The Michigan School code and the Michigan School Funding Legislation provide for opportunities for students in public schools to move through local high school curricula at an accelerated rate. Those opportunities are colloquially known as "Testing-Out" of course requirements and "Dual Enrollment". As 8^th grade students and their parents begin to explore the options available for high school courses, the following information is provided to assist the exceptional student in making informed choices about his or her future high school program:

Test -Out Provision

Riverview Community High School shall grant the high school credit in any course to a pupil enrolled in high school, but who has exhibited a reasonable level of mastery of the subject matter of the course by attaining a grade of not less than C+ in a final exam in the course, or, if there is no final exam, by exhibiting that mastery through the basic assessment used in the course which may consist of a portfolio, performance, paper, project, or presentation. For the purpose of earning credit under this section, any high school pupil may take the final examination in any course. Credit earned under this section shall be counted toward the fulfillment of a requirement for a subject area course and shall be counted toward the fulfillment of a requirement to a course sequence. Credit earned under this section shall be based on a "pass" grade and shall not be included in a computation of grade point average for any purpose. Credit earned under this section may not be counted toward graduation. Once credit is earned under this section, a pupil may not receive credit thereafter for a course lower in course sequence concerning the same subject area. Upon request course textbooks and course outlines will be provided to students who wish to prepare for the test out opportunity. This notice is provided pursuant to the provision of MCL 380.1279b.

Contact the high school counselors if you are interested in this opportunity.

Dual Enrollment College Classes/Career and Technical Preparation

The State School Aid Act provides an opportunity for high school junior and senior students to attend Michigan degree granting post-secondary institutions for high school/college credits while still enrolled in high school. This provision requires local school districts to pay a portion of the tuition and fees for post-secondary classes if students qualify. The school district receives a foundation allowance for each student from the State of Michigan to pay for the student's education. A portion of that foundation allowance is prorated to pay for the tuition, fees, and books according to a formula provided by the Department of Education. Tuition, fees and book costs in excess of the prorated foundation allowance are the responsibility of the student. Students qualify for dual enrollment or career technical preparation assistance if the following conditions are met:

1. The students have earned sufficient credits to be in grade 11 or 12 and have completed the High School MEAP Test in math, science, reading, writing and    social studies. Students must have earned a diploma endorsement in at least the area in which they plan to take a dual enrollment course. If the course is in an area tested by MEAP, students must have earned the endorsement in that area. If the student has not achieved state endorsement in all subject areas, an eligible course is limited to a course in a subject area for which he or she has achieved state endorsement, or courses in computer science or foreign language not offered by the school district, or a course in fine arts. Eligible courses are also those offered by a career and technical preparation program not offered by the school district. A student is eligible for the career and technical courses if they have achieved state endorsement in mathematics and a qualifying score on a national job skill assessment test or has achieved state endorsement in all tested subject areas. Students who wish to qualify for dual enrollment or career technical preparation during the junior year must take the MEAP test and if necessary a national job skills assessment test during the sophomore year.

2. The students are enrolled in both the local district and the post-secondary institution during the district's regular academic year.

3. The post-secondary courses for which state school aid funds are used must be academic or career technical preparation courses not available in the school district.

4. Students are no longer eligible when all high school graduation requirements have been met.

Credit is granted as ½ credit for a 3-semester hour course. As to academic credit, when the student enrolls, he must designate whether the course credit to be earned will go towards high school credit, post-secondary credit, or both. The eligible student must advise the District and the post-secondary institutions of the designation. If the grade is included on the high school transcript, it will be averaged into the student's grade point average. Beginning with the class of 2005 an honor point is given for any dual enrollment course that is transferable to a four-year degree program. If students fail to complete the dual enrollment course, the grade will be recorded as a withdrawal (W).

Students who take advantage of the dual enrollment opportunity need to work with the high school and the college counselors to arrange a workable schedule for their selected courses. The Riverview Community School District does not provide transportation to dual enrollment courses or career technical preparation courses.

A state university, community college, or independent nonprofit degree-granting college or university that is located in the State of Michigan and that chooses to comply with the requirements of dual enrollment is an eligible opportunity for dual enrollment. The following is an example of possible providers of dual enrollment opportunities. Any accredited community college or four-year degree university in Michigan is eligible to participate in dual enrollment.

Henry Ford Community College (313) 845-9600

Wayne County Community College (734) 946-3500

Monroe County Community College (734) 242-7300

University of Michigan Dearborn (313) 593-5100