The Golden State Seal Merit Diploma node is under School Info | Imports and Exports in the navigation. The Golden State Seal Merit Diploma is only available at the school level of Aeries. At this time it is not available at the District level. 


The Golden State Seal Merit Diploma screen contains 6 tabs that need to be set up prior to running the report. The options are stored in the School Options (OPT) table so each school can maintain it's own distinct settings.  Users with access to this screen within the school can change these options, so they should always be reviewed for accuracy prior to processing the students. For each criterion verify that the correct selections have been made and make any necessary adjustments by clicking on the individual code or description to toggle it either to checked or un-checked. Each tab has it's own Save button to save the selections made to that tab. 





Honor Marks and Non-Honor Marks Lists


Each Golden State Seal Merit Diploma requirement defines a valid minimum mark value needed to achieve the requirement. Often honors courses permit a one-letter grade boost so, for example, a C+ mark for an honors course would be considered as a B+. The Honor Marks list is used to identify all mark values for Honors courses that would meet the minimum mark value requirement. The Non-Honor Marks list is used to identify all mark values for Non-Honors courses that would meet the minimum mark value requirement. 


Below is an example of the marks selected for the U.S. History requirement. Students must receive a B or higher to qualify for the U.S. History GSSMD requirement. In Screaming Eagle High School honors courses receive a 1.0 point grade boost, so a mark value of C would equate to a B. All grade marks that are a C or higher are selected in the Honor Marks list and all grade marks that are a B or higher are selected in the Non-Honor Marks list. 



Per the CDE's Golden State Seal FAQ's page LEAs could allow for credit/no credit marks when determining the mastery of a subject area. To allow for these marks simply select them from the Honor Marks and Non-Honor Marks list in each of the subject areas. In the below example the Pass "P" mark and the Credit "CR" mark were included as marks that demonstrate mastery in the U.S. History subject area. Notice that the P and CR marks still have a mark value of 0.00, the mark values does not need to be modified.



The below 2 students have a qualifying grade in their first term U.S. History transcript record and either a P or a CR in their second term record. Both are marked as "qualified" for the Golden State Seal U.S. History requirement.




U.S. History


Select the subject area(s) that includes the U.S. History course(s) under the Requirements (HIS) list. If the subject area includes other non-U.S. History courses, then also select the State Course Codes that apply to the U.S. History course(s). In the below example the U.S. History courses are in the Social Science subject area so the State Course Codes that are used to identify specifically the U.S. History courses have also been selected. 


Students must achieve a B or higher grade mark in the U.S. History course(s) in order to qualify for the GSSMD. Select all marks in the Honor Marks and Non-Honor Marks lists that equate to a B or higher. 


The Save 'U.S. History' Setup button will turn red when a change is made to the U.S. History options. Click on the Save button to save any changes made to this tab prior to leaving the tab.



The State Course Code selection displays the currently valid state course codes. Since the state course codes have been updated for the 2019-20 school year, the new state course codes will need to be selected for the US History courses on the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma page,  and the US History courses should be checked to make sure they also have the appropriate State Course Code.





English Language Arts (ELA)


Select the subject area(s) that include the English courses under the Requirements (HIS) list. 


Select the CAASPP Smarter Balanced (SBAC) test part for the English Language Arts/Literature test under the SBAC list.


Students must achieve a B+ or higher grade mark in the English courses in order to qualify for the GSSMD. Select all marks in the Honor Marks and Non-Honor Marks lists that equate to a B+ or higher. 


The Save 'English Language Arts (ELA)' Setup button will turn red when a change is made to the English options. Click on the Save button to save any changes made to this tab prior to leaving the tab.





Mathematics


Select the subject area(s) that include the Mathematics courses under the Requirements (HIS) list. 


Select the CAASPP Smarter Balanced (SBAC) test part for the Mathematics test under the SBAC list.


Students must achieve a B+ or higher grade mark in the Mathematics courses in order to qualify for the GSSMD. Select all marks in the Honor Marks and Non-Honor Marks lists that equate to a B+ or higher. 


The Save 'Mathematics' Setup button will turn red when a change is made to the Math options. Click on the Save button to save any changes made to this tab prior to leaving the tab.





Science


Select the subject area(s) that include the Science courses under the Requirements (HIS) list. 


Select the California Science Test (CAST) test part for the Science test under the CAST list.


Students must achieve a B+ or higher grade mark in the Science courses in order to qualify for the GSSMD. Select all marks in the Honor Marks and Non-Honor Marks lists that equate to a B+ or higher. 


The Save 'Science' Setup button will turn red when a change is made to the Science options. Click on the Save button to save any changes made to this tab prior to leaving the tab.





Other Two Subject Areas


Select any other subject areas other than English, Mathematics, Science and U.S. History that should be evaluated as satisfying the Other Two Subject Areas requirement for the GSSMD under the Requirements (HIS) list. 


Students must achieve a B or higher grade mark in the Other Two Subject Areas courses in order to qualify for the GSSMD. Select all marks in the Honor Marks and Non-Honor Marks lists that equate to a B or higher. 


The Save 'Other Two Subject Areas' Setup button will turn red when a change is made to the Other Two Subject Areas options. Click on the Save button to save any changes made to this tab prior to leaving the tab.





Misc Options & Student Loading/Processing


The Misc Options & Student Loading/Processing tab includes additional options that need to be reviewed/updated prior to processing the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma report. 



Report Grouping Options - these options affect the printed reports

  • No Grouping - the report will be printed in the same order as how the students are displayed in the Review Students tab
  • Group by Grade - results are sorted by grade first and then in the order of how the students are displayed in the Review Students tab
  • Group by Counselor - results are sorted by counselor first and then in the order of how the students are displayed in the Review Students tab.



Calculation - these options affect how the courses are evaluated. The Golden State Seal requirements include grade calculations for a single course. Some schools use the same course id during the entire school year, while others use different course ids for each term (for example Eng9F and Eng9S for a fall term and spring term English 9 course). It is very important that the correct grade calculation method is selected.

  • GPA by Grade & Subject Area - If the school uses different course ids for each term of a year-long course, then the GPA by Grade & Subject Area option should be selected.
  • GPA by Grade & Course - If the school uses the same course id for each term of a year-long course, then the GPA by Grade & Course option should be selected.


NOTE: It is the intent of the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma eligibility requirements that the students are evaluated on courses that cover a full year’s content. For this reason, any students that qualify in a subject area with 1/1 should be reviewed to see if the subject area covered the equivalent of a full year of study.



Passing Values - this option is pre-populated with a default value. It can be updated if necessary.

  • SBAC Achievement Level -  SBAC ELA and Math performance level. Defaults to 3 (Standard Met).
  • CAST Achievement Level -  CAST performance level. Defaults to 3 (Standard Met).


Grade Selection - select the grade level(s) to process


Additional Options - additional options that affect the  printed report or processing:


  • Print passing students on bold - affects the printed report. When this option is selected students that qualify for the the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma will be printed in bold



  • Print signature line - affects the printed report. When this option is selected an extra page will be printed at the end of the student results with a Principal Signature line and a Date line.


  • Include college courses - defaults to not selected. Per CDE, college courses do not meet the requirements set by the SBE (State Board of Education) for the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma. By default the courses identified as College Credit Course in the State Course Code field in the Courses screen (CRS.C3 =9020, 9082, 9096, 9120, 9154, 9200, 9227, 9273, 9303, 9358)  will not be included in the GSSMD calculations. With the increasing number of articulated courses being taken in the high schools, schools may opt to include these courses in the GSSMD calculations. To include these courses select the Include college courses option prior to processing the students. Please contact CDE for any clarification needed to determine if certain courses can be included in the GSSMD calculations for your school. Contact information can be found at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/meritdiploma.asp.


 

  • Include inactive students - defaults to not selected. This option can be selected to include early graduates. 


The Save 'Misc Options' Setup button will turn red when a change is made to the Misc Options & Student Loading/Processing options. Click on the Save button to save any changes made to this tab prior to leaving the tab or clicking on the Process Students button.