The Credit Recovery program allows students who have failed courses in a previous year to make up previously failed credits. It is similar to a summer school program but can also be offered periodically throughout a school year.
- High school graduation rate hit a record high at 83 percent in the 2014-15 school year
- Status dropout rate decreased from 12.1 percent in 1990 to 6.5 percent in 2014
Sources: Department of Education; National Center for Education Statistics
Quick/Short Term Solution
Driven by government requirements to produce better results, more districts are using credit recovery programs to help students in academic trouble get back on track and boost achievement levels for students and districts alike.
There are various ways to implement the credit recovery program, but they will vary by school district and state guidelines. While some districts rely on traditional face-to-face interaction between teachers and students, many are adopting online solutions offered by commercial vendors, and others are implementing programs that blend face-to-face and online instruction. Some create their own programs from free online resources and their own curricula. In some states, education agencies and virtual schools provide complete programs.
However districts do it, the objective is the same: to give students who have failed courses because of poor grades or absenteeism, or who have dropped out of school, a chance to recover the credits they have lost so that they can move on to the next grade and ultimately to graduation.
* Disclaimer: The resources provided deal with arts-related programming in general and certain practices may not be applicable to 21st Century Community Learning Centers. If you are unsure if a recommended practice is permissible, please contact your program officer at the Pennsylvania Department of Education.