Academic Achievement


Academic Achievement


Academic Achievement is addressed in GCS Board Policy IHC.


SC Uniform Grading Policy 


Fountain Inn High School believes that all students deserve access to a wide range of courses in all departments. Students are encouraged to explore the many avenues of personal, career, and academic interests.  

Graduation Requirements

Graduation requirements for a high school diploma, as determined by the State Department of Education. 

 


TOTAL - 24 units


College Admissions Requirements 

Course requirements to attend a college or university in South Carolina can be found at the following website: www.che.sc.gov. Please click on the “Students, Families, and Military” tab, followed by the “Learning About College” link for the requirements.


Promotion Guidelines for High School (9th -12th)

Advancement to Freshman Year 



Grading Scale, Grade Point Average (GPA), and Rank

High school students will receive a numeric grade for each subject based on the South Carolina Uniform Grading Policy (SCUGP).


South Carolina Uniform Grading Scale

A - 100-90

B - 89-80

C - 79-70

D - 69-60

F - 59 or Below


Calculating GPA

The numeric grade and category of the course will determine the quality points earned for each subject. Quality points will be assigned to the final grade given at the end of the course (semester or year).  College Prep (CP) earn the base weight.  Honors, Dual Credit, and Advanced Placement (AP) earn higher values.  


All South Carolina public schools will use the following formula to compute all GPAs: 

GPA = sum (quality points × units) ÷ sum of units attempted



Determining Rank

Except for pass-fail courses, all courses in grades nine through twelve which carry a unit of credit shall be included in the ranking.  High school courses taken prior to 9th grade shall also be included.  Rank in class shall be determined by placing students in order beginning with the student having the highest GPA and continuing until all eligible students have been ranked.  School District Policy will be followed in selecting the valedictorian and salutatorian.


Mid-Term, End-of-Year (EOC), and Final Exams

All students are required to take all mid-term, end-of-course, and final exams (administered at the end of the course) in all classes.  Students in classes that require the end-of-course (EOC) exams will be given standardized finals which will count 20% of their final grade. Families should not schedule any event which would require leaving school before the dates of mid-term, end-of-course, or final exams.  Make-up exams will only be offered to students who have a medical excuse for their absence.  In rare circumstances, pre-approval to make up an exam (without a medical excuse) may be granted by the Principal.  Requests for pre-approval to make up an exam without a medical excuse must be submitted to Mrs. Tiller at least 48 hours in advance of the exam.


PSAT 

The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Qualifying Test is administered during the month of October.  The State Department of Education may pay for all sophomores to take the test.  Juniors also have the opportunity to take the test, by registering with the Counseling Department.  The test is designed for juniors who plan to continue their education beyond high school and wish to be considered for scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Program.


SAT and ACT

These college entrance exams are administered in Greenville County several times during the year on each nationally scheduled day.  Students interested in taking the tests should contact their Counselor early in the school year.  Students register online for the SAT and ACT, using Fountain Inn High School’s code - TBD.  It is recommended that students who plan to continue their education after school take either, or both tests, during their junior year and again in the fall of their senior year.


The State Department of Education may pay for all juniors to take either the SAT or ACT during their third year of high school.  These school-based exams are given on a school day and the scores can be used for college admission and scholarship purposes.

Services for Students with Disabilities

In limited cases, students with disabilities may receive special testing accommodations.  Students with a 504 plan or an IEP may or may not meet the criteria for special services.  Please review the College Board and ACT website and see your counselor for more information.  It is the student’s/parent’s responsibility to request accommodations that meet the specific criteria set by the College Board and ACT through the school’s SSD Coordinator who is located in the guidance office.  For additional information visit: 

SAT and PSAT- http://www.collegeboard.com/ssd/student/index.html 

ACT - http://www.actstudent.org/regist/disab/


ACCUPLACER

Students interested in registering for dual enrollment courses have the opportunity to take this placement exam several times throughout the school year.  The ACCUPLACER is an integrated system of computer-adaptive assessments designed to evaluate students’ skills in reading, writing, and math.  It is used by Greenville Tech to accurately assess and appropriately place students in dual enrollment courses.  The test is offered during designated days both on Fountain Inn High School and Greenville Tech campuses.  Students interested in taking the ACCUPLACER should contact their Counselor.  


ASVAB

Students interested in joining the military have the opportunity to take this multi-aptitude test at Fountain Inn High School during the school year.  Scores in four critical areas - arithmetic reasoning, world knowledge, paragraph comprehension, and mathematics knowledge - count towards a student’s score.  Scores determine whether students are qualified to enlist in the US Military.  Scores in other areas also assist with determining how qualified students are for certain occupational specialties and enlistment bonuses.  Students interested in taking the ASVAB should contact their School Counselor. 


Credit Recovery

Definition 

Credit recovery is defined as a course-specific, skill-based learning opportunity for students who have previously failed to master content or skills required to receive credit. The term “Credit Recovery” refers to a block of instruction that is less than the entirety of the course. Credit Recovery targets specific components or a subset of the standards to address deficiencies necessary for student proficiency in the overall course. 

Schools must follow all requirements for Credit Recovery as outlined in the South Carolina Uniform Grading Policy (http://ed.sc.gov/districts-schools/state-accountability/uniform-grading-policy/) 

Rules and Procedures 

Greenville County Schools provides Credit Recovery opportunities that adhere to GCS Board Policy that includes rules, regulations, and processes. The rules, regulations, and processes are available to faculty, students, and parents/guardians. GCS Credit Recovery policy addresses the following areas: 

Admission to and Removal from the Credit Recovery Program: 

Application and Consent

The completion of an application (English) (Spanish), including parent and/or guardian consent, is required for participation in Credit Recovery; see Appendix, as well.

Academic Eligibility

Any high school student, grades 9th through 12th, who has failed a core content area course (English, math, science, and social studies) is eligible to participate in Credit Recovery. Students must enroll in the same level of the course they failed in order to be eligible to recover the credit. For example, students may not enroll in a credit recovery CP level class if they failed an honors level class or an advanced level class. Students can recover credit from a Level 01 course while enrolled in a Level 02 course, where applicable. Students who have failed a core content area course due to ‘Seat Time’ are not eligible to recover the credit through Credit Recovery.

Athletic Eligibility

Per the South Carolina High School League, students may establish athletic eligibility if all course requirements are met and the course is completed with a passing grade. Student athletes should be aware that not all Initial Credit or Credit Recovery programs are approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse and future collegiate eligibility may be in jeopardy if enrollment and coursework is completed in a non-approved Credit Recovery program.


Content Recovery 

Definition 

Content recovery is defined as a course-specific, skill-based learning opportunity for students who are still enrolled in the course with the original teacher of record assigned by the school. Content recovery allows students to retake a subset of the course including a single unit, more than one unit, or supplemental assignments/activities assigned and approved by a certified teacher as needed for student mastery of course content. 

Rules and Procedures 

Greenville County Schools provides Content Recovery opportunities that adhere to GCS Board Policy and processes. The rules, regulations, and processes are available to faculty, students, and parents/guardians. GCS Content Recovery policy addresses the following areas:

Admission to and removal from the Content Recovery Program: 

Academic Eligibility

Any student enrolled in a high school course, grades 7th through 12th, who is academically struggling in one or more core content area units (English, math, science, and social studies) is eligible to participate. Building level administration should be cognizant that the earlier students recover content the less likely they will require enrollment into Credit Recovery. Students must remain actively enrolled in the course with the original teacher of record.


Content Recovery options will be available either through an approved system provided by the State Virtual Program or an approved fee-based vendor. Information, training and support will be provided by GCS to ensure that all faculty, parents, and students are aware of Content Recovery opportunities.

Students are eligible to enroll in content recovery as long as they are actively enrolled in the current course for which they are recovering the content. 

Content recovery must be completed as soon as possible, but no later than two-weeks (ten school days) after  the end of the quarter; however, all must be completed by the last day of the school year.  Content recovery should be noted by the teacher of record in PowerTeacher gradebooks and documentation should be submitted along with any Grade-Change Request forms after the quarter grades are issued.  

Students cannot be enrolled into a VirtualSC Credit Recovery course to recover content. Per the aforementioned definition, ‘Content recovery is defined as a course-specific, skill-based learning opportunity for students who are still enrolled in the course with the original teacher of record assigned by the school.’ Because the VirtualSC Credit Recovery course is not taught by the original ‘teacher of record’ this is not allowed.

Grades 

Upon satisfactory completion of all assigned work within the time allowed, the certified teacher shall replace the grade for the assignment, unit, or assessment recovered with a grade of 60.  This has less potential to inflate the student’s Grade Point Average. The teacher of record has the authority to make the final grade change adding the completed score of the recovered c