Students can't choose pass/no pass for core NC high school classes, state board votes

Students will need to earn a passing letter grade in core high school courses to be able to graduate, instead of receiving a pass/no pass grade for those classes, the State Board of Education voted Thursday.

That’s a change for some school systems, where students may not be receiving a letter grade during the credit recovery process. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction officials said they did not know how many schools were allowing students to do that or how many students were taking advantage of that.

The board approved the change without discussion or dissent Thursday, although some board members supported the change and called it “needed” during prior meetings.

Last month, DPI officials said credit recovery is supposed to only be for portions of a course, not for an entire course. But some students may still be able to take core graduation requirements pass/no pass, because the State Board of Education’s policy, until Thursday, didn’t spell out when it’s OK to do that.

The State Board of Education on Thursday altered the its graduation transcript policy to require that all non-elective graduation-required class — such as English and math classes — be graded with letters.

It will go into effect during the 2025-26 school year.

DPI officials spent months consulting with school system leaders about the changes, which they said school systems were OK with.

Nationally, credit recovery programs have faced scrutiny for being less rigorous than normal coursework.