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New State Graduation Requirement Coming in 2012

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Ninth grade students and parents take note. A new state-mandated high school graduation requirement, including an Algebra I "End of Course" (EOC) examination, is coming to a high school near you in Polk County Public Schools (PCPS).

Beginning this school year with first time ninth grade students and middle school students taking Algebra I or Algebra I Honors, all students in Florida public schools will be required to successfully pass the Algebra I EOC exam in order to be eligible for a standard high school diploma. The Algebra I EOC assessment will be given in May 2012 for students taking Algebra I or Algebra I Honors this school year.

In addition to classroom instruction, PCPS created new web-based study tutorials and web-based instructional videos. These virtual training aids will be updated periodically to include videos for second semester Algebra I benchmarks.

To help ensure parents and students are informed and prepared, the PCPS Community Relations Department is producing informational videos to be aired on Polk County School Board Television (PCSBTV), and the PCPS Information Services Division is reaching out to parents with critical information through the district's Parent Portal. The Parent Portal offers in-depth information about student progress and provides links to online training materials that can help students learn, practice and reinforce classroom lessons.

PCPS administrators are asking students, teachers, and parents to allow students as much time as possible to prepare for this EOC exam. The bottom line is, students who don't pass the Algebra I EOC cannot graduate from high school, even if all of the classroom requirements of the course are met. If a student does not pass the exam on the first try, the student will be able to re-take the exam the following school year during specific testing days.

All students who are first-time ninth graders this year and beyond will be required to score at Achievement Level 3, 4, or 5 on the Algebra 1 EOC Assessment, regardless of grades earned while in the class, in order to receive credit for Algebra 1 and meet this new graduation requirement. Students who take Algebra 1 in middle school must also score at Achievement Level 3, 4, or 5 on the Algebra 1 EOC Assessment, regardless of grades earned while in the class, in order to receive high school credit for the Algebra 1 graduation requirement.