Understanding Your Academic Record

All of the courses you take in high school (grades 9-12) earn credits. Students who fail classes may not have enough credits to advance to the next grade. These students may also find that they’re not able to graduate on time.

In high school, the courses are more difficult and the grades are more important. High school grades help determine the kinds of jobs students can get and the colleges they’ll be able to get into.

Understand Your Academic Record Academic Requirements * How many credits is a year long academic course such as English, math, Spanish? __1__ *How many credits do you need in order to advance to the 10 th grade? 6 11 th ? th ? 18 to graduate? 24 *What happens if you don’t have enough credits toadvance to the next level? You may take core classes (English, math, science, history) in summer school. Some classes may be “doubled up” in the next academic year. *Of the courses you are taking, which ones are required for graduation? All CORE classes (English, math, science, history); check DIPLOMA REQUIREMENTS for other required classes.

Grade Point Average Your Grade Point Average (GPA) is important because colleges and employers will use it to help them determine what kind of a student or employee you will be. Your GPA is simply the average of your semester (or end of term) grades, starting with your freshman year. Most high schools use a 4.0 scale in which an A=4, B=3, C=2, and D=1. Students who have all As have a 4.0 grade point average. Students who have Bs in half their courses and Cs in the rest have a 2.5 GPA. “Weighted Grades” are for honors courses,.5 for pre-advanced placement (PAP) or honors and 1.0 for Advanced Placement (AP). An A in an honors course is worth 4.1 points, an A in AP is worth 5 points.

While a variety of methods are used to calculate grade point averages, the higher your grades, the higher your GPA. To find out what your GPS is, log on to iNow and look at TRANSCRIPT or see Mrs. Waldrop in Guidance. “I really didn’t pay too much attendance to my grades until this year. To be honest, I didn’t even know what a GPA was until a few months ago. I’m trying to bring my grade point average up now, but it’s just so hard to do as a junior. I really wish I would have thought about this earlier.” Josh

Class Rank Many high schools use class rank to show where students stand in relation to the other members of their class. The student with the highest GPA is number one, the student with the next highest GPA is number two, etc. Class rank is usually written as two numbers (35/295). The first number represents a student’s place in the class. The second number represents the total number of students in the class. Because GPAs are used to calculate class rank, you must have a high GPA in order to have an impressive class rank. Students with a 4.0 are recognized at graduation as an HONOR GRADUATE.

High School Transcript A high School transcript is a document that details a student’s academic achievement in grades A transcript is, quite simply, a copy of a student’s high school record. Although the information included on high school transcript varies from district to district, high school transcripts generally contain the following information: Grades and credits for each course completed, beginning with grade 9 Attendance Current cumulative GPA and class rank Anticipated graduation date State test scores (ACT PLAN) College test scores (PSAT, ACT, SAT)

An official transcript has a signature, stamp, or seal verifying its authenticity. An unofficial transcript is exactly the same as an official transcript, except that it has no signature, stamp, or seal. Students can usually get an unofficial transcript (to check their credits or to take on a college visit) by going to the guidance office. Transcripts are used when a school, organization or college needs a copy of a student’s high school record. For example, if you were to transfer to another school, your new high school would need to have a record of the courses you’ve taken, your grades, and the credits you’ve earned. Your new high school would, therefore, ask your current school to send them an official transcript. Colleges need a transcript in order to determine whether of not an applicant meets their admission requirements. Colleges, therefore, generally require that an official transcript be submitted along with a student’s application for admission. A transcript is also usually required when a student applies for a scholarship or admittance into the armed forces.