Grades

All grades will be scored on the AP scale of 1-9 points, with 9 being the highest score achievable (see rubric). The only exception will be your journal/homework assignments, which will receive a check, check-minus, or a zero. These will later be converted to a corresponding score on the 1-9 scale. The 1-9 scale will be adjusted to letter grade equivalents at the end of the term.

Most essays and assignments for the first six-ten weeks will receive one grade; after that, they will receive two grades. That means if you score a 5 on your first paper, which is in the first six-weeks, but a 6 on a later paper, then your total will be 17 (5, 6+6). Other assignments may be similarly weighted throughout the year.

Columbine High School's English department policy requires that each student complete every essay and major project/assignment in order to pass a course, regardless of what the final point total is. That means that if, at the end of the year, you have enough points to earn a D or C in the class, but you did not write one essay or complete one of the major assignments, you automatically fail the course.

Weighted Grades 

Per Jefferson County Public Schools: It is the intention of the district to recognize and encourage the additional effort and learning required in classes beyond the usual level of difficulty for high school courses. To accomplish this, a weighted grade scale will be implemented for certain courses that have a consistently verified, elevated, national curriculum and that culminate in an assessment demonstrating the student’s mastery of the subject matter. This is one of those courses. A traditional course multiplier factors letter grades as such: A = 4 B = 3 C = 2 D = 1 F = 0. The weighted course multiplier factore grades as such: A = 5 B = 4 C = 3 D = 1 F = 0.

The weighted grade point average and weighted class rank will be used to determine eligibility for school academic awards and honors such as Valedictorian, Salutatorian, etc. The score reflected in my gradebook is not weighted; the weighting is done by the counselors when calculating your G.P.A. and creating your transcript. In other words, add one grade to an A, B, or C in my gradebook.