World Language Credit Earned in Middle School
According to Michigan Legislation “the board of a school district or board of directors of a public school academy shall not award a high school diploma to a pupil unless the pupil has successfully completed during K to 12 at least 2 credits that are grade-appropriate in a language other than English.”
The law states that part or all of the World Language credit can be completed during their K-8 year as long as the program follows the Michigan World Language Standards and Benchmarks.
MGLVA’s interpretation of the state law:
Any high school credit earned must be part of an official record/transcript that clearly states credit was earned or the language requirement was met. It is the responsibility of the student/learning coach to provide such documentation; otherwise, students will need to complete 2 World Language credits during his/her high school years.
The law states that part or all of the World Language credit can be completed during their K-8 year as long as the program follows the Michigan World Language Standards and Benchmarks.
MGLVA’s interpretation of the state law:
- If a student earns a letter grade and high school credit for a World Language during K-8, that letter grade and credit will be added to their high school transcript towards their completion of World Language credits OR;
- If a student earns a CR (credit) for a World Language during K-8, that credit will be added to their high school transcript as CR only. The credit earned will go towards their completion of World Language credits OR;
- If a student passes a World Language class during middle school but no credit is awarded, MGLVA will document that part or all of the world language requirement was met. The student will still be responsible for earning at least 22 total credits and meet Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) requirements in order to be eligible for graduation.
Any high school credit earned must be part of an official record/transcript that clearly states credit was earned or the language requirement was met. It is the responsibility of the student/learning coach to provide such documentation; otherwise, students will need to complete 2 World Language credits during his/her high school years.
World Language Credit Earned at a Different High School
Any credit earned through a World Language class at a different high school will be entered as earned. However, placement in World Language classes at MGLVA will be adjusted to reflect our harder classes.
An example:
A student takes and passes Spanish 1 A and Spanish 1 B at their previous high school and earn 1 credit for that class. When the student enrolls at MGLVA, they will be placed in Spanish 1 B where they can earn their second credit needed for graduation.
Another example:
A student takes and passes French 1 and French 2 at their previous high school and earn a total of 2 credits for the classes. If the student wishes to continue taking French classes at MGLVA, they will be placed in French 2 A where they can earn a third credit of World Language.
An example:
A student takes and passes Spanish 1 A and Spanish 1 B at their previous high school and earn 1 credit for that class. When the student enrolls at MGLVA, they will be placed in Spanish 1 B where they can earn their second credit needed for graduation.
Another example:
A student takes and passes French 1 and French 2 at their previous high school and earn a total of 2 credits for the classes. If the student wishes to continue taking French classes at MGLVA, they will be placed in French 2 A where they can earn a third credit of World Language.
World Language Credit earned in a Language MGLVA does Not Offer
MGLVA accepts World Language credit in all languages that meet the standards and benchmarks. However, MGLVA only offers two classes: French and Spanish.
If a student earns less than 1 credit in a World Language not offered at MGLVA, they will need to start their World Language credits over again in a class MGLVA offers.
If a student earns more than 1 credit but less than 2 credits in a World Language not offered at MGLVA, the remaining credit will need to be earned through an art class.
If a student earns less than 1 credit in a World Language not offered at MGLVA, they will need to start their World Language credits over again in a class MGLVA offers.
If a student earns more than 1 credit but less than 2 credits in a World Language not offered at MGLVA, the remaining credit will need to be earned through an art class.