Graduation Requirements - CCA

Comprehensive Course Assessments

Comprehensive Course Assessment is one of the Performance Based Graduation Requirement's at North Kingstown High School.

NKHS CCA Requirements Class of 2024, 2025 and 2026

Suggested sequence for completion of 22 CCAs

FRESHMAN YEAR (7)

1 ELA

1 Math

1 Social Studies

1 Science

1 Emerging Technologies

1 PE/Health

1 Fine Arts

 

SOPHOMORE YEAR (6)

1 ELA

1 Math

1 Science

1 Social Studies

1 PE/Health

1 Elective

 

JUNIOR YEAR (5)

1 ELA

1 Math

1 Science

1 Social Studies

1 Elective

 

SENIOR YEAR (4)

1 ELA

1 Math Related

2 Electives

 

* The NKHS CCA system is based on Anchor Assignments (Validated Tasks)

 

*Every NKHS course offers at least one Anchor Assignment per semester (two for a full-year course)

 

*Participation in state assessment in any subject area will take the place of a required CCA for that school year (students would still need to attain minimal level of proficiency on assessment required for graduation)

 

*Students will be able to remediate required Anchors after courses are completed for CCA requirement only, not course credit

 

*Students must complete at least an ELA and Math or Math related CCA in senior year, plus 2 other CCA (student choice).

 

*It is strongly suggested that students keep a cumulative folder (electronic or paper) for Anchor Assignments successfully completed throughout four years

Frequently asked CCA questions?

Below is a list of frequently asked questions regarding the CCA graduation requirement at North Kingstown High School.

Should you have any individual questions that are not addressed below feel free to contact me any time at

kevin_gormley@nksd.net or call my office at 401-268-6286.

1. What does CCA stand for?

The acronym CCA stands for Comprehensive Course Assessment. The term is synonymous with our anchor assignments

students completed under the former e-portfolio graduation requirement. In many classes these are the same assignments;

some classes have updated assignments.

 

CCA assignments assess a particular skill in each class a student takes at North Kingstown High School. A few examples

are oral communication, problem solving, and critical thinking.

2. If I have any questions on the CCA graduation requirement who should I contact?

 

Mr. Kevin Gormley is the CCA coordinator at North Kingstown High School. He is available to answer any questions regarding

a student’s CCA status at any time

3. Where is the CCA office located? How can I contact Mr. Gormley?

 

Mr. Gormley’s office is located in room 343 at North Kingstown High School. It is on the 3rd floor at the top of the spiral

staircase right next to the elevator.

 

Mr. Gormley can be contact by email at kevin_gormley@nksd.net or by phone 401-268-6286.

4. How many CCA assignments does a student complete during the school year?

 

CCA assignments are given once per semester in each class a student takes at North Kingstown High School. Full year

courses give 2 CCA’s per year (Semester 1 and Semester 2). Half year courses give 1 CCA in the semester they are scheduled.

5. How many total CCA assignments do I need to pass this graduation requirement?

 

A student needs to pass a total of 22 CCA assignments in the given areas listed below to complete this graduation requirement:

COURSE

# OF CCA’S

ELA

4

MATH

4

SCIENCE

3

SOCIAL STUDIES

3

PE/HEALTH

2

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

1

FINE ARTS

1

ELECTIVES

4

TOTAL

22

6. How many total CCA assignments do I need from the following school years:

Freshman year = 7

Sophomore year = 6

Junior year = 5

Senior year = 4

 

7. Where do I find out how many CCA’s I have completed during the school year?

 

CCA assignment grades are posted in Aspen during the 4 report card posting periods during the school year. CCA reports

are available in Aspen after the Quarter 2, Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 posting periods for students/parents. A link is available on

Aspen and the report will be located directly below the students report card for Quarter 2, Quarter 3, and Quarter 4.

 

Any time you would like an up to date status that does not align with the period above please contact Mr. Gormley and

he will provide the student CCA information.

 

 8. What does a CCA report look like?

 

The picture below gives a visual diagram of a student’s CCA report:

Report

A CCA report breaks down the CCA’s a given student has completed in each school year. The “required” CCA assignments

are listed in each grade (9th through 12th) and a “Y” is listed next to that individual class requirement if the student has meet

the CCA requirement in the “Is complete?” section. If nothing is listed in this section the student still needs to meet that

requirement in that given school year.

In the sample above, this current 10th grade student has completed all the necessary CCA requirements in 9th grade and

still needs to complete the PE/Health and Elective requirement in the 10th grade.

 

All CCA’s completed in each subject area are listed on the far right hand side of the report to ensure accuracy.

 

If anyone has any trouble reading the report don’t hesitate to contact Mr. Gormley’s office for clarification.

 

 9. What if a student doesn’t have any electives in their school schedule in a given school year?

 

If a student does not have any Elective courses scheduled in a given school year they can use an extra “core” course

elective to meet the requirement. For example: if a student is taking 2 English courses they could use semester 1

English CCA to meet the English requirement and the semester 2 English CCA to meet the Elective requirement.

 

10. TRUE or FALSE: I should hang on to all my CCA assignments in an organized binder.

 

True. Unfortunately input errors do happen. It is extremely helpful to have a graded copy of the assignment as proof of

proficiency in a particular CCA assignment. Mr. Gormley will be able to correct the error immediately with visual

proof of proficiency.

 

I have a sample binder in my office. Students at any time are welcomed to come to my office to view the sample binder

and obtain advice on how to create one.

 

11. TRUE or FALSE: I can wait until senior year to complete all my CCA assignments.

 

False. Any CCA assignments that are not proficient in a given school year must be remediated until a student reaches

proficiency on that assignment. You can not use CCA assignments the follow school year to “make-up” non-proficient

assignments from the previous school year.

 

12. How do I remediate a non-proficient CCA assignment?

 

If a student receives a 69 or below on a given CCA assignment they have 2 weeks after the graded assignment is handed

back to the student to work with the teacher in that particular class.

 

After the 2 week window students should report to CCA remediation sessions Tuesday and Thursday after school at

designated times during the school year.

 

Mr. Gormley will notify students and parents about remediation sessions via email through Aspen email accounts. Reminders

will also be made in school during advisory morning annoucements and on all TV monitors during the school day.

 

13. If I complete more CCA’s in a given year than needed can I carry those CCA’s over to my next school year?

 

Example: If I complete 2 English CCA’s in my junior year; could I use one of those English CCA assignments

in my senior year?

 

14. NO. There are a minimum amount of CCA assignments that need to be completed each year. CCA assignments can’t

be used for any future school years. This graduation requirement must be relevant in all 4 years of a student’s high

school education. Please see the answer to question #6 above for minimum anchors completed in each school year.

 

15. Why are there no CCA requirements or assignments listed for a grade column on my child's report?

 

Students grade columns will also be blank for any year in which a student did not attend or were enrolled at North Kingstown

High School. For example: If a student transferred in to North Kingstown High School during their 10th grade year the 

9th CCA columns on this student's report will be blank.

 

Another example would be if a student took "Emerging Technologies" during the 10th grade year a "blank" will appear in

the 9th grade CCA column. Mr. Gormley will manually adjust this in his records as Aspen will not recognize the "Y" because

the student took the class in a different year than grade 9. However, I list of all proficient CCA assignments can always be

seen at the far right hand side of the report under "List of entries that met criteria".

  

 There are sometimes special circumstances that can dictate changes to the above requirements.Please inform

Mr. Gormley of any special student information so he can develop a plan to help ensure the student completes the

CCA graduation requirement.