Grading Calendar

FIRST MARKING PERIOD ends November 9, 2011

November 17, 2011 Grades Due
Week of November 21st Grades posted to HAC

SECOND MARKING PERIOD ends January 24, 2012

February 6, 2012 Grades Due
Week of February 13th Grades posted to HAC

THIRD MARKING PERIOD ends April 5, 2012

April 19, 2012 Grades Due
Week of April 23rd Grades posted to HAC

FOURTH MARKING PERIOD ends June 14, 2012

June 25, 2012 Grades Due
Week of July 2nd Grades posted to HAC

Class Rank

Ridge High School does not rank but provides each student with an official weighted GPA after the 5th semester.

Exams

Quarterly examinations will be held within the regular classroom daily schedule on the regular testing days near the end of the first and third marking periods. Exams are held at the end of each semester - after marking period 2 and marking period 4. Each exam should be designed to be two hours in length. Regular classes are suspended during the exam schedule. The dates for exams are included in this handbook.

All courses, except fine arts, physical education, health, and woods, will include semester examinations that will be counted as separate grades in the marking system. These examination grades will also appear on report cards.

When quarterly or semester examinations are given in fine arts, physical education, health or woods, the grade earned will become part of the marking period up to, but not exceeding, one third of the grade.

Final Exam Exemptions

Final Exam in AP Courses

Students in any grade level who have taken the AP Exam and have maintained a grade of B- or better in their AP course by year-end, including the fourth making period, shall be exempt from the final examination in that course.

Full-Year Courses

Only Seniors in full-year courses who have earned an “A+, A, or A-“ as a marking period grade in all marking periods, including the fourth marking period, will be exempt from taking the final examination without penalty.

Semester Courses

Only Seniors in fall or spring semester courses who have an “A+, A, or A-“ in both marking periods may be exempt from the final examination. Teacher approval is required for an exemption from a semester course final exam.

Please note: If a Senior student has an “average” of A+, A, or A- as a final grade, but does not have an A+, A, or A- in each marking period, he/she does not satisfy the exemption criteria.

Home Access Center

Parents and students may access grades, attendance and discipline records through the use of HAC. HAC can be accessed through www.bernardsboe.com or the Ridge High School website.

Report Cards

These reports will each be issued four times per year on or about the dates listed on page ix. A message will be electronically sent to all parents informing them of the availability of reports on Home Access Center.

Marking Period Grades

The following letter grades and word descriptors appear on report cards, permanent records (transcripts), and in any school publication that explains the grading system.

Grade Descriptors

A Excellent

B Good

C Satisfactory

D Poor

E Failure and No Credit

I Incomplete

W Withdraw

Final Course Grades

Final Course Grades are Weighted as Follows:

Grade                 CP         Honors         AP

97-100 A+         4.33         5.00         5.33

93-96 A             4.00         4.67         5.00

90-92 A-           3.67         4.33          4.67

87-89 B             3.33         4.00         4.33

83-86 B             3.00         3.67         4.00

80-82 B-           2.67         3.33         3.67

77-79 C+          2.33         3.00         3.33

73-76 C            2.00         2.67         3.00

70-72 C-          1.67          2.33         2.67

67-69 D+         1.33          2.00         2.33

63-66 D           1.00          1.67         2.00

60-62 D-          0.67           1.33         1.67

0-59 E              0.33           0.33         0.33

Values Used to Calculate Final Grade

The system assigns values based on quality points to each letter grade. The quality points differ for un-weighted, honors weighted, and AP weighted courses, but the procedure is the same and you can use the un-weighted quality points to determine the final grade for any course. The marks (A+, A, A-, etc) and values (433, 400, 367, etc.) are specified in the software in what is called the Level Table.

Level Table for un-weighted course:

A+ 433               C+ 233
A 400                 C  200
A- 367                C- 167
B+ 333               D+ 133
B 300                 D-   67
B- 267                E   33

Grading System for Full Year Courses with Exams

Each MP grade counts as 20% of the final grade. The two exams are averaged and this grade counts as 20% of the final grade. If a course does have exams, but a student is exempt from taking the final exam, each MP grade counts as 20%, the mid-term exam counts as 10%, and the sum of the MP’s and mid-term is divided by 9 rather than 10.

Grading System for Full Year Courses without Exams

If a course does not have exams each MP grade counts as 25% of final grade.

Grading System for courses with Semester Examinations

For semester courses with an examination the value of each marking period grade is doubled. The numerical equivalent of the exam grade is added to the total. The total is then divided by 5. The conversion of accumulated points to letter grades is then the same as for full year courses. Students who have a "D" average and who fail one of the last two marking periods may be given a "D" or an "E" at the discretion of the teacher.

Grading System for Semester Courses without Examinations

Each marking period will equal 50% of the final grade.

Some Examples

Student #1

MP1	A-	367 x 2	=	734
MP2	B	300 x 2	=	600
Exam	C+	233 X 1	=	233
MP3	B	300 x 2	=	600
MP4	A	400 x 2	=	800
Exam	B+	333 X 1	=	333

So: 734 + 600 + 233 (Midterm Ex) + 600 + 800 + 333 (Final Ex)= 3300/10

The value 330 is then compared to the Level Table and the final grade is assigned based on the value in the table closest to the value earned by the student. In this case the student’s 330 is closest to 333 so the final grade is B+. If the student’s value is not a whole number the value is rounded (356.5 becomes a 357; 356.4 remains 356). If the student’s value is exactly between two values on the Level Table the higher grade is assigned.

Student #2

MP1	A-	367 x 2	=	734
MP2	B	300 x 2	=	600
Exam	A	400
MP3	B+	433 x 2	=	866
MP4	A	400 x 2	=	800
Exam	Exempt

So: 734 + 600 + 400 (exam) + 866 + 800 = 3400 / 9 = 377.7 = 378

The value 378 is closest to 367 so the final grade is A-.

Incompletes

An "I" on a report card indicates that the marking period grade or the final average grade cannot be computed because the student's academic work is "Incomplete". Incomplete grades must be satisfactorily completed within 10 school days of the date grades are published on HAC or they will automatically be changed to an "E", unless the subject teacher requests that the grade be held "incomplete" because of extenuating circumstances. If you wish to compute a final grade outside the weight system, you must request that the principal convene a committee consisting of yourself, your department chairperson, the principal, the student's counselor, and the parent(s). This committee will make a final grade recommendation to the principal after consideration of extenuating circumstances. The principal will determine the final grade.

Honor Roll Determinations

Honor Roll, High Honor Roll, and Principal's Honor Roll students will be determined at the end of each marking period.

Honor Roll ranking will be achieved with a marking period grade of “B-” or better in every subject.

High Honor Roll ranking will be achieved with a marking period grade of “B-" in one subject with marking period grades of “A” in all other subjects.

Principal's Honor Roll ranking will be achieved with a marking period grade of “A” in every subject.