Honors or Advanced courses are offered in most subjects for students wishing to pursue a more rigorous course of study. Placement in these courses is based upon many factors including previous academic record and standardized test results. All students are strongly urged to challenge themselves by attempting Honors or Advanced level courses. Honors courses also include Pre-AICE, Pre-IB, IB MYP and Pre-AP courses.

Each year, Broward County high schools have the opportunity to apply for Local Designation of Honors for any course that the State Course Directory does not recognize as honors. For the 2014-2015 school year and after, any course that was approved, as a local honors course will have a local honors designation of “LH” added to the district course code title. If the District has designated a course as “Local Honors”, it is because it contains rigor that supports the awarding of an extra quality point towards the District’s weighted grade point average (GPA), which is used for class rank. These courses however, are not considered “honors” for State University Admissions, NCAA Clearinghouse Eligibility, or for Bright Futures Scholarship purposes and will not be awarded the extra quality point in these programs’ recalculated GPAs.

Through Career and Technical Education programs of study, students graduate from high school academically and technologically prepared for postsecondary education/college and to begin their career. Students who select a career and technical education program and who successfully complete the prescribed sequence of courses will have the opportunity to work towards:

• A diploma that includes high rigor academics and a career and technical education (CTE) program of study, with work-based experiences through an internship, O-J-T (On the Job Training), clinical rotations, or job shadowing.
• The award of a technical program certificate.
• Articulated postsecondary/college credits at recognized institutions of higher learning that will save students time and money in the pursuit of their post-secondary education.
• One or more credentials/licenses recognized by business and industry.
• The Florida Bright Futures/Gold Seal or CAPE Scholarship Award.

Students who earn a Gold Standard Industry Certification, also earn articulated credits to the state colleges. Below is a link to the gold standard website. For a list of Gold Standard Industry Certifications go here:

The Advanced Placement Program consists of over 37 college level courses and exams across 22 subject areas that are offered at high schools. Courses are available in several subject areas from art to statistics. Participation in AP courses gives students an excellent preparation for college and university studies. Successful completion of the course and receipt of a qualifying score on the national AP exam may result in college credit or advanced placement in college courses at many colleges and universities.

Advanced Placement courses are offered to all interested and qualified students wishing to pursue the most rigorous course of study. The prerequisites vary according to each discipline. Students who select an AP course are expected to complete the course and sit for the AP Exam. Students who do not sit for the AP exam will forfeit one extra quality point in the calculation of the district weighted gpa.

The Cambridge International Program prepares students for college and careers by offering a curriculum of rigor that is recognized internationally, preparing them for post-secondary coursework, and allowing the opportunity for students to earn college credits while in high school. The Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) courses will allow our students the opportunity to earn the International AICE diploma, an internationally renowned special diploma that is recognized by colleges and universities all over the world.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Program is an accelerated four-year liberal arts curriculum designed to meet the needs of the highly motivated and academically talented student. The IB Program is intensive, offering an accelerated curriculum for ninth and tenth grade students to prepare them for the rigors of the IB Program in the eleventh and twelfth grades. Students who receive the prestigious IB diploma are held in the highest esteem by universities throughout the world. Florida IB diploma recipients are eligible for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and are often admitted as sophomores into the Florida university system, as well as other internationally recognized universities.

Dual enrollment is an acceleration program that allows students to simultaneously earn credit toward high school completion and a career certificate or an associate or baccalaureate degree at a Florida public postsecondary institution. Students who meet program requirements may concurrently enroll in courses that are creditable toward a post-secondary certificate, Associate’s degree, or Bachelor’s degree at technical college, Broward College, and state universities.

• For Broward College Dual Enrollment, students must meet the following requirements:
• Earn a minimum 3.0 unweighted grade point average prior to enrollment.
• Obtain approval from parent and from the high school principal.
• Obtain minimum ACT, SAT or PERT placement scores prior to enrollment.
• Select courses from the approved list 
• Satisfy any required prerequisites.
• Maintain a 3.0 unweighted GPA in high school coursework and a 2.0 college GPA in order to continue in the program.
• The 3.0 high school GPA is inclusive of any Dual Enrollment college courses taken.
• Conform to all School Board and post-secondary institution policies and procedures.
• Three-credit (or equivalent) postsecondary courses taken through dual enrollment that are not listed on the FLORIDA DOE DUAL ENROLLMENT COURSE – HIGH SCHOOL SUBJECT AREA EQUIVALENCY LIST shall be awarded 0.5 high school credit, either as an elective or as designated in the local interinstitutional articulation agreement. NOTE: Most three credit hour dual enrollment courses equate to one-half (.5) high school credit, but some three and four credit hour dual enrollment courses equate to one (1.0) high school credit. See your school counselor for a listing.

Broward and Florida Virtual School (BVS) offers full-time and part-time enrollment to students in grades K-12 through an online educational delivery system.  BVS offers equitable access to high quality, individualized education, through the internet and other distance learning technologies where students have the opportunity to earn a standard high school diploma entirely online. The virtual environment provides flexibility of time and location. Students may learn wherever they are, whenever they choose, maintaining a specified course pace.  Successful online students are self-disciplined, motivated to learn, possess time management skills, and 21st century technology skills.  For Broward or Florida Virtual School course offerings please visit www.flvs.com.

Students wishing to take online courses should speak to their school counselor.

High school students who are deficient in credits needed to graduate, or who need to improve their cumulative grade point average in order to meet graduation requirements, may take up to two courses per year while co-enrolled in an adult secondary education program.

• The student must be deficient in the credits required for graduation.
• The student must be attempting a full load of required credits at the home high school during the co-enrollment period.
• The student must have written authorization for entrance into each course in the co-enrollment program from the home school principal (or designee).
• The student's credit deficiencies have not resulted from an intentional, willful neglect of studies as determined by the principal (or designee).

Credit Recovery courses are credit bearing courses with specific content requirements. Students enrolled in a Credit Recovery course must have previously attempted the corresponding course. Credit Recovery courses should only be used for credit recovery, grade forgiveness, or remediation for students needing to prepare for an End-of-Course assessment retake.

IMPORTANT: Students who take credit recovery courses cannot use those courses for eligibility in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Clearinghouse.

Yes, students may begin taking high school courses in middle school. However, these courses are rigorous and affect students’ high school grade point average and class ranking.

Placement in these courses are based upon many factors including previous academic record and standardized test results. Students and parents can talk with their school counselor to determine if a high school course is appropriate.

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There are a variety of high school courses offered for middle school students. Parents and students should check with their school counselor to see which courses are available.

No. Schools may offer both honors and non-honors courses.  Honors courses are designated as Local Honors (LH), Honors, Pre-AICE, Pre-IB, IB MYP or Pre-AP in the course title. 

The District has designated this course as “Local Honors” because it contains rigor that supports the awarding of an extra quality point towards the District’s weighted grade point average (GPA), which is used for class rank.  These courses however, may not be considered “honors” for college admissions, NCAA Clearinghouse Eligibility, and/or for Bright Futures Scholarship purposes and may not be awarded the extra quality point in these programs’ recalculated GPAs.

All high school courses taken in middle school will be recorded on the high school transcript and will be included in the student’s unweighted and weighted GPA. 

All high school courses taken in middle school are used in the calculation of the District’s weighted GPA, which is used for class ranking purposes.

Every high school course taken, including those taken in middle school is included in a student’s class rank.  Class rank is based on a students weighted GPA.  For a student’s weighted GPA:

• Classes that are designated as Local Honors, Honors, Pre-AICE, Pre-IB, IB MYP or Pre-AP earn an extra 1.00 quality point per full credit towards a student’s weighted grade point average if the student earns a “C” or higher in the course.
• Classes that are designated as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), or college level Dual Enrollment (DE) earn an extra 2.00 quality point per full credit towards a student’s weighted grade point average if the student earns a “C” or higher in the course.
• Plusses will add an extra .50 point per full credit in the District’s weighted grade point average. Courses that are not designated as Honors do not receive extra quality points.

The following chart outlines the calculations for weighted GPA:

If the student earns a C+ or lower in a high school course, grade forgiveness allows students to retake the course for a better grade and only the new grade is used in the calculation of the GPA. The original grade will remain on the student’s transcripts and may be calculated in the student’s recalculated GPA when applying to colleges, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), or scholarships.