How to Determine Credits

Minimum of 22 Credits are required to graduate with an HLA diploma.

 

 

 

Reporting Early Credits Taken in 8th Grade

Some advanced 8th graders may be taking one or two high school level courses while taking their remaining courses on the 8th-grade level. 

  • Your student would be listed as an 8th grader in Applecore.
  • Middle school level courses will be reported as normal K-8th courses. 
  • To report a high school course taken during the 8th grade, check the “Credit Courses” box to access the list of high school courses. 
  • High school courses are issued credits. Courses for grades K-8 are not. 
  • Make sure you title the course according to the proper high school title such as Algebra 1 (not General Math).
  • A one-year course = 1 credit. A half-year course = .5 credit. 
  • Early credit should be limited to the following areas of study: Math (Algebra 1 or above), Science, World History, Geography, and/or Foreign Language. Max 3 credits.

 

 

  • These are full year courses (such as Algebra 1, English, Biology, Chemistry).
  • Each course is worth 1 credit upon completion of the standard textbook.
  • When a standard textbook is not used, hours will be used to determine credits.
  • Example, approx. 150 hours of study equals 1 credit for courses like Music, PE, and other courses that do not use a standardized textbook determining course content.
  • A one year course would be given partial credit (.5) each semester totaling 1 credit upon completion. 
  •  A 1 credit course using standardized curriculum is worth one credit upon completion of the material. Even if the student can do the work in less time or takes longer.
  • If a student takes longer to complete the course, issue partial credit (.5) for the first half of the course.  The remaining .5 credit is given when the course is completed.
  • .25 credit/semester can be given if more time is needed until a course is completed.

  • These are one-semester courses (such as Health and Personal Finance).
  • Each is approx. 75 hours of study.
  • A one-semester course would be given .5 credits upon completion of the course.
  • .25 credit is given per semester if the student works all year on the course.
  • Note: Since one credit is approx. 150 hours of study, or about 50 min. per day, we do not recommend giving more than 8 credits per year. That’s approx. 7 – 8 hrs. of study time per day.
  • Note: It is not necessary, however, to do the course in 50-minute increments, nor do you have to keep a log of the hours.

  • If the course was failed prior to enrolling with HLA, HLA cannot make the first course disappear – we cannot tamper with another school’s transcript because if the student returns to that school, the courses need to be the same as what the school has on file.
  • Both courses will appear on the student’s transcript. The transcript will show that the student failed the course and then took the course again and received credit.
  • In order for a credit recovery course to replace the failed course, both courses must be taken at the same school – most all schools have this policy.
  • Keep in mind that one failed course will not significantly lower a student’s GPA. College admission and scholarships are based mainly on students’ ACT/SAT scores.

For information about reporting special courses such as AP, dual enrollment, honors, and CLEP click here.