•  
  Home
• State
  Requirements
  State Graduation Requirements State Ed. Code Requirements State Academic Standards Nondiscrimination Patriotism Flag of the U.S.
• District
  Requirements
  General District Requirements SDUSD High School Graduation Requirements Subject and Course Requirements UC/CSU Sample Course Sequence
• Courses and
  Assessment
  Classification of Courses Assessment of Student Achievement
•  
  Miscellaneous
  Diploma with Academic Distinction WASC Self-study Process Common Core State Standards

Classification of Courses, Grades 6–12

Credit Courses

Most courses in grades 6–12 are designated as one-credit or two-credit courses. In addition, some secondary courses may be designated 0.33-, 0.50- or 0.66-credit courses.

1. A one-credit course is a course that is complete in itself and for which one credit may usually be earned for one semester of work without reference to any other course. A one-credit course is designated by a single number following the course title (e.g., Principles of Economics 1 (P), Government 1 (P)).
2. There are two types of two-credit courses: two-semester courses and year courses:
1. A two-semester course is one in which the second semester’s work follows in logical sequence the learning involved in the first semester, but is not necessarily dependent on it. Credit shall be allowed for either semester of a two-semester course without reference to the completion of the other semester. If either semester of a two-semester course is failed, that semester must be repeated in order to receive credit for it. A two-semester course is designated in this document by two numbers separated by a comma following the course title (e.g., English 1,2 (P)).
2. A year course is one in which the second semester’s work is dependent on the learning involved in the first semester. If a student fails the first semester of a year course but passes the second, credit shall be allowed for both semesters and a passing mark of D shall replace the original first semester mark. If the student passes the first semester but fails the second, credit shall be allowed for the first semester only. A year course is designated in this document by two numbers separated by a hyphen following the course title (e.g., Spanish 1-2 (P)).
3. In addition, some courses may be taken in double periods or blocks, offering two credits for one semester of work. For example, Video Production 1-2 (8385) and Video Production 3-4 (8386) make a two-semester, double-period course that earns four credits in a school year (two per semester).
4. Some courses designated as one-semester courses may also be taught in six-, nine-, or 12-week periods as part of semester-long "wheel" courses that include other subject matter. Music 7th–8th, for example, is listed as a one-semester course that earns one credit. Music 7th–8th also may be taught in a six-, nine-, or 12-week portion of an 18-week (one-semester) wheel course. The six-week portion would earn 0.33 credit, the nine-week portion would earn 0.50 credit and the 12-week portion would earn 0.66 credit. Six-week versions of courses are indicated by an X (5001X); nine-week versions of courses are indicated by a Q (5001Q); 12-week versions of courses are indicated by a Z (5001Z). The majority of courses that may be taught as part of one-semester wheel courses are middle-level (grades 6–8) courses.

Special Education Course Credit

Special education courses may be one-semester, two-semester, year-long, or multisemester courses. Depending on their disabilities, students may require, and may be given, more than a school year to complete ’year’ or two-semester course requirements or meet course standards.

College Preparatory and Honors Courses

District courses that satisfy specific subject-area admission requirements to the University of California or the California State University system (i.e., UC a–g courses) are designated with (P) for college preparatory or (HP) for honors preparatory. Diagrams of course sequence, included in the introductions to subject-area course descriptions, indicate which courses in that subject area qualify. In addition, the (P) and (HP) designations as well as specifics about which UC a–g requirement a course meets are found in the individual course descriptions.