As a parent, it can be nerve-wracking when credits are at risk, but 'waiting' is the shortcut

In high school, you can graduate by earning 74 credits or more.

High schools can be categorized into 'credit-based' and 'grade-based' systems based on how they handle credit completion.

In a credit-based high school, if you 'fail' a credit, you don't have to repeat the year; you can simply retake the course, and if you don't reach 74 credits within three years, you just enter a 'fourth year'.

In other words, in a credit-based high school, graduation is simply pushed back a little.

In contrast, in a grade-based high school, failing even one credit results in 'repeating the year,' and you have to redo the entire grade in which you failed the credit.

Essentially, in a grade-based high school, you are faced with a choice between repeating the year with zero credits or advancing with 30 credits.

A high school credit is earned when you 'attend' the course and also pass exams or other requirements to 'complete' it.

Generally, an attendance rate of 80% is required to 'attend' a course.
Since taking a class once a week for 35 weeks earns you '1 credit,' as a rule of thumb, missing 7 weeks or more means you are at risk of 'losing the credit'.

However, it is not automatically decided that you will lose the credit just because your attendance rate falls below 80% and you haven't 'attended' enough.

Ultimately, it is at the principal's discretion.

Therefore, some high schools use long breaks to make up for missed class hours, and some have rules that treat participation in counseling rooms or infirmaries as attendance.
Some schools also relax attendance requirements until the student is able to return to school.

Of course, you still have to provide the school with evaluation materials to 'complete' the course, such as taking periodic exams or submitting reports, but...

A child who can no longer go to school is in a 'state of having no energy'.

That is why saying things like 'You're about to lose your credits' or 'What do you want to do from here?' actually delays their energy recovery.

Even though it makes you feel uneasy as a parent, it is better to wait a little while and not repeat everything the school says to your child.

Waiting also makes parents feel uneasy.
In such cases, it is best to limit your comments to non-pressuring suggestions that help the child realize they have options, such as 'Maybe transferring from a grade-based to a credit-based high school is a possibility'.

'Waiting' for the child's energy to recover is the shortcut that allows both parent and child to think about the next step together.