Intended Audience: Catalog Managers, Content Vendors
About
Chapter 2 of the "secondary school" document and Chapter 1 of the "prior-to-secondary" document provide an overview of the SCED codes framework, which comprises four components: course description, course level, credit availability, and sequence. The information found below will assist in populating the SCED Information page when adding course syllabi to Michigan's Online Course Catalog.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| SCED School Level | Choose between Elem/Middle School (Prior to Secondary) or High School (Secondary). |
| SCED Subject Areas | Select the applicable subject area. |
Elem/Middle School (Prior to Secondary)
Reference Prior to Secondary School Course Classification System: School Codes for the Exchange of Data (SCED) for additional assistance.
| Field/Coding Element | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| SCED Course (Course Description) | The first two digits of a code represent a subject area, corresponding to one of twenty-two general categories. For example, Subject Area Mathematics is coded as (02). The next three digits represent a course identifier, essentially what distinguishes one course from another within the same subject area. | For example, Algebra I is coded as (052). Taken together, the SCED code for Algebra I is 02052. The documents referred to above contain a full list of all recognized SCED courses, coding and description. |
| SCED Course Level | The second element of a course's SCED code refers to its course level. One of four possible letters is assigned to a course to convey its level of rigor:
| The majority of courses that schools offer are general. |
| SCED Credit (Available Credit) | Refers to the grade span for which the course is appropriate, represented as a four-character code with no decimals. A course may be appropriate across multiple grade levels or a singular grade. | For example, a course appropriate for grades 7 and 8 would receive the coding 0708, while a course appropriate for only grade 3 would be coded as 0303. |
| Position of Course in Sequence | This identifier refers to whether courses are" broken up" into multiple terms but consist of the same course description. The catalog requires that the position of the specific course in the sequence be identified. | For example, a district may offer Algebra 1A and Algebra IB, in the first and second semesters respectively, but the course will maintain the same coding and description for each term. The catalog requires that the position of the specific course in the sequence and the total number of courses in the sequence be identified. This can be thought of in terms of a course being "number x out of number y." For example, Algebra 1A would have a position in the sequence of, and the total number of courses in the sequence would be 2. |
| Total Number of Courses in Sequence | This identifier refers to whether courses are" broken up" into multiple terms but consist of the same course description. This field refers to the total number of courses in the sequence. |
High School (Secondary)
Reference Secondary School Course Classification System: School Codes for the Exchange of Data (SCED) for additional information.
| Field/Coding Element | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| SCED Course (Course Description) | The first two digits of a code represent a subject area, corresponding to one of twenty-two general categories. For example, Subject Area Mathematics is coded as (02). The next three digits represent a course identifier, essentially what distinguishes one course from another within the same subject area. | For example, Algebra I is coded as (052). Taken together, the SCED code for Algebra I is 02052. The documents referred to above contain a full list of all recognized SCED courses, coding and description. |
| SCED Course Level | The second element of a course's SCED code refers to its course level. One of four possible letters is assigned to a course to convey its level of rigor:
| The majority of courses that schools offer are general. |
| SCED Credit (Available Credit) | For secondary courses this refers to the amount of Carnegie unit credits available to a student who successfully completes the course. Credit is assigned as either 1.0 or .50, varying between courses and from district to district. | For example, a course appropriate for grades 7 and 8 would receive the coding 0708, while a course appropriate for only grade 3 would be coded as 0303. |
| Position of Course in Sequence | This identifier refers to whether courses are" broken up" into multiple terms but consist of the same course description. The catalog requires that the position of the specific course in the sequence be identified. | For example, a district may offer Algebra 1A and Algebra IB, in the first and second semesters respectively, but the course will maintain the same coding and description for each term. The catalog requires that the position of the specific course in the sequence and the total number of courses in the sequence be identified. This can be thought of in terms of a course being "number x out of number y." For example, Algebra 1A would have a position in the sequence of, and the total number of courses in the sequence would be 2. |
| Total Number of Courses in Sequence | This identifier refers to whether courses are" broken up" into multiple terms but consist of the same course description. This field refers to the total number of courses in the sequence. |