During its regularly scheduled meeting today, the State Board of Education (SBE) granted approval to waive the ACT sub-score enrollment requirement for current seniors this school year (2020-2021) due to closures of schools and ACT testing locations in Spring 2020 and Summer 2020
State Board Policy Rule 28.6 establishes the enrollment requirements for Essentials for College Literacy (course code: (230185) and Essentials for College Mathematics (course code: 270715). These requirements outline that a senior shall only be enrolled in either course if they have an ACT subscore of 15-18 in English or Mathematics. The SBE voted today to waive this enrollment requirement for the 2020-2021 school year. This one-year waiver aligns with the System Guidelines for IHL Admission and Placement for AY 2020-2021 and AY 2021-2022 in Response to COVID-19, set on July 29, 2020 by the State of Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Office of Academics and Student Affairs.
Below are suggested guidelines for student enrollment in either course in lieu of an ACT subscore for the 2020-2021 school year:
- Fourth Year Course Needed: Review each student’s transcript carefully to determine that the student has obtained, at the minimum, 3 Carnegie unit in English and/or Mathematics prior to enrollment. Note that English II and Algebra I are required pre-requisites.
- Parental Notification: In writing, share with parents information about the course and why their student has been recommended for enrollment.
- Prior Course Performance: A final grade of C (70%) or below in the previous English or Mathematics course indicates that some topics and concepts were not mastered.
- Recent MAAP Achievement Level: Performing at the bottom two levels on the MAAP English II or Algebra I End-of-Course assessments indicates that some topics and concepts were not mastered.
Please note that the state required licenses to teach the Essentials course in English are a 119 and a 930; and a 154 and a 929 in Mathematics. This part of the policy was not waived given that the MDE hosted a 5-day interactive, virtual training July 20-24, 2020 free of charge to Mississippi educators.
If you have questions regarding this information, please contact Dr. Marla Davis at mdavis@mdek12.org.