TRANSFER CREDIT FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS Yes? No? Maybe? OVERSEAS ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING 2013 ANNUAL CONFERENCE KATE FREEMAN, International Consultants of Delaware EMILY TSE, International Educational Research Foundation MARJORIE SMITH, University of Denver
GOALS FOR THIS SESSION Review credentials that cause the most discussion and confusion Give suggestions for transfer credit/advanced placement/ course transfer Provide information and data to explain suggestions Give you more information when reviewing institutional policy
WHY THE CONTROVERSY? Changes in educational systems Changes in content of external examinations We ve always done it, but we don t know why
SECONDARY SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS External vs. internal Mandatory vs. optional
WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER CREDIT 13 th year Required for access to university study Validation by state or national examination board In-depth study in a limited number of subjects Indicates high level of academic achievement/rigor
WHY YOU SHOULDN T CONSIDER CREDIT 12 years or less Not always the credential required for university admission Level of academic rigor not at a post-secondary level High passing rates (see France)
UNITED KINGDOM GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION (GCSE) General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) External examination after completion of secondary school (11 years) Offered by 7 examining bodies Sit for 5 6 subjects Comparable to completion of high school in U.S. and Canada TRANSFER CREDIT? Not recommended Not at a post-secondary level
UNITED KINGDOM GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY LEVEL (GCE A/S LEVELS) General Certificate of Education Advanced Subsidiary Level (GCE A/S Levels) External examination after completion of 1 st year of Sixth Form Usually sit for 2-3 subjects Grades of A E (all considered passing) TRANSFER CREDIT? Yes 3 5 semester credits for each subject pass You must determine acceptable grade for transfer credit Examining boards provide information on what is covered in each subject
UNITED KINGDOM GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION ADVANCED LEVEL (GCE A LEVELS) General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A Levels) External examination after completion of 2nd year of Sixth Form Usually sit for 2-3 subjects Grades of A E (all considered passing) TRANSFER CREDIT? Yes 6 10 semester credits for each subject pass You must determine acceptable grade for transfer credit Examining boards provide information on what is covered in each subject
UNITED KINGDOM BUSINESS AND TECHNICIAN EDUCATION COUNCIL (BTEC) Technical and vocational programs offered in UK and internationally Name changed to Pearson as of April 2013 (formerly Edexcel) Qualifications will be known as Pearson BTEC 30% of UK university admissions BTEC students 95% of UK higher education institutions accept BTEC students Admission generally requires a GCSE List of BTEC qualifications: http://www.edexcel.com/btec/pages/qualifications.aspx BTEC National Certificate 1 year of post-gcse study TRANSFER CREDIT? Yes Up to one year (~30 semester credits) BTEC National Diploma 2 years of post-gcse study TRANSFER CREDIT? Yes Up to two years (~60 semester credits)
UNITED KINGDOM BUSINESS AND TECHNICIAN EDUCATION COUNCIL (BTEC) BTEC Higher National Certificate 1 year following BTEC National Certificate TRANSFER CREDIT? Yes Up to one year (~30 semester credits) BTEC Higher National Diploma 2 years following BTEC National Diploma TRANSFER CREDIT? Yes Up to two years (~60 semester credits) if in different field from BTEC National Diploma Comparable to a bachelor s degree if in same field as BTEC National Diploma
FRANCE DIPLÔME DU BACCALAURÉAT Baccalauréat External examination after completion secondary school (12 years) Exam subjects based on track TRANSFER CREDIT? Not recommended Passing rate is more than 80% Credit not awarded at French postsecondary institutions http://www.nytimes.com/ 2013/06/28/world/europe/a-rite-ofpassage-for-french-students-receivesa-poor-grade.html?pagewanted=all
QUÉBEC, CANADA DIPLÔME D ETUDES COLLÉGIALES Diplôme d etudes collégiales/ Diploma of Collegiale Studies Awarded after completion of twoyear university preparatory program Preceded by 11 years of secondary education TRANSFER CREDIT? Yes Up to one year of transfer credit Award credit for courses that are most advantageous to student s proposed program of study at your school
QUÉBEC, CANADA DIPLÔME D ETUDES COLLÉGIALES
ALBERTA, CANADA ADVANCED HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA Advanced High School Diploma Awarded after completion of three years of secondary school Enriched courses; more math and science than General High School Diploma Preferred diploma for university admission TRANSFER CREDIT? Not recommended Not at a post-secondary level Credit not awarded at Alberta colleges and universities
HONG KONG HONG KONG DIPLOMA OF SECONDARY EDUCATION Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) External examination after completion of secondary school (12 years) First awarded 2012 Replaces Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) TRANSFER CREDIT? Not recommended Not at a post-secondary level University programs increased to 4 years from 3 years
GERMANY ZEUGNIS DER ALLGEMEINEN HOCHSCHULREIFE Zeugnis der allgemeinen Hochschulreife (a.k.a. Abitur) After 12-13 years Exams coordinated at state level Uniform Examination Standards TRANSFER CREDIT? Maybe Depends on year awarded As of 2012-13 academic year, all lander (states), except Schleswig- Holstein (2016), will have a 12-year system Identical content (12 vs. 13 yrs)
GERMANY ZEUGNIS DER ALLGEMEINEN HOCHSCHULREIFE
GERMANY ZEUGNIS DER ALLGEMEINEN HOCHSCHULREIFE
ITALY DIPLOMA DI ESAME DI STATO Diploma di Esame di Stato (Diploma of State Examination) Commonly awarded after 13 years of study (5 + 3 + 5 structure) Previously Diploma di Maturità (prior to 1998) TRANSFER CREDIT? Maybe Specializing Tracks/Schools : Classical, Scientific, Linguistic
ITALY DIPLOMA DI ESAME DI STATO
ITALY DIPLOMA DI ESAME DI STATO Marks Noted on Left-Hand Side Average from the written exams Oral exam score Points/credits from internal assessment
ITALY DIPLOMA DI ESAME DI STATO Explanation on the Right: 1 st written: Official language 2 nd written: Core Area 3 rd written: Ability to integrate knowledge from final year Oral: Mastery of language and ability to connect knowledge
ITALY DIPLOMA DI ESAME DI STATO
ICELAND STÚDENTSPRÓF Stúdentspróf (Matriculation Examination) 14 years (commonly 10 + 4 structure) Primarily INTERNAL examination Ministry determines program objectives, assessment and administrative practices Schools evaluated every 5 yrs TRANSFER CREDIT? Maybe 140 credits required for graduation 4-5 subjects with greatest weight
ICELAND STÚDENTSPRÓF
SWITZERLAND EIDGENÖSSISCH MATURITÄT/MATURITÉ FÉDÉRAL BACCALAURÉAT/MATURITÀ FEDERALE Eidgenössisch Maturität/Maturité fédéral/baccalauréat/maturità federale (Federal Maturity Certificate) After 12-13 years Prior to 1995, academic tracks: classical languages, modern languages, math and sciences, economics Federally recognized vs. Cantonal TRANSFER CREDIT? No Since reforms, no specialization Subjects: 7 core, 1 focal, 1 supplementary
SWITZERLAND EIDGENÖSSISCH MATURITÄT/MATURITÉ FÉDÉRAL BACCALAURÉAT/MATURITÀ FEDERALE First issued in 1999/2000
NORWAY VITNEMÅL FRA DEN VIDERGÅENDE SKOLEN Vitnemål fra den vidergående skolen (Certificate from Upper Secondary School) Combination of internal and external assessment 1997: shift to 13-year structure (7 + 3 + 3) 3 academic streams: general; sports and physical education; music, dance and drama TRANSFER CREDIT? Maybe Further specializations within general academic stream Approximately 4 exam subjects
NORWAY VITNEMÅL FRA DEN VIDERGÅENDE SKOLEN
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE International Baccalaureate (IB) Since the late 1960s, over 140 countries Common 2-year pre-university curriculum, regardless of location Externally validated 6 subjects: 3 higher, 3 standard Also extended essay & analytical reasoning section (TOK) TRANSFER CREDIT? Yes For the higher level subjects
COMMENTS FROM THE CUNY SYSTEM Secondary = secondary; credential gives access to postsecondary education Double dipping: same subjects getting secondary school credits and transfer credit Suggests that the U.S. system is inferior
QUESTIONS? Kate Freeman kfreeman@icdeval.com Emily Tse etse@ierf.org Marjorie Smith msmith@du.edu Session posted at http://www.icdeval.com/about/publications
THANK YOU! Gracias Cảm ơn bạn Merci 감사합니다 Obrigado 谢 谢 Cпасибо Grazie ششككرراا Danke ध"यव द σας ευχαριστώ Salamat ありがとう Terima kasih תודה
SURVEY FINDINGS General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Other responses: In process of proposing a policy to award credit Only based on credentials evaluation and department review
SURVEY FINDINGS GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY LEVEL Other responses: Case-by-case Typically award half as much credit as A levels No, because we do not consider them as rigorous
SURVEY FINDINGS FRANCE BACCALAURÉAT Other responses: Only for coeficients of 4 and higher with grades of 10 and above Varies by school
SURVEY FINDINGS GERMANY ABITUR Other responses: Only for the 13 year
SURVEY FINDINGS ITALY DIPLOMA DI MATURITÀ Other responses: Have never seen one Awarded in rare cases Credit considered based on student s major upon faculty review
SURVEY FINDINGS QUÉBEC DIPLÔME D ETUDES COLLÉGIALES Other responses: We consider first 12 academic courses to be comparable to Ontario Grade 12; number of credits awarded depends on how many courses completed after first 12 Only if both years were completed and only for the 2 nd year Only academic subjects awarded transfer credit
SURVEY FINDINGS OTHER EXAMINATIONS OR DIPLOMAS FOR WHICH STUDENTS REQUEST/DEMAND TRANSFER CREDIT/ADVANCED STANDING IB diploma Bulgaria: Diploma za Sredno Obrovanie Demark: Studentereksament Finland: Ylioppilastutkinto Lebanon: Baccalauréat Romania: Baccalauréat European: Baccalauréat Malaysia: STPM Scotland: Higher Levels Israel: Bagrut CXC: Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations Anything done at a colegio or other cognate for college Cambridge Pre-U Austria: Matura
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