Policy ECK - Curriculum: Honors Courses
Policy ECK - Curriculum: Honors Courses (PDF)
Issue Date: November 15, 2023
Honors Course Objectives
An honors course is one which focuses on extension and purposeful differentiation while facilitating more depth within course standards.
Honors courses meet the following criteria:
- Offer students opportunities to learn from the perspectives of others;
- Where appropriate, encourage students to find multiple possible solution pathways;
- Use of data to reason;
- Encourage students to take risks and persevere in problem solving;
- Personalize student learning experiences; and
- If appropriate, emphasize deep understanding of grade level content and above-level content.
Honors courses may not:
- Emphasize teacher lecture;
- Emphasize rote memorization of rules and procedures or basic recall of facts;
- Equate an honors designation with an increased workload, such as requiring more assignments or reading additional texts without clear intent; or
- Include little to no collaborative work.
Utah Admin. Rules R277-728-2 (November 7, 2022)
Utah Admin. Rules R277-728-3(1), (2) (November 7, 2022)
Honors Course Enrollment
An honors course shall be open and available to any interested student, and schools may not prohibit enrollment based on student past performance, experience, or other measures. School staff shall uniformly promote honors courses to all students and families. To the extent possible, each school shall provide enough sections for honors courses to meet student demand. Schools shall remove barriers and provide opportunities to students from all representative demographics to reach their academic potential.