Short answer
How many semester units is a quarter unit?
Two thirds. Three quarter units equal two semester units, so a 4.5-quarter-unit course counts as 3 semester units. Chandler Unified's salary schedule and Idaho's education department both state the two-thirds rule, and Seattle Public Schools measures its entire salary schedule in quarter credits.
Sources: Chandler Unified Certified Staff Salary Schedule 2026-2027; Seattle Public Schools 2025–26 salary schedule. Checked .
Key points
- Multiply quarter units by 2/3 to get semester units; multiply semester units by 1.5 to get quarter units.
- Most salary schedules count in semester units, so quarter units are converted before they are added up.
- Seattle's lanes are written in quarter credits: BA+22.5, BA+45, BA+90 and so on.
- Rounding rules differ. San Diego Unified rounds a total fraction of one half or more up to the next whole unit.
- Renewal rules convert quarter hours too, but some states round down, so the result is not always exactly two thirds.
Why is a quarter unit smaller than a semester unit?
A college unit reflects instructional time across a term. A quarter term is shorter than a semester, and a quarter-calendar college runs three regular terms in the time a semester college runs two. Each quarter unit therefore stands for about two thirds of the class time behind a semester unit. Neither unit is "better"; they are different sizes of the same measure.
A trimester calendar is a third possibility. San Diego Unified's salary rules accept units posted as semester, quarter or trimester units, then convert the total to semester units before placing a teacher on the schedule.
How do you convert quarter units to semester units?
Multiply by two and divide by three. The table covers the counts teachers run into most often.
| Quarter units | Semester units | Where the number comes up |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.67 | A one-unit workshop course |
| 3 | 2 | The conversion Chandler Unified and Idaho state |
| 4.5 | 3 | The quarter equal of a typical three-semester-unit course |
| 9 | 6 | Six semester credits, the renewal requirement in Idaho and Alaska |
| 22.5 | 15 | Seattle's first lane step; Fairfax County's BA+15 level |
| 15 | 10 | One Wichita intermediate track |
| 45 | 30 | Seattle's BA+45 lane; Columbus's Master's+30 track |
| 54 | 36 | San Diego Unified's first column above a bachelor's without a master's |
| 90 | 60 | Seattle's BA+90 lane; San Diego's 60-unit bachelor's route to Column 012 |
Going the other way, multiply semester units by 1.5. A teacher who needs 15 semester units for the next lane needs 22.5 quarter units to cover the same gap.
Which agencies and districts write the conversion down?
The two-thirds ratio is a convention, and the useful question is whether the body that will count your units has adopted it. These sources state a quarter-unit rule in their own documents:
- Chandler Unified School District, Arizona. A footnote on its 2026-2027 certified salary schedule converts quarter hours to semester hours at a two-thirds ratio, so a 3-quarter-unit course counts as 2 semester hours.
- Columbus City Schools, Ohio. The Application for Salary Change form treats 1.5 quarter hours as one semester hour: the Master's+30 track is 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours, and the 150-hour track is 150 semester or 225 quarter hours.
- Idaho State Department of Education. For certificate renewal, three quarter credit hours equal two semester credit hours.
- United Teachers Los Angeles, for the LAUSD schedule. The union's salary guide counts one semester unit as one salary point and a quarter unit as two thirds of a point.
- San Diego Unified and SDEA. Section 2.051C of the salary rules converts the total to semester units before rounding.
- Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. One renewal credit is one semester hour or 1.5 quarter hours.
- Washington, Oregon and Colorado renewal rules. Washington counts a quarter hour as 10 continuing education credit hours against 15 for a semester hour; Oregon counts 20 PDUs against 30; Colorado counts 10 contact hours against 15.
Each of those pairs works out to exactly two thirds. South Carolina is the exception in this set: its renewal page counts a semester hour as 20 renewal credits and a quarter hour as 13, which is slightly below two thirds of 20.
Which salary schedules are written in quarter units?
Seattle Public Schools is the clearest example. A note on its 2025–26 certificated non-supervisory schedule reads, in part, "The salary schedule is measured in quarter credits". The lanes run from 100 (bachelor's) through 200 (BA+22.5), 300 (BA+45), 400 (BA+45 with a master's), 500 (BA+90), 600 (BA+90 with a master's), 700 (BA+135), 800 (BA+135 with a master's) and 900 (BA+155 with a master's), with 906 for a doctorate.
Converted, Seattle's BA+22.5 lane is 15 semester units past the bachelor's, BA+45 is 30, BA+90 is 60 and BA+135 is 90. A teacher who earns semester units from a semester-calendar college and works in Seattle has the conversion run in the other direction: each semester unit becomes 1.5 quarter credits on the district's count. Washington's own renewal rule, WAC 181-85-030, also lists quarter hours alongside semester hours. The Washington guide covers the state side.
Where a district publishes its thresholds in semester units, as San Diego, Fairfax County and Clark County do, quarter units are converted down before they are added. Wichita Public Schools sets each intermediate track at 10 graduate semester hours "or the equivalent in quarter or third hours," so 15 quarter hours fill one track. Portland Public Schools in Oregon goes the other way: its agreement with the Portland Association of Teachers measures in quarter hours, crediting a "5th year" licensure program at up to 45 quarter hours. How to read a salary schedule explains where those thresholds are printed.
How does rounding change a lane count?
Two-thirds conversions produce fractions, and districts handle fractions differently. San Diego Unified's rule rounds the converted total to the next whole number when the fraction is one half or more; the agreement's own example counts 35½ semester units as 36.
That matters at the edge of a column. San Diego's Column 011 requires 36 semester units without a master's. A teacher with 35 semester units who adds a single quarter unit reaches 35⅔, which the rule counts as 36. A teacher at 35⅓ units, by contrast, is counted at 35 and stays in the bachelor's column.
Some districts write the rounding into the threshold itself. Pinellas County Schools in Florida asks for 15 semester hours, or at least 22 quarter hours, for its PC+15 increment, which is open only to teachers hired before July 1, 2011 and paid on Level 1, so 22 quarter units are enough there even though the exact two-thirds equivalent is 22.5.
Not every district publishes a rounding rule. Where none is written, do the conversion yourself and plan to clear the threshold with whole units rather than relying on a fraction being rounded in your favor. Which units count toward a lane change covers the other tests the same units must pass.
Read the unit label, not just the number. A transcript line that shows "4.0" can be four semester units or four quarter units. If the transcript key does not make the calendar clear, the registrar's office can say which system the college uses.
Do quarter units count the same for license renewal?
Usually, at the published ratio. Oregon's OAR 584-255-0010 gives 20 PDUs per quarter hour, so a 4.5-quarter-unit course is worth 90 PDUs, the same as a 3-semester-unit course. Alaska's rule gives the same result: 4.5 quarter hours make three renewal credits. South Carolina's 13-credit quarter rate means 4.5 quarter hours earn 58.5 renewal credits against 60 for three semester hours, a small gap that only matters when you are close to a total.
Renewal and salary are separate systems with separate rules, even when they use the same ratio. Clock hours, CEUs and semester credits lists the state renewal ratios, and renewal credit vs. salary credit explains why a course can satisfy one and not the other.
How should you plan a course load across both systems?
- Find your district's unit. Check whether the schedule is written in semester or quarter units.
- Convert everything to that unit. Use 2/3 or 1.5, and note any rounding rule.
- Add only qualifying units. Level, subject and timing tests still apply after conversion.
- Leave a margin. Aim for the next whole unit above the threshold if your district does not publish how it rounds.
To compare course formats and unit types across options, see the provider comparison.
Questions about quarter and semester units
How many quarter units equal 3 semester units?
4.5 quarter units. Chandler Unified converts quarter hours at two thirds, and Idaho states that three quarter credit hours equal two semester credit hours.
Is a quarter unit worth less on a salary schedule?
Each one is worth two thirds of a semester unit where the schedule counts in semester units. UTLA's guide to the LAUSD schedule counts a quarter unit as two thirds of a salary point.
Does Seattle use quarter credits for lane changes?
Yes. Seattle's 2025–26 certificated schedule is measured in quarter credits, with lanes at BA+22.5, BA+45, BA+90, BA+135 and BA+155 with a master's.
Does a district round partial units up?
Some do. San Diego Unified rounds a converted total up to the next whole semester unit when the fraction is one half or more, so 35½ units count as 36.
Sources
- Certified Staff Salary Schedule 2026-2027 (dated February 25, 2026), Chandler Unified School District Governing Board packet. Checked
- Master Agreement between the Columbus Board of Education and the Columbus Education Association, 2025–2028, including the Application for Salary Change form, State Employment Relations Board filing. Checked
- Teacher Agreement between the Board of Education of USD 259 and United Teachers of Wichita, August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027, Wichita Public Schools. Checked
- Agreement between Portland Public Schools and the Portland Association of Teachers, 2023–2026, Portland Public Schools. Checked
- PCS Form 3-228, PC+15 salary increment (Rev. 7/25), Pinellas County Schools. Checked
- Renewal of an Idaho certificate, Idaho State Department of Education. Checked
- Your salary schedule, United Teachers Los Angeles. Checked
- Collective Bargaining Agreement, San Diego Unified School District and San Diego Education Association, 2025–2027 (Appendix A salary rules), posted by SDEA. Checked
- 2025–26 Certificated Non-Supervisory Salary Schedule, Seattle Public Schools. Checked
- Renewal and reinstatement, Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. Checked
- WAC 181-85-030, Continuing education credit hour, Washington State Legislature. Checked
- OAR 584-255-0010, Professional development requirements, Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission rule. Checked
- Checklist: renewing a professional teacher license, Colorado Department of Education. Checked
- Renewal credit options, South Carolina Department of Education. Checked
- Additional Salary Request, form HR-353, Fairfax County Public Schools. Checked
Reviewed November 12, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error