo Text
The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) is pleased to remind students, parents, and educators that the state has approved weighted courses that may replace students’ math and science graduation credits.
These courses were reviewed by an internal team at ADE’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and Division of Career and Technical Education (DCTE) and include career and technical courses and newly adopted computer science and computing courses.
ADE requests that school leaders make these options available to their students and educators communicate the benefits, which may include:
- These capstone courses are designed to increase specialization in the content area to better prepare students for careers and/or post-secondary education
- Students with grade point averages (GPAs) above 4.0 that earn an A in these courses, will enjoy continued boosts to their overall GPAs since they are based on a 5.0 scale
- Weighted courses are available as options for many DCTE programs of study and better prepare students for industry-recognized certifications
- For some of these courses, students may be awarded a math, science, or career focus credit that meets state graduation requirements
- Many of these courses allow students to have additional opportunities for enhanced hands-on projects and activities
The current list of courses approved for weighted credit, and licensure codes required for instruction, is available on the ADE Course Code Management System (https://adedata.arkansas.gov/ccms/CourseList) and at http://bit.ly/ARWeightedCredit.