HHS graduation credits have not changed

Editor’s note: A front-page article in the Jan. 23 edition of the Havre Daily News misreported that Havre High School required 24 credits to graduate rather than the actual requirement of 22.5 credits.

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This is something I believe requires clarification. I have been asked now by multiple people including current students of Havre High School whether the graduation requirements have been increased to 24 credits. The number of credits required to graduate from Havre High School has not changed.

The credit requirements for graduation from Havre High School can be found on page six of the Havre High School Handbook. A total of 22.5 semester credits are required to graduate from Havre High School. There has not been discussion by The Havre Board of Trustees, nor has there been a recommendation from the staff of Havre High School to increase the number of credits to 24. Graduation requirements are set forth in the Administrative Rules of Montana 10.55.905 at a minimum of 20 semester credits. Each local school board may then set additional graduation requirements, but must also meet the minimum offerings in each content area. Content requirement variances and unique courses from school district to district can create credit challenges for students and schools. These challenges are not roadblocks to amassing the correct number of total and content credits to meet the graduation requirements of Havre High School.

Over the course of a four-year high school career, a student at Havre High School can register in seven courses per semester. If the student registers for seven courses and receives credit for all seven courses they can earn 3.5 credits per semester. A student who does this eight semesters for four years will have attempted a total of 28 semester credits. A student who enrolls in six semester credit courses and takes a study hall will attempt a total of 3 semester credits each semester. If this student continues this practice for all eight semesters of their four-year career they will have attempted 24 semester credits. The potential to earn additional credits than outlined in either of these two scenarios exists for any student currently enrolled in Havre High School.

Content requirements do have an impact on each of these examples. A student must have 4 credits of English language arts to meet graduation requirements at Havre High School. This means the student must earn credit in eight semester English language arts courses. The State of Montana has the same credit requirements for English language arts.

An often-expressed notion is that the equivalent of four years of English language arts is too much from time to time, especially for a student interested in a technical field. Lexile scores are a standardized and widely accepted measure of the readability of text. The skill or ability to read and comprehend text. Data collected by the International Center for Educational Leadership provided Lexile scores for various entry level occupational reading materials. The Architecture/Construction reading manuals had a Lexile range of 1210-1340. The Agriculture/Natural resources reading materials were at a Lexile range of 1270-1510 (Daggett 2003). A random paragraph sample of our current English 11 reading text had a Lexile score of 1070. The ability to read and comprehend complex text is not a skill that is on the decline, nor is it one that is isolated to academia and fields commonly associated with four year degrees.

Absences impact the outcome of a student’s ability to earn credits and ultimately to graduate. In fact, attendance is one of the major predictors of graduation. Understandably, there are varying opinions regarding attendance and content mastery. I can and will discuss policy, but that is not the question I have attempted to address in this response. There are ample opportunities over the course of eight semesters to accumulate 22.5 credits and receive a diploma. There are scheduling opportunities to recover content specific credits for students. The Havre Board of Trustees is not increasing the credit requirement to 24 credits starting in the 2017-2018 school year.

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Andy Carlson is superintendent of Havre Public Schools.