Credit by Demonstrated Mastery
What is Credit by Demonstrated Mastery?
Credit by Demonstrated Mastery (CDM) is the process by which a student may earn credit for a high school course by demonstrating a deep understanding of the content; without course enrollment or seat time. CDM was designed to respond to the needs of students, families, the AIG community, school and district personnel and leadership.
CDM specifically offers North Carolina students the opportunity to personalize and accelerate their learning, thus allowing for optimal student growth while providing an opportunity to effectively use seat time to learn new content. CDM remains an instructional practice that will help us to differentiate and accelerate students who have a clearly expressed need.
NCDPI has updated various aspects regarding the implementation of CDM in World Languages and Career and Technical Education, and those changes are outlined in the CDM Back to School memo (link below). These updates allow for the use of external assessments to determine World Languages proficiency levels during the CDM process and ensure integration of the new CTE test administrations with CDM based on new federal reporting requirements.
How does a student earn CDM?
Students shall demonstrate mastery through a multiphase assessment, consisting of:
Phase 1: A standard examination, which shall be the EOC/EOG where applicable, or a final exam developed locally; and
Phase 2: An artifact which requires the student to apply knowledge and skills relevant to the content standards.
While the CDM process is open to all students, it not designed for whole groups of students. Likewise, it is not intended to replace the general accelerated pathways local school districts often provide for advanced students.
New for the 2025-2026 school year and beyond:
To enhance test security and streamline administration windows, the NCDPI is providing parallel windows for CDM and flexible testing. Flexible testing and CDM testing will be available:
| CDM Testing Windows for the 2025-26 school year: | |
|---|---|
| Summer 2025 | Last 10 days of July |
| Fall 2025 | Last 5 school days in both September AND October |
| Spring 2026 | Last 10 school days in March |
| Additional flexible testing windows | A school's fall and spring EOC testing windows |
Selected CDM Implementation Resources
The CDM Implementation Guide was developed to support districts and charter schools in implementing the CDM policy efficiently and effectively. The guide contains suggestions for developing teams at the school and/or district level to support the CDM process and looks at short and long-term considerations for implementation.
The CDM Procedural Guide from the Office of Accountability and Testing is updated each year to support testing and accountability directors in ensuring appropriate steps are taken to follow the CDM policy. The guide includes procedures for setting up test administration sessions for state-administered assessments within the outlined testing windows and procedures to ensure students receive appropriate credit upon successful completion of the CDM process.