Rapid City Area Schools Course Equivalency Exam (Test-Out) Program

REGISTRATION FOR SUMMER 2024 WILL OPEN JUNE 10, 2024

Course Equivalency Exam (Test-out) sessions are now being set up for students who will be enrolled in grades 9-12 during the 2024-2025 school year.  Any student enrolled in the district may challenge (test out of) courses approved by the South Dakota Department of Education subject to the conditions outlined in Rapid City Area Schools District Code: IHH. The tests are comprehensive and assess factual knowledge as well as process and performance skills appropriate to the subject. Students must pass the exam with a minimum score of 85% .

Special Notice to Middle School Students and Parents/Guardians:

Middle school students (grades 6th through 8th) who have completed the high school course Algebra I at their middle school will take the appropriate end-of-course exam and score an 80% or better for graduation credit.  Students will have two opportunities to achieve an 80% on the exam.  These tests will be administered in your student’s middle school classroom prior to the end of the current schoolyear. The grade from the course (not the exam) will then be recorded as a letter grade on their high school transcript and calculated into the student’s grade point average (GPA).  Those students not achieving an 80% will be placed in Algebra I as a 9th grader.

 

The following exams are full-year course exams, and one (1) full credit will be awarded if the student successfully challenges the course:

  • Algebra I
  • Geometry
  • Algebra II
  • English 9 (Additional requirements listed below)
  • Biology

 

 

The following exams are semester courses, and a .5 credit will be awarded if the student successfully challenges the course:

  • Computer Applications
  • Physical Science 1
  • Physical Science 2
  • U.S. Government
  • World History
  • World Geography
  • U.S. History I
  • U.S. History II
  • U.S. History III

 

Students will be allowed to challenge a specific course only once.  A score of 85 percent or better will successfully challenge a course and a credit will be awarded. Successfully challenged courses will be recorded as a pass on official student transcripts and will not affect the student’s official grade point average.  Attached is District Code: IHH-P1 outlining the procedure to obtain a letter grade for scholarship purposes.  The letter grade will not affect the student official grade point average and class ranking per South Dakota Department of Education.

 

There are also circumstances where a student will not be allowed to take a Course Equivalency Exam. According to the SD Department of Education (SDDOE) guidelines, students who have spent “seat time” for a class can no longer take the Course Equivalency Exam. This would include but is not limited to: attempting to raise a non-failing grade, or attempting to raise a failing grade in a course in which a student is currently enrolled, or testing out of a class that the student has already failed.

 

This year RCAS will offer two days for EOC testing, consisting of 4 testing sessions. Not all subjects will be offered at all sessions, so please pay close attention to the dates / times when the tests will be offered.

 

Test Session Dates:

 

End of Course Test/ Test out tests will be offered on:

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 and Wednesday, July 24, 2024

These are the only dates.

 

All testing will be held at:

Rapid City Alternative Academy

Room 419

601 Columbus Street

Rapid City, SD 57701

 

Two testing sessions will be offered each day:

  • 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM
  • 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

 

Registration will be limited and will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Preregistration for these test sessions will be held from:

REGISTRATION opens June 10, 2024 and closes July 8, 2024

YOU MUST BE REGISTERED BY Monday, July 8, 2024 at 4:00 PM

REGISTRATION FORM

For Registration Questions, Please Contact Justin Conroy @ 605-394-4048

 

Test preregistration will be coordinated through the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation. No registrations will be accepted after the closing date.

Walk-ins will not be allowed the day of the tests.

 

There is no cost to the student to challenge a course.

 

Please complete the online form, which will be available from June 10th through July 8th for all sessions. You can submit through the website; or download, fill-out, and hand-deliver, mail or fax to:

 

Rapid City Area School District
Office of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation
625 9th Street, 7th Floor

Phone: (605) 394-4053
Fax: (605) 394-2271

 

Test Dates and Times:

Tests offered on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 and Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at either 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM or 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM:

  • Algebra I
  • Geometry
  • Algebra II
  • World Geography
  • US History I, II, III
  • US Government
  • World History
  • Physical Science
  • Biology

 

Tests offered on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 and Wednesday, July 24, 2024 only at 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM:

  • Computer Applications (This test often takes longer than 2 hours. Students should be prepared to stay until finished.)
  • English 9  (Students must come prepared with additional items listed in the link below.)

 

There are no study guides for any of the tests.  The tests are comprehensive, and blueprints and content/curriculum standards for the tests are available for both state-created and district-created tests.

 

English 9 Course Equivalency Exam (Test Out) Requirements

 

State Created Exam Information

Course Equivalency Exam Information – South Dakota Department of Education
Guidelines for Calculator Use
Formula Sheets and Periodic Table
South Dakota State Content Standards

https://doe.sd.gov/contentstandards/math.aspx

http://Standards for Mathematics

 

Rapid City Area Schools Created Exam Blueprints

English 9
Computer Applications