8 th Grade PEP Academic Planning

Overview 1.Introduce high school credit system 2.Understand and practice calculating Grade Point Average 3.Learn how to read a high school transcript 4.Introduce graduation requirements

Credits

Credits Students earn credits by passing a class (receiving an A, B, C, or D) For each standard one-semester course they pass, students earn 5 credits If students fail (earn an F) in a course, they do NOT earn any credits and will need to repeat the course Students must take and pass 6 or 7 classes per semester to be considered “on track to graduate”  If you pass 6 classes per semester, how many credits will you earn… In a semester? o 30 credits In 1 year? o 60 credits In 4 years? o 240 credits ( )

Credits Example 1st Semester2nd SemesterTotal Credits 9 th Grade Freshman Intro to Lit & Comp 5 Pre-Algebra 5 US History 5 Earth Science 5 Physical Ed 5 Fine Arts 5 Total Credits Intro to Lit & Comp 5 Pre-Algebra 5 US History 5 Earth Science 5 Physical Ed 5 Fine Arts 5 Total Credits 10 th Grade Sophomore American Literature 5 Geometry 5 Civics 5 Biology 5 Elective 5 Total Credits 30 American Literature 5 Geometry 5 Civics 5 Biology 5 Elective 5 Total Credits th Grade Junior World Lit 5 Algebra 2 5 Social Studies 5 Physics 5 Elective 5 Total Credits 30 World Lit 5 Algebra 2 5 Social Studies 5 Physics 5 Elective 5 Total Credits th Grade Senior Lang Arts Elective 5 Statistic/Calculus 5 Elective 5 Total Credits 30 Lang Arts Elective 5 Statistic/Calculus 5 Elective 5 Total Credits 30 (1 st - add across) 1 st semester credits + 2 nd semester credits credits earned per year = (2 nd, add down) Freshman year credits + Sophomore year credits total credits so far = = th & 10 th grade credits + Junior year credits total credits so far = = th & 10 th grade credits + Junior year credits credits needed to graduate = = 240

Credits Example You are taking the required class of Intro to Lit & Comp and you get a C the 1 st semester and an F the 2 nd semester. How many credits have you earned in Intro to Lit & Comp? o Answer: 5 credits You are taking 7 classes during your freshman year. You pass 5 of the 7 classes. How many credits have you earned? Are you on track to graduate? o Answer: 25 credit; not on-track to graduate on time.

Quiz (Note: all quiz questions may be used for pre/post-testing) 1.How many credits do you receive for passing 1 semester-long class? * 5 2.How many credits do you need to earn to graduate from high school? * How many credits do you need to earn each year to be considered “on track to graduate?” * 60-65

Grades

Grades GPA = Grade Point Average o Grade = A, B, C, D, or F o Point = the point value assigned to the grade A = 4 B = 3 C = 2 D = 1 F = 0 o Average = how many numbers there are (divide by) add up all the numbers

GPA Example 1 B (Intro to Lit) 3 C (Algebra) 2 C (Earth Science) 2 B (Geography) 3 A (Spanish) 4 A (PE) classes 3.0 GPA

GPA Example 2 B (Intro to Lit) 3 F (Algebra) 0 C (Earth Science) 2 A (Geography) 4 D (Spanish) 1 C (PE) classes 2.0 GPA

GPA Continued

Quiz 4.What is a GPA? c. Grade Point Average 5.How many credits do you earn if you receive a C grade in class? d. 5 credits (remember: credits are pass/fail; 5 or none – GPA is different) 6.If you earn an A in Introduction to Literature, a B in Geography, a C in Earth Science, a C in Spanish, a D in Algebra, and an F in Art, what is your GPA? b. 2.0

Transcripts

Example Transcript #1 Student Info: -Grade -Gender GPA Summary, class rank, etc. Attendance Information School enrollment history Year by year, term by term, review of course, grades, credits, & GPA 9 th grade, Term 1 9 th, T2 10 th, T1 10 th, T2 11 th, T1 11 th, T2 12 th, T1 Standardized Test Scores -CSAP or -TCAP -ACT Add up total credits & determine if this student is on-track to graduate What is this student’s overall GPA?

Example Transcript #2 What grade is this student? -9 th grade How many semesters has he/she completed so far? -1 semester What is this student’s GPA? How many days has the student been absent? Tardy? -Absent 64.5; Tardy 13 How many credits has the student earned so far? = 20 credits Is this student on-track to graduate? -no, need at least per semester to be on-track

Why GPA and test scores matter Example from student Transcript 1 (GPA = 3.28; ACT = 14)

Quiz 7.What information is kept on my high school transcript? d. courses, grades, credits, attendance, TSAP scores and GPA

Graduation Requirements

Credits of English? -How many years is this? -How many semesters? Credits of Science & SS? -How many years? -How many semesters? Credits of PE, Band, ROTC? -How many years? -How many semesters? Credits of Electives? -How many years? -How many semesters? 40 credits 4 years 8 sem. 30 credits 3 years 6 sem. 10 credits 1 year 2 sem. 90 credits 2 / year + 18 sem. Credits needed to graduate

Quiz 8.How many credits do you need to earn to graduate from high school? Once again = 240!!! 9.How many years of English do you need to take to graduate from high school? (how many credits?) d. 4 years, 40 credits 10. How many years of science do you need to take to graduate from high school? (how many credits?) c. 3 years, 30 credits

Graduation Requirements & your 4-year plan What English class is required your 9 th grade year? What Math class is required for 9 th grade year? Intro to Lit & Comp Algebra

School of Choice 1 st Round – Due January 31 st 2 nd Round – Available in March