General Information Academics

Graduation Requirements

District 196 and EHS Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements

To be eligible for graduation, a student must have earned a total of 66 credits (minimum) in grades 9 through 12. It is possible to earn 84 credits during your four years at EHS. Many students accumulate far more than the minimum number of credits during their high school studies. All students are encouraged to select more than the minimum of required courses to take advantage of the broad scope of course offerings available.

There are 7 periods each day in a 12 week trimester. For each course passed, students earn 1 credit. If a student passes 7 courses each trimester, he/she will have earned 21 credits for the year:
7 credits x 3 trimesters = 21 credits earned that year

Note: Some courses meet for more than one class period and are worth more credit. These exceptions are noted in department course descriptions. The number of courses taken each year will depend upon student individual needs and interests. In no instance shall a student be enrolled for fewer than 5 credits each trimester in Grades 11 and 12. Students in Grade 9 and 10 must be enrolled for a minimum of 6 credits each trimester. (Students may enroll in study halls for no credit)

On the following page are the general registration requirements for each grade. For grades 9-12, the minimum graduation requirements include: 26 courses required by title; 17 courses required by department (courses selected by student from specified department's offerings); 23 course electives (courses selected by student from any department's offerings). For complete information about graduation requirements, students must read each department section. In some instances, special exemptions to the general requirements are noted.

Course Requirements

Complete 66 required and elective credits:

English - 4 years (12 credits)
Social Studies- 4 years (12 credits) — including Economics in grade 12
Science - 3 years (9 credits) — including biology and chemistry/physics
Math - 3 years (9 credits)
Health - 2 credits (Issues I and Issues II)
Phy Ed - 4 credits
Safety Ed - 1 credit (Driver’s Training and CPR/AED)
Arts - 1 credit in Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Interior Design, Intro to Graphics & Video, Architecture & Landscaping,
Marketing B-Advertising, Creative Writing

2. Electives - 16 credits (not more than 12 in Music or Work Experience)

In addition to the above:

No more than 12 credits in Music (Band and/or Choir) may be counted towards graduation.
No more than 12 credits in “on-the-job” work programs may be counted towards graduation.
Considering “Early Graduation”?… see your counselor soon to start planning.
Safety Education: Students will receive a waiver if they can document both CPR certification and a Driver’s Permit or waiver and credit if they also complete “Credit by Assessment”. Student may choose to complete this requirement via Community Education at 423-7720.

NOTE: Adjustments to the graduation requirements may be made in response to changes in state and federal laws.

Honors Status at Eagan High School

Honors Status at Eagan High School:

Encourage students to take the most challenging courses they are capable of taking;
Remove the competitive disadvantage with similar high schools across the nation which already have implemented alternative class ranking systems for their Honors/Accelerated/AP students; and
NOT disadvantage students who do not choose Honors/Accelerated/AP courses/College in the Schools.
Research shows that many colleges have already eliminated rank consideration for admission and scholarship consideration. Currently within our district high schools, the average student GPA is often as high as 3.4. Because of this many good students are ranked in the bottom half of their class.

Criteria To qualify for Honors Status

Take at least 24 trimester courses of Honors/Accelerated/AP courses/College in the Schools (CIS) courses throughout grades 9-12. Students must successfully complete a minimum of six (6) trimester courses in each of the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades.
Students must earn a grade of “C” or better for an Honors/Accelerated/AP/CIS course to count toward the total grade level minimums of 24 trimester courses. Grade/Pass option grades will not be counted in this system.

Qualifying Courses
Courses that qualify for Honors Status are identified in the course guide. Typically, all Advanced Placement (AP), College in the Schools Courses (CIS), Honors Labeled, UMTYMP, and Multivariable Calculus qualify.

Eliminating the practice of reporting class rank will allow students to:

Focus on the classes they are taking and the grades in those classes, not how they compare to their peers.
Compete against a standard rather than each other.
Have their individual accomplishments acknowledged by admissions and scholarship committees instead of being compared to their classmates.
Be considered for admissions and scholarships using a subjective, holistic approach.
To be recognized using the honors criteria for Honors Status

How will it work?
Class rank or percentile will only be reported directly to the college/scholarship in the rare event that it must be reported in order for the student to be considered. Other than those unique circumstances, class rank information will not be available to colleges, scholarships, students or families.

How will students be recognized at Graduation time. (Regardless of classes taken)
90^th Percentile: Summa Cum Laude
80^th Percentile: Magna Cum Laude
70^th Percentile: Cum Laude

Honors Status
To qualify for additional Honors Status designation at graduation, student must:

Complete at least 24 trimester courses of Advanced Placement (AP), College in the Schools (CIS) or Honors courses throughout grades 9-12.
Students must successfully complete each course with a grade of C or better. The Grade/Pass
Option of “P” will not count as honors course.

*Students’ official transcripts reflect courses taken and grades earned only. All honors recognition takes place at Graduation.

THE CRITICAL ELEMENTS TO COLLEGE ADMISSION WILL CONTINUE TO BE:
(BEYOND GPA)

The challenging courses taken by the student
College Entrance Examination Scores (students who challenge themselves get higher test scores!)
Co-curricular activity participation
Participation in activities outside of school including service activities
Special talents
College Application/Essay
Letters of Recommendation
Interview
Reputation of a student’s high school (Eagan High School’s reputation is very strong)
Other (cultural and geographical diversity, family alumni, etc.)

ACT Review

Advanced Placement ®

Eagan High School
Advanced Placement ®
"A Standard of Excellence"

EHS Advanced Placement® Philosophy

Eagan High School believes that Advanced Placement courses are college-level classes with college-level academic expectations taught within the high school experience.

"AP challenged my intellect...and allowed me to grow." --11th grade student

Administered nationally by the College Board, AP is a program of college-level courses and exams that gives high school students the opportunity to receive advanced placement and/or credit in college. As schools, students and parents strive for educational excellence, the Advanced Placement Program is steadily growing in popularity. Almost 50 percent of the nation's 21,000 high schools currently offer some college-level AP coursework, and nearly half a million students participate in the AP program each year. AP grades are accepted at 2,900 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada and Europe. The scholarship, excellence and discipline engendered by the AP Program have been widely acknowledged and acclaimed.

Eagan High School offers AP Art History, AP Portfolio, AP World Literature, AP Language and Composition, AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP American Government, AP European History, AP United States History.

AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the College Board. Used with permission.

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