Promotion & Retention Policy

K-8 Promotion and Retention

K-8 promotion and retention is determined by multiple data points including but not limited to: content grades, NWEA MAP assessments, Interim Assessments, Reading Assessment, Write Score Assessments, i-Ready tests, Final Exams, and Milestones scores or a replacement for Milestones should the state test be suspended or waived. A historical perspective is also considered. Note: The Milestones results are more heavily weighted as this is our only teacher proctored assessment. Parents are provided an opportunity to appeal all retention decisions. See the GCA Promotion and Retention Policy.

High School Grade Level Assignment/Placement

Grade level placement is based on the total number of credits the student has earned. Students must earn the number of required credits prior to the start of the school year. Mid-year grade level changes are not permitted.

Promotion Requirements
Grade Level	Credits Needed for Placement
10th	5 – 10.5
11th	11 – 16.5
12th	17 or more

Georgia Cyber Academy Graduation Requirements

Students are required to complete 23 Total Credit Hours:

• 4 units of English/Language Arts (a full unit of American Literature and Ninth Grade Literature and Composition are required)
• 4 units of Math (Math 1 or GPS Algebra 1, Math II or GPS Geometry and Math III or GPS Advanced Algebra shall be required, the fourth unit of math must be chosen from the list of GPS/CCGPS/AP or dual enrollment courses)
• 4 units of Science (a full unit of Biology; one of Physical Science or Physics; one unit of either Chemistry, Earth Systems or Environmental Science and one additional science unit are required)
• 3 units of Social Studies (a full unit of United States History; one unit of World History; ½ unit of American Government/Civics and ½ unit of Economics are required)
• 3 units of CTAE/World Language/Fine Arts: A total of 3 units shall be required. If a student plans to attend a 4 year college/university the student should take 2 consecutive years of the same World Language
• 4 units of elective credits
  • ½ unit of Personal Fitness
  • ½ unit of Health

 

 

Honors Graduate Requirements

• Summa Cum Laude: Graduates who have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 4.0 or better and have at least two units of Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment credits.
• Magna Cum Laude: Graduates who have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 - 3.99 and have at least two units of Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment credits.
• Cum Laude: Graduates who have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 - 3.74.
• Valedictorian is the Summa Cum Laude graduate who has the highest GPA
• Salutatorian is the Summa Cum Laude who has the second highest GP

*2nd semester senior grades excluded from calculations.

I. DEFINITIONS

Accelerated Instruction – challenging instructional activities that are intensely focused on student academic deficiencies in reading, mathematics, science and/or social studies. This accelerated instruction is designed to enable a student who has not achieved grade level, as defined by the Accountability Division of the Georgia Department of Education, to meet grade-level standards in a compacted period of time.

Additional Instruction – academic instruction, beyond regularly scheduled academic classes, that is designed to bring students not performing on grade level, as defined by the Accountability Division of the Georgia Department of Education, to grade level performance. It may include more instructional time allocated during the school day, instruction before or after the school day, Saturday instruction, and/or summer or other inter-session instruction.

Differentiated Instruction – instructional strategies designed to meet individual student learning needs. Grade Level Achievement – standard of performance, as defined by the Accountability Division of the Georgia Department of Education, on the state adopted assessment(s).

Placement – the assignment of a student to a specific grade level based on the determination that such placement will most likely provide the student with instruction and other services needed to succeed and progress to the next higher level of academic achievement.

Promotion – the assignment of a student to a higher grade level based on the student’s achievement of established criteria in the current grade.

Retention – the re-assignment of a student to the current grade level during the next school year.

State Adopted Assessment – an assessment in any subject required by the state of Georgia to be administered to students.

II. PROMOTION, PLACEMENT, AND RETENTION REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADES KINDERGARTEN through GRADE 8

1. Students shall be tested in accordance with requirements specified in State Board Rule 160-3-1.07 Testing Programs – Student Assessment.

2. The school principal or designee shall annually notify parent(s)/guardian(s) that promotion, placement, or retention of a student into a grade, class, or program will be based on the student’s performance on the state adopted assessments, the academic achievement of the student, and the GCA promotion, placement and retention criteria set forth in this policy.

3. Placement decisions will be made on an individual basis by the student’s principal based upon the criteria set forth in this policy. If a student is retained, written documentation of evidence supporting the decision will be on file in the student’s permanent record.

4. The student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) shall be notified of the promotion, placement or retention decision within 10 days after the decision has been made.

5. Students who spend more than one year in any grade will be provided accelerated instruction, additional instruction, or differentiated instruction.

III. GCA PROMOTION, PLACEMENT AND RETENTION CRITERIA

Kindergarten:

1. Readiness level as established by the results of the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS).

2. Readiness level as established by the results of the approved district reading assessment(s) and approved district mathematics assessment(s) which are available at the time the retention, promotion or placement decision is being made.

3. Teacher recommendation for promotion, placement or retention.

Grades 1 - 2:

1. Readiness level as established by the results of the approved district reading assessment(s) and approved district mathematics assessment(s) which are available at the time the retention, promotion or placement decision is being made.

2. Readiness level as established on the student report card.

3. Teacher recommendation for promotion, placement or retention.

Grades 3 - 5:

1. Readiness level as established by the results of the appropriate state adopted assessment(s) in the areas of reading, mathematics, science and/or social studies which are available at the time the retention, promotion or placement decision is being made.

2. Readiness level as indicated on the student report card.

3. Readiness level as established by the results of any approved district reading, mathematics, science and/or social studies assessment(s) which are available at the time the retention, promotion or placement decision is being made.

4. Teacher recommendation for promotion, placement or retention.

Grades 6 - 8:

1. Grade level achievement as established by the results of the appropriate state adopted assessment(s) in the areas of reading, mathematics, science and/or social studies which are available at the time the retention, promotion or placement decision is being made.

2. Passing 3 of 4 academic classes and 66% or more of all connections classes taken during the school year.

3. Readiness level as established by the results of any approved district reading, mathematics, science and/or social studies assessment(s) which are available at the time the retention, promotion or placement decision is being made.

4. Teacher recommendation for promotion, placement or retention.

IV. APPEALS OF PLACEMENT, PROMOTION AND RETENTION DECISIONS GRADES KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 8

In the event a parent of a student in Kindergarten through Grade 8 disagrees with a placement, promotion or retention decision by the student’s principal (the “Placement Decision”) and wishes to appeal such decision, the parent must notify the student’s principal in writing of their appeal of the Placement Decision within 10 days of receiving written notice of the Placement Decision or all rights of appeal of the Placement Decision shall be waived and the Placement Decision shall be final.

In the event a timely appeal of a Placement Decision is made by a parent of a student, a Placement Review Team consisting of the parent(s) of the student, a counselor or the family support liaison for the student, and the school principal or designee shall be convened to reconsider the Placement Decision of the student. The Placement Review Team shall consider all the retention, placement and promotion criteria as set forth in this policy and such other relevant information as the parents and other members of the Placement Review Team wish to share with the Placement Review Team. The initial Placement Decision (regardless of whether the initial decision was a decision of placement, retention or promotion) shall not be changed by the Placement Review Team unless the Placement Review Team unanimously agrees to the change in placement, retention or promotion of the student. The decision of the Placement Review Team shall be given to the parents in writing within 10 days of the date of the decision of the Placement Review Team.

In the event any member of the Placement Review Team disagrees with the decision of the Placement Review Team and wishes to appeal such decision, the person desiring to appeal the decision of the Placement Review Team must notify the Head of School in writing of their appeal of the decision of the Placement Review Team within 10 days of receiving written notice of the decision of the Placement Review Team or all rights of appeal of the decision of the Placement Review Team shall be waived and the decision of the Placement Review Team shall be final. The person submitting the appeal must submit a statement of all reasons and supporting documentation as to why they disagree with the decision of the Placement Review Team at the time of submitting their appeal of the decision of the Placement Review Team. The Head of School (or designee appointed by the Head of School) shall review the written documentation that is timely submitted by the person making the appeal along with records of the District relating to the decision of placement, promotion or retention without the requirement of any additional hearing or meeting. The Head of School (or designee) shall issue a written decision either affirming or modifying the placement, promotion or retention based upon their review of the record. The decision of the Head of School (or designee) shall be final.

V. REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADES 9 —12

Students in high school progress toward graduation on a course by course basis. Students shall take courses based upon academic performance, academic needs, graduation requirements and previous credits earned.

Students shall stay intact with their entering class for courses related to their freshman year. Assignments beyond the freshman year will be determined by the number of credits earned by the student. That is, a student will remain a freshman until such time that he/she earns 5 credits to be considered a Sophomore, 11 credits to be considered a Junior and 17 credits to be considered a Senior.

UNITS OF CREDIT

All state-supported high schools shall make available to all students the required areas of study. A course shall count only once for satisfying any unit of credit requirement for graduation. A total of 23 units are required to meet graduation requirements. See the following chart:

AREAS OF STUDY	Units Required
(I) English/Language Arts	4
(II) Mathematics	4
(III) Science (The 4th science unit may be used to meet both the science and an elective requirement.)	4
(IV) Social Sciences	3
(V) CTAE and/or Modern Language/Latin and/or Fine Arts	3
(VI) Health and Physical Education	1
(VII) Electives	4
TOTAL UNITS (MINIMUM)	23

 

VI. COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND OTHER APPLICABLE LAWS AND RULES

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in policy, in compliance with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), and its implementing rules and regulations, all decisions regarding the provision of a free, appropriate, public education to students served under IDEA, including but not limited to decisions regarding placement, promotion and retention shall be made by the child’s IEP team in accordance with the provisions of IDEA, and the decision of the IEP team shall be final. Also notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in policy, in the event a child is served under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) and its implementing rules and regulations, if a parent disagrees with a promotion, placement or retention decision, the child’s Section 504 team shall convene to determine whether the District will be providing a free appropriate public education to the child as required by Section 504 if the promotion, placement or retention decision is implemented, and the Section 504 team may make such modifications to the promotion, placement or retention decision to the extent the Section 504 team determines that such changes to the promotion, placement or retention of the child are required in order to provide a free appropriate public education to the child pursuant to the requirements of Section 504. For purposes of this policy, the Section 504 team shall be the Placement Review Team for students served under Section 504, all decisions made by the Section 504 team shall be made in a manner consistent with Section 504, and the decision of the Section 504 team shall be final.

GCA chooses to exercise the flexibility given to it under O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-2065 with respect to promotion, retention and placement of its students to the greatest extent permitted by law and in accordance with the terms of this policy; however, to the extent that any laws, rules or regulations cannot be waived or are otherwise required by law to apply to GCA notwithstanding the flexibility give under O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-2065 or are applicable under GCA’s Charter, Bylaws or other governing documents (collectively “Non-Waivable Laws and Rules”), all such Non-Waivable Laws and Rules shall be fully complied with by GCA, notwithstanding any other terms of this policy to the contrary.

Legal citations:

• O.C.G.A. 20-02-282 Academic Placement and Promotion Policy
• O.C.G.A. 20-02-2065 Applicability of title, etc. to charter schools; waiver; requirements with respect to operation, control, and management
• 29 U.S.C. Section 794 Nondiscrimination under Federal grants and programs
• 34 C.F.R. 104.33 Free appropriate public education
• 20 U.S.C. Section 1412 State Eligibility
• 34 C.F.R. 300.101 Free appropriate public education (FAPE)