Georgia Readiness Policies

Districts must provide certain career advisement activities to middle grades students, including exploration of academic skills and career interests. State regulation requires that these advisement activities lead to the completion of individual student graduation plans by the end of eighth grade. The graduation plans describe specific student advisement activities for each high school grade. For example, students learn about dual enrollment opportunities to help in the development of a college and career plan. Beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, high school guidance activities included “providing career-oriented aptitude guidance.” 

The University System of Georgia administers the GEAR UP program. It provides support for students through their middle grades and high school years and into the first year of college and offers services such as academic support, college and career exposure, guidance in selecting high school courses, and financial aid counseling. The first model, or “Cohort Strategy,” is for seventh and eighth grade students and “high priority” students. The second model, or “Priority Strategy,” targets students in 10th, 11th and 12th grade who have either been homeless or in the foster care system.

GAfutures.org is a statewide portal that provides access to online resources for students and their families to help them plan, apply and pay for college.

Competency-Based Credit

Georgia State Board of Education regulation 160-5-1-.15 allow students to receive high school credit based on demonstrated competency on several state and national exams, including high school End-of-Course, AP, CLEP and industry certification exams. Students can earn no more than three units of credit through this rule.

Career and Technical Education

The Georgia Department of Education offers career, technical and agricultural education courses across 17 career clusters in alignment with the National Career Cluster model. Students who successfully complete three or four courses in a particular pathway, or who are on course to do so, can participate in the End of Pathway Assessment Program through which students can earn a national-, state- and/or industry-recognized credential.

Dual Enrollment and Dual Credit

According to House Bill 444 (2020), the purpose of the Dual Enrollment program is to “promote and increase access to postsecondary educational opportunities for Georgia high school students while increasing high school graduation rates, preparing a skilled workforce, and decreasing time and cost to postsecondary credential completion.” A dual credit course is defined as a “postsecondary course, including a virtual course, take by an eligible high school student pursuant to an arrangement at or through an eligible postsecondary institution for which the student receives secondary credit.”

Students in grades 9-12 may participate in Georgia’s Dual Enrollment Program part- or full-time up to 15 semester hours or 12 quarter hours per term and must be admitted and classified as a Dual Credit Enrollment student at an eligible postsecondary institution. Students may enroll at more than one postsecondary institution during a single term.

House Bill 444 established the Dual Enrollment funding Program for students taking dual enrollment classes beginning in Summer 2020. The Georgia Student Finance Commission and State Board regulation 160-4-2-.34 requires students to apply for admission to the postsecondary institution they will be attending before they can apply for funding. To apply, students must submit official transcripts, complete the Student Participation Agreement, and produce qualifying scores on the ACT or SAT (if applicable). Students may visit GAfutures.org to get more information on eligibility, enrollment and course options.

Eligible students in grades 10-12 may receive Dual Enrollment funding up to the Cap set at 30 semester or 45 quarter hours. Students who received funding before Summer 2020 are subject to the funding cap if they earned 18 semester/28 quarter hours or less. Those who earned 19 semester/29 quarter hours or more before Summer 2020 are eligible for an additional 12 semester or 18 quarter hours of funding.

Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate

Georgia does not have common score requirements for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or College Level Examination Program tests. Students who score at a 3, 4 or 5 level on AP exams may be able to earn college credit.

Early College High Schools

The Early College Initiative, a partnership between the University System of Georgia and Georgia Public School Systems, allows students to earn a high school diploma and credit toward an associate or bachelor’s degree. Most early colleges operate with the objective to increase high school graduation and college-going rates of traditionally underserved students. There are currently 10 Early Colleges in Georgia.

University System of Georgia

The Board of Regents has established system-wide placement policies and exemptions for community colleges and four-year institutions.

To be exempt from placement testing in English (reading and writing), students must meet one of the following criteria:

• Completed Area A English course with grade of “C” or higher
• English Placement Index of 4230 or higher
• High School grade-point average of 3.1 or higher and completion of required high school curriculum in English
• Score of 480 SAT or higher on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section
• Score of 17 ACT or higher on the English or Reading subtest higher
• Score of 61 or higher on Classic Accuplacer (237 or higher on Next-Generation Accuplacer) Reading Comprehension Test and score 4 or higher on the WritePlacer

To be exempt from placement testing in Mathematics a student must meet one of the following criteria:

• Complete Area A mathematics course with grade of “C” or higher
• Placed into pre-calculus or higher math course
• Math Placement Index of 1265 or higher
• High School GPA of 3.4 or higher and completion of required high school curriculum in mat;
• Score of 510 or higher on the SAT math section
• Score of 20 or higher on the ACT math subtest
• Score of 79 or higher on Classic Accuplacer Elementary Algebra test
• Score of 266 or higher on Next-Generation Accuplacer Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics test

Institutions may set higher scores or require additional measures for screening and placement into Learning Support courses. Students who meet the institution’s admission standards for programs leading to baccalaureate degrees are exempted from further placement testing.

Institutions may calculate a Mathematics Placement Index and an English Placement Index based on high school grade point average, SAT or ACT and, when indicated, the Classic Accuplacer placement test.

Institutions place students who do not meet placement thresholds into co-requisite, Learning Support courses. For more detailed information, please see the University System of Georgia Academic Affairs Handbook 2.9.1 Administrative Procedures for Learning Support Programs.

Technical College System of Georgia

System policy requires technical colleges to assess students’ readiness to enter academic programs of study. Institutions may accept a student’s official entrance score on several validated assessment instruments, including the SAT, ACT, GED, Accuplacer, COMPASS or Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE). Colleges may also use high school GPA and documentation of certain work experiences to exempt students from placement testing.   

Students who do not meet all requirements for regular admission into a selected program are granted provisional admission status. Provisionally admitted students may take learning support classes and certain specified occupational courses until they satisfy program pre- and co-requisites.