MODULE 3: MAPPING OUT HIGH SCHOOL CREDITS

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Mapping Out High School Semesters 

This is the step where we make sure every PSEO class your student takes is lined up with what they need to graduate high school. If you’re in Lakeville, like we are, these are measured in semesters— not credits. So when I say 'requirements' today, I’m talking about the total number of semesters your student needs in each subject area. 

This planning step is critical, because it’s how you avoid the panic of realizing senior year that a class you thought counted… didn’t. It’s also how you see exactly which high school requirements can be done through college classes — saving both time and money.

Understanding Lakeville’s Graduation Requirements 

Every Minnesota student must meet the statewide graduation requirements, but each district has its own way of tracking them. In Lakeville, students need 44 semesters total to graduate, broken down into:

• Arts – 2 semesters
• Electives – 13 semesters
• English Language Arts – 8 semesters
• Math – 6 semesters
• PE/Health – 2 semesters
• Science – 6 semesters
• Social Studies – 7 semesters

If you’re outside of Lakeville, you’ll want to get your district’s official breakdown so you know exactly how they track progress.

Semesters, MDE Credits, and College Credits: How They Fit Together 

Before we talk about conversions, let’s clear up the three different systems you’re going to hear:

1. Lakeville measures in semesters — two semesters equals a full year of a subject.
2. The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) measures in credits — one MDE credit equals a full year of a subject, or 2 Lakeville semesters.
3. Colleges measure in college credits — most PSEO courses are 3 or 4 college credits.

When you connect them:

• 2  Lakeville semesters = 1 MDE credit.
• 1  full-year high school course (2 semesters) can often be replaced by 1 college course taken in a single semester.

That’s why understanding this mapping is so important before you start plugging PSEO classes into your high school graduation plan.

College Credits vs. High School Semesters vs. MDE Credits

Here’s how the actual conversion works:

• A 4-credit  college course taken in one college semester equals 2 Lakeville semesters, which equals 1 MDE credit.

In the High School Credit Tracker for this module, I use the Lakeville system — so if a college course covers a full high school year, I enter it as 1.0 on the tracker. That ‘1.0’ means 2 semesters in Lakeville, or 1 MDE credit.

The High School Credit Tracker (main focus of this module)

Let’s review Lakeville’s Credit Check form

Now let’s look at the main tool you’ll be using — the High School Credit Tracker.

This is the heart of Module 3. In the resources, you can download both a blank version for your own student and a real example based on our family’s plan.

The tracker has each graduation requirement listed by semester, so you can:

1. Mark what’s already been completed
2. See what’s still required
3. Match those open requirements to future PSEO courses

The goal is to see exactly how your student’s high school semesters will be covered — whether through regular high school classes, PSEO, or a mix of both.

Okay, let me walk you through this on my monitor…

• Here is each section: Arts, Electives, English, Math, PE/Health, Science, Social Studies.
• Demo of how a 4-credit PSEO college class gets entered as 1.0 on the tracker to represent the full year (2 semesters) it replaces.
• Total column and how you can instantly see if your student is on track.
• Real-world example — e.g., Inquiry to Writing at Bethel counting as 1.0 on the tracker and replacing 2 high school Social Studies semesters.

Why This Matters Before Planning PSEO

Before we jump into planning an Associate’s Degree in Module 4, we have to start here — with the high school requirements. If you don’t know exactly what semesters your student needs, you can’t plan PSEO effectively. This tracker will also help you identify where PSEO can replace a high school class, freeing up room for electives, career-focused courses, or more advanced college classes.

Transition to Module 4

So here’s your action plan:

1. Download the High School Credit Tracker from this module
2. Fill in everything your student has already completed
3. Highlight the semesters that could be fulfilled through PSEO

In Module 4, we’ll use this tracker as the foundation to build a full PSEO plan that meets high school requirements and earns an Associate’s Degree — while making sure every class is intentional and avoids wasted credits.