PROMOTION AND SUPPORT OF STUDENTS IN GRADE 8

Regular Grade 8 Promotion

 Eighth grade students shall score at least at the “Basic” achievement level in either English language arts or mathematics and “Approaching Basic” in the other subject in order to be promoted to the ninth grade. Students who do not meet the promotion standard after taking the eighth-grade state assessments may be placed on a high school campus in the transitional ninth grade. For any student who recently completed the eighth grade and is transferring into the LEA from another state or country, the LEA shall review the student’s academic record to determine appropriate placement in ninth grade or transitional ninth grade. Such placement shall occur no later than October 1 of each school year.

Grade 8 Promotion Waivers

An LEA, through its superintendent, may grant a waiver on behalf of individual students who are unable to participate in LEAP testing or unable to attend LEAP summer remediation, including summer remediation required for placement in transitional ninth grade, because of one or more of the following extenuating circumstances as verified through appropriate documentation:

• Physical Illness―appropriate documentation must include verification that the student is under the medical care of a licensed physician for illness, injury, or a chronic physical condition that is acute or catastrophic in nature. Documentation must include a statement verifying that the illness, injury, or chronic physical condition exists to the extent that the student is unable to participate in remediation.
• Custody Issues―certified copies of the court-ordered custody agreements must be submitted to the LEA at least ten school days prior to summer remediation.

Middle School Carnegie Credits

• St. Mary Parish students who intend to take Algebra I for Carnegie credit in eighth grade should successfully complete a seventh-grade math course that addresses both the seventh and eighth grade state standards.
• For 8th graders taking Algebra I, the LEAP 2025 Algebra exam is taken at the end of the course and counts as 15% of the overall course grade. The conversion charts provided by the LDOE for each LEAP 2025 test will be used to determine the student’s grade on the LEAP 2025 tests.
• As identified in §2314 of BESE approved Bulletin 741, LEAs may permit students to earn Carnegie credit as middle school students in all courses except physical education.