Student Placement 

During course selection, students are given a list of projected courses for the following school year.  Courses in the Program of Studies may state prerequisites that must be met in order for a student to be eligible to enroll. 

Students who do not meet the prerequisites for course enrollment based on June grades may be offered reconsideration if requested to their Counselor.  The reconsideration request must be initiated by the parent or student after June grades are posted and before June 30.

Students are expected to show, by the end of the summer, evidence of the content knowledge and academic skill needed for their requested courses. Different subject areas may require different forms of assessment of performance.

Courses will be offered contingent on the number of students who request the course - a minimum number of 12 registered students in a course is required for a course to run.

Achievement Levels 

Honors Courses are planned for the student who brings extraordinary background and superior motivation to the subject.  Honors credit is available in select English, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Foreign Language, and Visual and Performing Arts courses.  To earn honors credit, students will typically complete advanced work and be evaluated at higher standards of assessment than in a regular course.

To enter an honors-level course, students must meet stated prerequisites. Where a separate honors section is not available, students may elect (having met the prerequisite) to earn honors credit in core science, social studies, and English courses, by the end of the first quarter of the academic year.  Most International Baccalaureate courses are designated as honors level courses. 

Standard level courses are core classes offered to all students in pursuit of the American High School diploma.

ACS Athens Grade Policy

The Academy uses letter grades: A, B, C, D, and F along with a plus or minus, indicating the percentage range of the students grade (except in the case of an F). The + or – will appear on the transcript. 

Students who attend a class for less than two weeks at the start of the semester will not be awarded a withdrawal grade on their transcript. Students who attend a class for more than two weeks and request to withdraw will be awarded a withdrawal grade indicating either a withdraw/pass (W/P) or a withdraw/fail (W/F). Additionally, the student’s transcript will reflect the courses in progress and "NC" to indicate no credit given. 

Students who attend more than 50% of a course will be awarded quarter grades and a cumulative semester or year’s grade (depending on the course duration). The report card will list this class along with the grade. This will become part of their transcript. 

For complete details on our grading policy please refer to the Student/Parent Handbook.

Assessment Policy

ACS Athens students are challenged to become architects of their own learning who reach their unique potential – academically, intellectually, socially and ethically – to thrive as responsible global citizens. The school’s approach to assessment is designed to support these elements of the school’s vision and mission.

ACS Athens faculty and administration believe that assessment is formative and summative and seeks to:

1. Discover and enhance students’ knowledge, attitudes towards learning, understandings and abilities;

2. Inform, improve and facilitate teaching and learning;

3. Inspire students to reach their full potential.

ACS Athens faculty and administration are committed to developing an assessment program that values the most accurate demonstration of student performance over the averaging of grades in a reporting period.

The faculty are currently engaged in documenting assessment practices, and creating a bank of departmental assessment rubrics, as part of our work (grades JK-12) to create a portfolio of teaching strategies and practices that promote students’ learning in all aspects of the Learner Profile/ACS Portrait of a Graduate, and which represent research-based best practices in constructivist, inquiry-based teaching and learning.

Pursuit of Excellence 

While the Academy strives to offer a program of academic excellence, of equal importance is the development of respectful, ethical, and self-reliant behaviors.  When students join the Academy, they are making a commitment to improving themselves, the school, and the community.

The Academy also believes that academic success demonstrates little when achieved at the cost of academic integrity.  We are committed, therefore, to the maintenance of ethical standards and behaviors from all the members of our community.  The expectation in the Academy is that work on all papers, projects, homework, exams, is original.  No matter what pressures are faced from the family, the demands of college admissions or peers, students are responsible for consistently maintaining the originality of work, for documenting all sources, for organizing and preparing well, and for completing assignments on time.