When an Honors Class Isn't Really An Honors Class

When a District fails to provide its students with “Honors” classes, the District is depriving students in 9th and 10th grade of the opportunity to show that they have chosen a “Rigorous” class schedule in high school. The only option for CUSD students to show “Rigor” is to take AP/IB and Honors Pre-Calculus (college level classes); classes which are recommended for high performing 11th and 12th grade students.

Taking classes designated as “Honors”, “AP” or “IB” provides students with a bump in their GPA. AP and IB classes are much more difficult than Honors classes because they are nationally recognized college level courses. Providing Honors classes gives a wider range of students the ability to show rigor.

GPA

Grade Point Average (GPA) is based on the number of grade points earned divided by the number of grades. Each grade earned is worth a certain number of points on a 0.0 to a 4.0 scale. The minimum required GPA for California residents to enter a UC or Cal State school is a 3.0.

Calculating GPA For UC or CSU:

The university awards the bonus grade point for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, UC-approved honors courses, and UC transferable college courses in which a grade of C or higher is earned. UC uses all “a-g” courses taken between the summer following 9th grade through the summer following 11th grade in calculating a student’s GPA. In calculating the GPA, UC does not include courses taken in the freshman year, regardless of the level of the course.

In addition, UC calculates a weighted GPA limited to 4 years of honors courses with no more than 2 years of 10th grade honors courses. In other words, for a semester calendar, which many U.S. schools use, 8 semesters of honors points with no more than 4 semesters of honors points from courses completed in the 10th grade.

CUSD did not do the work required to get Honors English I, Honors English II and Honors Algebra 2/Trigonometry approved by UC Doorways.

CUSD needs to be more clear in explaining to the public that the honors classes they are offering this year have not been approved by the UC and will not be recognized by the UC and CalState and the bump in GPA will not be recognized.

Some Private Colleges and Universities may recognize District Created Honors Classes.

Calculating GPA For Entrance into Private Colleges and Universities:

• Include Only academic courses. (Do not use grades from arts, physical education, or religion courses.)
• Most colleges and universities will use a straight 4.0 scale, without considering plus or minus grades.
• There will be no additional weight given for Honors or AP courses.
• There are two ways to calculate a students unweighted grade point average. One uses +/- grades. The other does not.

“Accelerated/Advanced” Classes vs “Honors” Classes

“Accelerated” and “Advanced” classes are not approved by the UC System and are therefore not recognized by the UC system to be any more rigorous than a regular class.

Accelerated/Advanced classes do not provide students with any bump in GPA.
see: http://ucop.edu/agguide/a-g-requirements/honors/index.html
see: http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/

The UC System does not provide any bump in GPA for any classes taken in the 9th grade. The UC System encourages students to take honors classes in 10th and 11th grade and AP/IB Classes in 11th and 12th grade. This is not the case with many Private colleges or educational institutions in California and out of State which do recognize designated “Honors” courses in 9th grade, and would provide a bump in GPA for Honors classes taken in 9th and 10th grade. Therefore, it is an advantage for students to have an opportunity to take honors courses in 9th and 10th grade if they are applying to a college that accepts them.

Lack of Funding Makes Collaboration Difficult

California’s new education funding law removes responsibility for District oversight from both the State office of Education and the County Office of Education and put’s accountability at the District level where parent and community members are suppose to work in collaboration with their local school district to define and implement educational goals. Such collaboration requires great transparency, and will not work when funding is inadequate. Lack of funding pits what is in the best interest of educating students against what is in the economic interest of employees. Until funding is increased- there can be no real collaboration between taxpayers and their local school district. As CUSD has demonstrated time and time again, the economic interest of employees is the priority of this district. Until there is sufficient funding to meet the ever expanding salaries, pensions and benefits of employees, students will never have the funding that is needed to provide them with high quality staff, program expansion and variety, beneficial teacher-pupil ratios and class sizes, modern equipment and materials, and high-quality buildings like their peers in other districts. CUSD students will continue to go without.

For a true collaboration, it is necessary for CUSD to be transparent about curriculum choices so that parents can help provide opportunities for their children when the District refuses to align with National, State and Local curriculum norms.

Lack of Transparency is Depriving CUSD Students of a Quality Education

Capistrano Unified intentionally mislead parents, regarding the implementation of honors classes for the 2015-16 academic year. Parents that relied on the representation that honors classes would be implemented for the 2015-16 academic school year as adopted on May 13, 2015, missed the opportunity to take honors classes over the summer, and therefor have been denied their constitutional right to equal opportunities to achieve an adequate education by being denied the opportunity to take more advanced classes to show rigor on college applications and receive a bump in GPA; making CUSD students less competitive then their peers when applying to future colleges. Such deprivation of a constitutional right is a violation of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution and and is in violation of Article I § 7 of the California Constitution and Article 4 § 16 commonly known as the equal protection of the laws of California’s Constitution.

CUSD students should not continue to be denied an opportunity to achieve their individual academic potential simply because they live within the Capistrano Unified School District Boundaries and attend their local public school.

At the March 25th, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda Item #2 at page 11 “High School Graduation Requirements”, the Board presented a power point on High School Graduation Requirements and discussed changing current Accelerated/Advanced Classes to Honors classes. This was an Information/Discussion Item only- no action was taken.

The full High School Graduation Requirements Presentation can be viewed at:
http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/7879468770227505271.pdf

March 25th, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting - Board Audio: Information/Discussion
http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/3-25-15/03-25-15RegBdMtg.mp3
at 1 hour 55 minutes 13 second to 2 hour 53 minutes 11 seconds

Board Meeting Minutes March 25, 2015:
http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/6411827051601697109.pdf

At the May 13, 2015 Board Meeting Agenda Item #28 Exhibit 29 at page 49 The Board was presented with Course of Study Recommendations for 2015 -16
Source:http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/5374391862597108770.pdf

May 13th, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda Item # 28 Exhibit 28 at page 49
Broadening the Course of Study- New Secondary Courses:
Board Audio: http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/3-25-15/03-25-15RegBdMtg.mp3 at 11 minutes to 11 minutes 19 seconds

• Honors English I

• Honors English II

• Honors Biology

• Honors Chemistry

• Honors World History

• Honors Algebra II

• Honors Algebra 2/Trig
Honors
• Physics


• Other New Proposed Courses include:


• Directed Earth Science

• Civics in Action 

• Photography and Graphic Arts

• ROP Introduction to Architectural Drafting and Design

• ROP Engineering Technology II

• ROP Hotel and Hospitality Careers

• ROP Introduction to Renewable and Sustainable Energies

• ROP Restaurant Management/Entrepreneurship

• ROP Robotics

• Stand Up Paddle

Trustees voted 7- 0 to adopt staff recommendations to broaden the course of study options for the academic year 2015-16.

May 27, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes from May 13, 2015 Board Meeting reported as follows:

There was a June 25, 2015 Special Board Meeting - but Meeting High School Graduation Requirements were not on the agenda as promised to parents.

June 25, 2015 Special Board Meeting - Public Employee Performance Evaluation - Superintendent
http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/7009195978023426664.pdf

June 25, 2015 Board Audio
http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/6-25-15/06-25-15SpecBdMtg.mp3 Report Out
http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/6-25-15/06-25-15SpecBdMtgReportOut.mp3

July 15, 2015 Workshop On High School Graduation Requirements - Clear up Inaccurate data
points.

The Presentation can be viewed at:
http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/4500622160282660727.pdf

Board Meeting Audio
http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/7-15-15/7-15-15%20Board%20Superintendent%20Workshop.mp3
at 9 minutes 30 seconds (Board audio is missing in parts)

Trustees voted to implement a broader course of study for the 2015-16 school year at the March 25, 2015 Board of Trustees meeting which included all the courses listed at the meeting. On July 15, 2015 they voted to rename 3 accelerated classes with no meaningful bump in GPA according to UC.

Every Parent and Taxpayer should listen to the September 9, 2015 Board Meeting Audio at 5 hours 32 minutes

http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/9-9-15/CUSDBoardMeeting9.10.15.mp3 to understand Honors Classes at CUSD.