Using DHS Course Description Booklet

 

Welcome to Dhahran High School

 

All students are required to complete the course selection form provided in the application packet or available on-line. Students are reminded to choose their classes carefully.  Students should discuss course descriptions with their parents, teachers, and counselor before completing the course selection form.  Courses should be chosen that will challenge and prepare students for their future in colleges and universities.  Students will be scheduled into the classes selected on the course selection form unless those classes are filled, the course does not meet the students’ graduation requirements, does not fit their schedule, or the course is canceled. 

 

Counselors make every effort to aid students in planning student high school programs, projecting these programs towards long-term college and career goals.  The counselors will work hand in hand with the student and parents to assure the appropriate courses are incorporated into the student’s schedule.  Therefore, when selecting courses, we encourage students to consider both graduation and college/university education requirements.

 

  • Course Prerequisites: Please read the course descriptions which follow before completing the course selection form.  Prerequisites are listed in this Handbook below each course to help students and parents make the best educational decisions.  Students must meet these prerequisites before they may enroll in certain courses. 
  • Electives: Students should select their required and elective courses for the entire yearand then list electives, including alternative elective choices on the course selection form.  These elective offerings are listed on the back of the course selection form.  In the event that some elective classes are filled, students will be enrolled in their alternate choices in the order listed. 
  • Repeat Credit: Students will not receive credits for repeating a course that was passed previously with the exception of some Physical Education and Fine Arts courses as indicated in the course description.
  • Schedule Adjustments: The need for schedule adjustments should be kept to a minimum.  Valid reasons for requesting an adjustment are:  1) Graduation requirement;  2) Has not taken the prerequisite course required to take the class;   3)  Did not sign up for the course;  4) Counselor recommendation.  Adding and dropping courses will be allowed only during the first week of each semester, and in the case of AP classes, adjustments will need to be made with counselor, parent and teacher approval.
  • Advanced Placement/Honors Prerequisites: Please see the attached Honors and Advanced Placement Addendum for this information.
  • AP Exams: Students enrolled in an AP course are expected to take the spring AP exams. Each AP exam costs approximately 325 SAR due at the start of the second semester. High school students passing an end of course exam (scaled 1 – 5) with a 3, 4, or 5 often receive both DHS and university credit.  While success in AP courses is highly regarded, each university chooses whether to offer university level credit. 

 

Minimum Credits Required for Graduation: 24 Credits
English  4 credits
Math 3 credits
Science 3 credits
Social Studies 4 credits
*Global Languages 2 credits
Physical Education 2 credits
Fine Arts 1 credit
Technology  1 credit
Electives 3 credits
Health  .5 credit
Computer and Information Mgmt. .5 credit
**Arabic Culture .5 credit (repeated 1 semester each year)

 

*Languages must be consecutive years of the same language.
**This course fulfills the Ministry of Education requirement.  Students must take this course one semester of every academic year, unless enrolled in an Arabic Language course of study.

 

 

Sample Academic Plan

 

Dhahran High School is a college preparatory high school. Successful completion of this college preparatory program will earn each student a high school diploma and will help to prepare them for a four-year college or university program.  We assist each Dhahran High School student in developing a four-year academic plan to outline his or her own high school program.  The school counselors are available to recommend course selections to assist students in engineering this plan. A sample plan follows:

 

Freshman

Sophomore

Junior

Senior

English 9

English 10

American Literature or
AP Language & Composition

British Literature or AP Literature & Composition

(Alg 1) GEOMETRY

(Geom.) ALGEBRA 2

(Alg 2) PRECALCULUS

CALCULUS
(Precalculus or other Math course)

Physical Science

Biology

Chemistry

Physics,
AP Science or Other Science Course

Ancient World History

Modern World History

US History or
AP US History

AP Economics,
AP World History, or Other SS Course

Global Language I

Global Language II

Global Language III

Global Language IV or
AP Global Language

Physical Education/
Health

Physical Education/
Elective

PE Elective/
Elective

PE Elective/
Elective

CI&M/
Arabic Culture

Technology/
Arabic Culture

Technology/
Arabic Culture

Elective/
Arabic Culture

Fine Arts and
FA / Study Hall / PE

Fine Arts / Elective

Elective / Elective

Elective / Elective

 

 

Testing

 

The PLAN, SAT 10, PSAT, SAT I, SAT II, and ACT exams are offered on the Dhahran High campus. 

 

  • PLAN:  Students at DHS take the PLAN in October of their sophomore year.
  • SAT10/OLSAT 8:  Students take the Stanford Achievement Test in the spring of their sophomore year.
  • PSAT:  Students take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT)  in October of their  junior year.
  • ACT:  The American College Test (ACT) is offered in October and December to students in their junior or senior years. The ACT is a subject-based college entrance exam accepted by many colleges and universities in the United States. 
  • SAT Exams:  SAT exams are offered to students at various dates during their junior and senior years. Students often take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT I) and the subject area Scholastic Aptitude Test II (SAT II) in the spring of their junior year and/or fall of their senior year.  Students should plan the subject area test if they are required by the colleges and universities to which they would like to apply.

 

 

College and University Requirements

 

It is the responsibility of each student to make sure that his or her academic plan for high school will meet the requirements for entrance into the college or university of his or her choice.  Some programs may have additional requirements.  Most American colleges and universities require that students graduate from an accredited or approved high school.  Dhahran High School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, one of the six major U.S. accreditation agencies.

 

TOEFL

 

International students should plan to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).  The TOEFL is required of international students and students for whom English is a second language who are applying to colleges and universities in the United States, Great Britain, or other countries where the college/university language of instruction is English.   The TOEFL is offered online and in Dammam at two different sites for men and women.  More information is available online at www.toefl.org.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Course Descriptions

 

 

Click here to download the Course Description Booklet PDF format

 

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