Grades & Graduation

Graduation/Promotion Requirements 

Students are required to earn 24 credits to receive a high school diploma. The requirements are as follows:

Graduation 

To participate in the Graduation Ceremony, seniors must: 

• 1. Fulfill all SC Diploma Requirements as specified by the State Department of Education

• 2. Pay all debts and fines 

• 3. Uphold school-wide behavioral standards as determined by the administration 

If students fail to fulfill these requirements, they will not be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony. Graduation Cords: 

To wear a cord at Graduation, it must be either an Honor Society/Club or Service organization that is a member of a national organization AND have a minimum GPA for membership and required service hours. The Cord must be provided by Riverside High School. Military Cords are approved. 

Uniform Grading Scale 

The Uniform Grading Policy approved by the State Board of Education is effective for all students enrolled in unit-bearing classes, including those offered at the middle school level. 

The SC Grading Scale is as follows: 

A= 90-100; B= 80-89, C= 70-79, D= 60-69, F= 0-59 

WF= 50, FA=50, P= no value, WP= no value, AU= no value, NP=no value 

Link to: SC Uniform Grading Scale 

2nd-12th Grade 

The following grade scale will be applied to students in grades 2-12. 

A=100-90 B=89-80 C=79-70 D=69-60 F=59-50 

For Carnegie Unit courses please refer to the state Uniform Grading Policy (UGP) for quality points and state regulations guiding credit-bearing courses. 

Grading Floors 

High School Students (Grades 9-12) 

A floor of 50 will be applied to quarter report cards for High School Students (9-12). The floor will not be applied to Interim Progress reports. 

Grade Point Average - Rank in Class(GPA/RIC) 

● Except for pass-fail courses, all courses in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) that carry a unit of credit shall be included in the ranking. High school courses taken before 9th grade shall also be included. 

● Grade point average and class rank shall be determined for each class at the end of each semester. ● To determine the grade point average, quality points will be assigned to the final grade given at the end of the course (semester or year). 

● Rank in class shall be calculated by placing students in order beginning with the student having the highest GPA and continuing until all eligible students have been ranked. Ties shall not be broken, but the same number will be used; for example: 

1. John Doe 4.551 

2. Mary Smith 4.543 

2. Doris Brown 4.543 

4. Tom Jones 4.537 

● School District Policy will be followed in selecting the valedictorian and salutatorian. 

● Grade point average and rank in class shall become part of the individual student’s record and shall be treated in accordance with Policy 5125 of the School District of Greenville County. 

○ GPA and RIC for an individual may be given only to the individual or someone he designates in writing, such as colleges, etc. 

○ A listing of rankings of students shall not be made public in its entirety. 

Academic Integrity (Cheating) Policy 

Representing someone else’s work as your own is dishonest because it compromises your integrity and diminishes what we stand for as a school community. We believe that your success is dependent on your efforts. You are expected to complete your work with honesty and integrity. Cheating is defined as representing someone else’s work as your own or allowing someone to represent your work as their own. Cheating has no role in our Riverside High School learning community! 

Cheating includes, but is in no way limited to, the following: 

● Copying homework or allowing someone to copy your homework. 

● Looking on another’s test or quiz or letting another student look on a test or quiz 

● Reporting to another student what is on a test or quiz, including providing questions or specific answers ● Using any secretive methods of giving answers on a test or quiz 

● Taking information from another source that is not properly attributed/plagiarism 

● Working with others on an assignment that was meant to be done individually 

● Taking someone else’s assignment or portion of an assignment and submitting it as your own ● Using summaries or other published study aides instead of reading assigned material 

● Copying answers from the back of the textbook where applicable 

Individual teachers will provide guidelines as to what is or is not cheating within their course. You will be informed of the classroom policy, and it is at the teacher’s discretion as to when an infraction has been made. 

Consequences of Cheating: 

1st Offense = Parent Phone Call/”0” on assignment 

2nd Offense = “0” on assignment and Suspension 

Procedures for Makeup Work 

Examples of make-up work may include (1) after-school and/or weekend programs that address both time and academic requirements of the course(s), or (2) extended-year programs that address both time and academic requirements of the course(s). All make-up time and work must be completed within thirty (30) days from the last day of the course (s) unless approved by the principal as a result of extenuating circumstances. Make-up requirements that extend beyond thirty days due to extenuating circumstances must be completed before the beginning of the subsequent new school year. 

• Provision for the makeup of school work missed during lawful absences shall be worked out with the teacher(s) concerned at the earliest time possible, but the time should not exceed five (5) days after the student returns to school. 

• Makeup of school work missed during unlawful absences may be approved only with permission of the principal after consultation with the teacher(s) concerned. 

• These Procedures for Make-Up Work apply to all schools in the district. 

Content and Credit Recovery 

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. 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. Greenville County Schools provides content and credit recovery opportunities that adhere to GCS Board Policy that includes rules, regulations, and processes. Board Policy IHC 

Homework 

When homework is given, assignments shall reflect the following guidelines: 

Homework shall include one or more of the three generally recognized types of homework: 

• Practice: reinforces newly acquired skills taught in class 

• Preparation: helps students prepare for upcoming lessons, activities, or tests 

• Extension: provides challenging, often long-term opportunities for enrichment that parallel class work 

Homework shall be carefully planned and explained to the students. Content and duration of homework shall be personalized to accommodate the age, grade, ability, and readiness of the students. Homework shall be assigned with awareness of the home resources available to the student and the family and alternative options offered, where necessary. Since involvement in extracurricular activities is encouraged and valued, homework assignments that are lengthy shall be scheduled as far in advance as possible. 

Because homework at the high school level varies according to a student’s course load and schedule, high school students should spend sufficient time on homework to master the content of the subject matter. Completed homework assignments are to be reviewed by the teacher or designee; appropriate instructional follow-up shall occur. 

If homework is graded, the homework shall count no more than 10% of the overall quarterly grade at the middle school and high school levels. 

Because they require a greater amount of time and effort than daily assignments, grades for long- range assignments shall not count as part of the homework percentage, but should be considered in the time allocated for homework. 

Parents and students shall be informed at the beginning of the school year and at the beginning of second semester, if appropriate, of the district homework policies and classroom homework expectations. 

Students are encouraged to spend some time each day reading a variety of materials independently. 

Exams 

Final exams will be administered at the end of each semester. Exams count 10% of the overall grade for each course unless it is an EOC (End of Course) class. These courses are Algebra 1, Biology 1, English 2, and US History. EOC exams count for 20% of a student’s final grade. These are standardized final exams. Students are not allowed to exempt exams as determined by the School Board of Greenville County Schools. Students can not take exams earlier than their scheduled date for each class period. 

Make Up Exams 

In rare circumstances, pre-approval to make up an exam may be granted by the Principal. Those requests for pre-approval to make up an exam should be submitted in writing to Ms. Huffman at least 48 hours in advance of the exams.