Students Take Advantage of Course Credit Program

Whether they speak a second language at home, went to science camp over the summer or are not looking forward to relearning math concepts, students in North Carolina public schools have the option to achieve credit for a course through the “Credit by Demonstrated Mastery” program without taking the course in school.

The only requirement for a Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) student wishing to bypass a course is to pass two tests written by administrators. Upon passing the first test, students gain access to the second. If a student passes both tests, they will gain credit for the course and, if it is a graduation requirement, no longer be required to take it in school.

The Credit by Demonstrated Mastery (CDM) program became a statewide requirement for public high schools in 2014. The specific assessments for a student to gain credit vary by district and course, but the reward for passing is the same.

Sophomore Eric Xu has earned credit by demonstrated mastery for both Civics and Economics and English 10 at Chapel Hill.

“I felt the CDM assessments were a good evaluation of what a student’s knowledge should be as if he/she had taken the course,” Xu said.

“I wanted to open up room in my schedule for other classes I may want to take,” Xu said.

Xu filled the two open spaces with AP World History and AP English Language and Composition.

Sophomore Sayali Gove also participated in the CDM program last year.

“I really like this program and would recommend it to anyone who feels they don’t have enough periods to cover all of their interests,” Gove said.

One benefit of the program for students is that there are no penalties for failing either of the tests.

“There is no mark on your transcript if you don’t pass,” Stephen Weber said. Weber is the Executive Director of Curriculum & Instruction & High School Programs at Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

According to statistics provided by Weber the majority of students who applied to the CDM program last year did not pass the phase one assessment.

The Credit by Demonstrated Mastery program will likely have implications for class rank. Students like Xu are now able to take more AP classes than before, giving them an advantage over students who take all of the required courses in the classroom.

“It gave the option of taking harder classes if I wanted to since I filled the prerequisites through the CDM process,” Xu said.

During the program’s first year of availability, 85 students across the district took phase one assessments, with 31 students continuing to the phase two assessment. Credit was awarded to 27 students in total. The most popular course was Civics and Economics, with five students receiving credit. Biology, Math I and Spanish III each had three students.

“We are hoping more [students] apply this year,” Weber said. “Last year it was new, and people were kind of skeptical.”

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