Student Information
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Students who entered 9th grade in Fall 2012 or after must complete the following courses as well as any testing or graduation project requirements to earn a diploma from Alexander County Schools.
FUTURE-READY CORE
English 4 Credits: English I, English II, English III, English IV
Mathematics 4 Credits: Math I, II, and III and a 4th Math Course to be aligned with the student’s post high school plans
Science 3 Credits: Environmental Science, Biology, Physical Science or Chemistry
Social Studies 4 Credits: World History, Civics and Economics, American History 1, American History 2
Health & Physical Education 1 Credit
Electives 4 credit concentration in one of the following areas:
– Career and Technical Education (CTE) Cluster (including at least one completer course)
– JROTC
– Arts Education (Chorus, Band, or Visual Arts)
– One of the following academic disciplines: English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, or Second Language
Arts Education 1 Credit (Chorus, Band, or Visual Arts) (local county requirement)
Additional credit in Arts Education, Career and Technical, or Second Language 1 Credit
Elective 6 Credits of any combination selected from all courses offered. (local county requirement)
Second Language: Level I & II of the same language (Optional) -Not required for graduation but required to meet Minimum Admission Requirements for most colleges and universities.
CPR: Successful completion of instruction in CPR required for high school graduation.
Total = 28 credits
Promotion and Graduation Requirements
Sophomore: 6 credits
Junior: 12 credits
Senior: 20 credits
Graduation: 28 credits
High School Grading Scale, Grade Point Average Calculations
In October 2014, the State Board approved a standard 10-point grading scale to begin with the 2015-16 school year for all high school students. This scale will not include “pluses” or “minuses.” Grades from prior years will not be altered retroactively.
Local school districts are required to follow the new scale at the high school level (grades 9-12). Although it is not required at grades K-8, local school districts may use the scale in lower grades if desired.
Under the new scale, grades and grade point average calculations will be applied as follows:
A: 90-100 = 4.0
B: 80-89 = 3.0
C: 70-79 = 2.0
D: 60-69 = 1.0
F: < 59 = 0.0
Quality Points: In addition to the grade scale change, new standards for quality points also take effect in the 2015-16 school year. These new standards affect only ninth graders in the fall of 2015-16 and all students entering high school after that year. This change does not affect students who will be in grades 10, 11 or 12 in 2015-16.
The new quality points standard will provide an additional .5 quality point to Honors courses and a 1.0 additional quality point to Advanced Placement (AP)/International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, community colleges courses (College Transfer courses only), or four-year university or college courses taken in high school. This eliminates discrepancies between AP/IB and community college or college/university courses and quality points and provides the same additional quality point to all college-level coursework.
For example, a student who earns an A in an AP course would receive a weighted 5.0 grade for that particular course. A student who earns an A in an Honors course would receive a weighted 4.5 grade.
*Courtesy of North Carolina Department of Instruction - High School State Requirements and Grades
*Non-graded and pass/fail courses are excluded from the rank
Valedictorian and Salutatorian starting with Freshmen entering 2015/2016 and after:
ACHS will no longer recognize a Valedictorian or Salutatorian starting with the class of 2019. Class rank will still appear on transcripts. Selection will be made based on class rank at the end of the third nine weeks of the student's’ senior year. Students will be recognized by the following weighted GPA requirements:
Summa cum laude - 4.35 or higher
Magna cum laude - 4.20 - 4.3499
Cum laude - 4.00 - 4.1999
Students will wear honor stoles at graduation.
Special Honors
Beta Club
To be eligible for membership in the Beta Club, a student must have a weighted average of 4.0 at the end of the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. Membership is open to 10th, 11th, and 12th graders, with introduction of new members occurring in late September or early October. Please contact Donna Reid or Kerri Wimberly for further information.
Honor Graduates
Starting with the class of 2019, Summa cum laude, Magna cum laude, and Cum laude recognition will take the place of the Honor Graduate recognition.
Junior Marshals
The top ranked juniors will be selected to serve as marshals for graduation with the person having the highest grade point average designated as chief marshal. Selection will be made based on class rank at the end of the first semester of the students’ junior year.
Athletic Eligibility
Important Information for Athletes
Students who participate or plan to participate in athletics are required to meet academic and attendance eligibility requirements as outlined below. For a comprehensive list of all eligibility requirements visit the accompanying websites. Eligibility for High School Athletic Participation (www.nchsaa.org)
For High School participation in any sport, including cheerleading, a student must complete and pass a minimum of 3 out of 4 classes and be in attendance a minimum of 85% of all school days in the semester prior to the sport activity in which he or she wants to participate. For example, if a student wants to play football in the fall, eligibility requirements must have been met in the spring semester of the previous school year. For a student who wants to play softball in the spring, she must meet the requirements during the fall of the current school year. Students who participate in winter sports (i.e., basketball, wrestling, swimming, etc) must meet the requirements based on the spring semester of the previous school year and maintain that level of academic and attendance performance throughout the fall semester to be eligible to participate the entire season. Special note to upperclassmen: Leadership, Office Assistant, and similar schedule activities do not count as courses for the purpose of eligibility. Internship, CCP, NCVPS, and NCSSM courses however, may be used to meet eligibility. If you are an athlete, it is your responsibility to be certain you have the three courses you need to meet the requirement.
Eligibility for College Athletic Participation (ncaa.org)
Students who anticipate participating in NCAA collegiate athletic programs must meet GPA and testing (SAT or ACT) requirements which vary based on the division of the school. For all schools the calculation of the GPA for NCAA purposes is based only on core courses (English, Math, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Foreign Language) in a specific formula. If you intend to participate in college athletics, meet with your counselor regularly throughout your high school career to be certain you are meeting these requirements. You will need to register through the NCAA Clearinghouse, eligibilitycenter.org, in order to participate in a collegiate level sport.
If you plan on playing a sport in college, please contact Mr. Allen at aallen@alexander.k12.nc.us to register with the NCAA Clearinghouse!
