January 28, 2008
Dear High School and Unified District STAR Coordinators:
PROCEDURES TO AWARD GOLDEN STATE SEAL MERIT DIPLOMA TO GRADUATING SENIORS
In April 2004 the State Board of Education (SBE) designated Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program's California Standards Test (CST) results to be used to qualify eligible pupils for the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma (GSSMD). The GSSMD was established in 1997 to provide recognition to public school graduates who have demonstrated mastery of the high school curriculum in designated areas. Each school district or charter school that confers high school diplomas is required per Education Code sections 51450–51455 to maintain appropriate records in order to identify students who have earned a GSSMD and to affix the appropriate insignia to the diploma and transcript for each qualifying student.
To qualify for the GSSMD, students must be receiving a high school diploma and have earned designated results on six qualifying CSTs as part of the STAR Program or Golden State Examinations (GSE). When using CST results, students must have earned a scaled score of 370 or above. When using GSE results, students must have earned a performance level of recognition, honors, or high honors. Please note that the GSE program was repealed in 2003. Students graduated in 2007 were the last group of students who would have GSE results. The following enclosed documents are provided to assist with identifying graduates who qualify for the GSSMD. These documents are also available on the GSSMD Web page.
- Eligibility Requirements for the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma
This document details the examinations and scores students may use to qualify for the GSSMD. - Certification of Award Summary Sheet
School/district staff may use this spreadsheet to identify graduating seniors whose test scores meet the diploma requirements. The spreadsheet is for district use only. Do not submit the Certification of Award Summary Sheet to the California Department of Education (CDE). - Insignia Request Form
District/charter school staff are to complete and submit this form to CDE's Standards and Assessment Division to request diploma insignias.
After identifying seniors who qualify for the GSSMD, complete and submit one Insignia Request Form per district or charter school. The district superintendent/charter school administrator must sign the form. Insignia Request Forms may be mailed to CDE as soon as districts/charter schools have complete information. There is no deadline for submitting insignia request forms; however, districts should request insignias far enough in advance of the first graduation ceremony date in the district to allow time for CDE to process the request and for district staff to place the insignias on the diplomas. Districts should receive insignias within two weeks from the date that CDE receives the request. The CDE will begin mailing requested insignias the first week of April.
Due to popular demand, beginning in 2008, the insignia provided by CDE will be one inch in diameter. If districts wish to have the previous larger size (one and one-half inches in diameter) insignias they will need to indicate this on the Insignia Request Form. Requests for the larger size insignias will be fulfilled only while supplies last.
Districts/charter schools may also request insignias for eligible students who graduated prior to 2008. Complete and submit a separate Insignia Request Form with the Graduation Year section completed with the appropriate year. The Graduation Date section may be left blank. The district superintendent/charter school administrator must sign the form. The CDE will process and mail insignias for prior year graduates on receipt.
Please share this information with your high school principals, administrators, counselors, credit clerks at high schools awarding high school diplomas, and staff in district curriculum offices. If you have any questions about the GSSMD, contact the Standards and Assessment Division at 916-445-8765, by fax at 916-319-0969, or by e-mail at STAR@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
/s/
Deb Sigman, Director
Standards and Assessment Division
DS:mt
Enclosures
cc: County and District Superintendents
Charter School Administrators
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814