Standards of Omaha Public Schools

By Society & Culture & Entertainment Last updated Thursday, May/02/2024

Content Standards

OPS determines specific course content standards for all classes offered throughout the district. These standards are set for all classes including art, English and language arts, science, mathematics, business and marketing, physical education and music. Teachers use these standards to determine the focus and goals of their classes. For example, OPS high school students taking Marketing 2 are expected to "understand the economic principles and concepts fundamental to marketing." One of the ways they demonstrate this knowledge is by "identifying the impact of the cultural and social environment on world trade."

In 2010, OPS moved away from the traditional 100-point grading scale. The district uses a scale of 0-5, with 0 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. These scores are converted to a letter grades (A-F) on progress reports and report cards, but the district believes the 0-5 scale provides a more effective, unified method of grading. Teachers assign a "5" when the student has shown advanced understanding, a "4" when the learning is proficient, a "3" when the student has learned the basic knowledge or skill and a "2," "1" or "0" when the student's understanding is below basic.

Students attending OPS must earn 49 credits to graduate. These credits are earned from eighth to 12th grade. Within those 49 credits, eight must be earned in English, seven in social studies, six in mathematics, six in science, four in physical education, one in human growth and development, and 17 in elective classes. Students must complete 12 credits in their sophomore year, 24 in their junior year and 26 in their senior year to move on.

There are 190 teaching days in the OPS school year. Students who have more than five days of unexcused absences are called in to meet with their school principal or a designee as well as their parents or guardians. The student may receive educational counseling or review. If the student reaches 20 days of unexcused absences in the school year, the school files a truancy report with the Douglas County attorney.