Ohio Department of Education State Board of Education

Senate Bill 311 (the Ohio Core legislation) raised the graduation requirements for high school students, with the goal of increasing the number of students who are ready to meet the demands of our global and technological age. It included among its provisions a requirement that by March 31, 2009, the State Board of Education adopt a plan that enables “students to earn units of high school credit based on a demonstration of subject area competency, instead of or in combination with completing hours of classroom instruction.” School districts, community schools and chartered nonpublic schools “shall comply” with the provisions of the plan, phasing in its provisions during the 2009-10 school year.

Plan and related documents

• Credit Flexibility Overview PowerPoint (June 2010)
• Credit Flexibility Plan/Report pdf (31 pages) 
• Executive Summaries:   2 page pdf  4 page pdf    
                        
• Checklist for local board policy development - updated 9/24/09 pdf (1 page) Note: local boards are required to adopt a provision in accordance with the plan by the start of the 2010-11 school year.        
• Ohio's current provisions allowing for flexibility pdf summary (1 page) 
• Presentation (ppt) 
                  
• Credit Flexibility Fee Flowchart

Ohio's plan for credit flexibility is designed to broaden the scope of curricular options available to students, increase the depth of study possible for a particular subject, and allow tailoring of learning time and/or conditions. These are ways in which aspects of learning can be customized around more of students' interests and needs.

Students may earn credits by:

• Completing coursework;
• Testing out of or demonstrating mastery of course content; or
• Pursuing one or more “educational options” (e.g., distance learning, educational travel, independent study, an internship, music, arts, after-school/tutorial program, community service or other engagement projects and sports).

Credit flexibility is intended to motivate and increase student learning by allowing:

• Access to more learning resources, especially real-world experiences
• Customization around individual student needs
• Use of multiple measures of learning, especially those where students demonstrate what they know and can do, apply the learning, or document performance  

Resources

• Credit Flexibility Web Conference Series
• Credit Flexibility Guidance Documents
• Credit Flexibility Case Studies
• Credit Flexibility Video Stories

Documents related to the plan development process 

• Stakeholder Engagement Meetings summary report, March 2009
• Survey Results for Proposed Credit Flex Plan (March 4, 2009)
• Bibliography of selected research to inform Credit Flexibility
• Pamphlet                    
• PowerPoint presentation Ohio's Proposed Plan for Credit Flexibility (presented to the State Board of Education Jan. 12, 2009)                  
• Hear members of the design team discuss the benefits of Credit Flexibility (.WMV video format):
  • Melissa Cropper - President, Georgetown, Ohio Federation of Teachers
  • Mark Hartman - Battelle for Kids, former Principal of Plain Local SD 
  • Bob Sommers - Former Superintendent, Butler Technology and Career Development Schools  

                  
Contact Information - Click here for ODE Credit Flexibility contact list, or call toll-free (877) 644-6338 and ask to speak to someone about high school credit flexibility.

What do you think about the plan? Take the survey.