What is the college core?
| The College Core is a new system for determining a student's class rank. This system goes into effect for the class of 2013. |
|
The College Core is based on 17 courses. 16 of the courses are identified by the Arizona Board of Regents, and 1 additional social science course identified by the Arizona State Board of Education. Students must demonstrate competence in these courses for admission into Arizona’s public universities. The College Core requirements are consistent with admission practices at a majority of universities across the nation.
The College Core Courses are:
|
Subject Area |
Total Credits |
Total Semesters |
|
English (Composition or Literature) |
4 |
8 |
|
Math
|
4 |
8 |
|
Laboratory Science |
3 |
6 |
|
Social Science |
3 |
6 |
|
World Language |
2 |
4 |
|
Fine Arts |
1 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
17 |
34 |
The College Core is calculated by adding up a student's highest grade points in the 17 core courses listed above, and dividing by 34 (the number of semesters for the core classes). A student may calculate the current College Core by adding up the grade points for core courses already completed, and dividing that number by the number of semesters completed. If a student takes more than the minimum number of core courses in a particular core area, we will use the courses with the highest grade points for the College Core calculation.
Students who take the most rigorous schedule of college preparatory courses and earn the most grade points will have the highest College Core. Students who do not take the College Core courses or have fewer grade points will have lower College Cores. For this reason, the College Core should not be confused with grade point average (GPA).
Example of an advanced student's College Core
What is the College Core? (PowerPoint)