FAQS

Making Choices

Decision-making is a process that needs to be taken seriously. To make good decisions, it is important that you gather enough information and understand the guidelines within which you must operate. Staff at RAHS feel it is important that you do the following: 



All courses are subject to availability based on course demand. 


Special Class Assignments

Some students qualify for advanced placement, enriched/honors and special education classes. Counselors and teachers make recommendations for these classes. If you feel any are appropriate for you, please feel to discuss with your counselor. 

Prerequisites

After course titles in the individual departments, prerequisites may be listed. Reasons may be: sequence courses, instructor approval, must be at a certain grade level. Some courses require you to have taken a course previous to enrollment in the one you are considering. For example, Spanish 3 cannot be taken before Spanish 2. Other courses indicate prerequisite and name the course that must have been taken. For example: AP Statistics I & II, Prerequisites: Complete Algebra II and Geometry.   

Class Changes

All students are required to enroll in at least 12 credits per year. In rare instances, principals have the authority to make modifications to student schedules. Because registration directly influences the school's schedule, students will need to fulfill their requests unless the: 


Once the semester begins, changes are only made for the above reasons within the first five days. Students will have an opportunity to make changes prior to each semester. 


Dropping Classes

Students are expected to take and stay in all classes for which they have registered. Students may request a class change within the first 5 school days of each semester. After that time, courses cannot be dropped. The only exceptions being for medical reasons with doctor’s note verification or in consultation with the teacher and principal if the student is incorrectly placed in an AP course. 


Pass/No Credit

All required and elective courses are graded A to NC or I. However, one elective single course per semester or one block class per year may be taken on a pass/fail basis per school year.   A "Pass" grade means a credit is awarded which has no effect on the grade point average.  A "No Credit" grade means no credit is given and the "NC" counts 0.0 in the G.P.A. as a failed course. Students should always confer with the teacher to be clear about the class expectations for earning a "P" grade. Students should be aware that colleges sometimes look at P's negatively. Please check with the individual college of your choice for their expectations. Students taking a class pass/no credit will not be eligible for an academic letter for the school year in which they take the class. 


A course taken as pass/no credit cannot be used to meet specific required credits. A course taken as pass/no credit can only be used to meet the elective credit category. 


A student requesting to take a course P/NC must obtain a form, "Request for Pass-No Credit Basis," from the Guidance Office. It is the student's responsibility to obtain the required signatures and to return the form to the teacher for that class by Friday of the eighth week of the semester. P/NC status will not be granted after the stated deadline. At the end of the semester, the teacher notifies the data processing clerk of the student's P/NC status.


Grade of Incomplete

Final grades of Incomplete (I) must be formally changed by the teacher no later than the end of the quarter following the initial grade entry or an NC will result. It is the student’s responsibility to work with the teacher to ensure deadlines are met. 


Transcript Grades

All grades earned at Armstrong remain part of the student’s official transcript. Once a grade is entered by a teacher it becomes part of the permanent transcript. Grades are posted on the transcript each semester. If a student retakes a course, the original grade remains on the transcript. 


Credits, Transfer

According to District Policy on Secondary Course Credit, building counselors/principals have the authority to interpret credits from other educational institutions and equate these credits in a fair and equitable manner with the standards applied to those credits awarded in the regular school program of District 281. 


District 281 Policy for Reporting Standardized Test Scores on Student Transcripts: 

Students need to request that a copy of their ACT/SAT scores be sent to the school of their choice. These include optional college admission tests (ACT, SAT) and practice tests (PLAN, PSAT). 

When applying to colleges, students should check to see if their colleges want an official ACT or SAT test score from the testing organization, American College Testing or The College Board. Some colleges want official score reports while others accept the scores from the high school transcript.


Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Act

The Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Act was signed into law as part of the 1985 Omnibus Education Aids Bill. It allows high school junior and senior students to attend a college, either full-time or part-time, at no cost to the student. Colleges carefully evaluate high school rank and test scores when considering high school students for enrollment. Generally, juniors must be in the top one-third of their class, while seniors must be in the top half. Tenth grade students are now eligible to enroll in one Career and Technical Education (CTE) course on a college campus through the PSEO program. If a student earns a C or better in the first semester, she/he can take more courses. Transportation funds are available for qualifying students based on financial need, who want to participate in PSEO. In order to be eligible, a 10th grade student must have taken the 8th grade MCA reading test in the 8th grade and have met the composite proficiency level of "meets or exceeds." Information about these options is available in the guidance office. Online PSEO courses are available. 


Making Final Plans

It is recommended that students see counselors for final discussion of long-range goals and means to achieve these goals. It is very important to make wise choices now! Registration will be final if there is adequate enrollment to offer all courses a student selects, if there is adequate space available in the courses chosen, and if a student continues to qualify for each course by completing the prerequisite course, if any, with a satisfactory grade. Be prepared to list alternative courses. If students do not register on time, classes will be chosen for them. 


ACT -  Four tests are given in the areas of English, Math Reading and Science. Students receive four separate scores plus a composite score . Students are also encouraged to take the ACT plus writing test. Almost all colleges and universities in the United States accept the ACT. It is given on five dates throughout the year: October, December, February, April and June. Specific dates are listed at www.act.org. Please note that the registration deadlines for these tests are at least one month earlier than the test date. All juniors will take the ACT test at Armstrong. 


PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test and National Merit Scholastic Qualifying Test) - Because this is the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, academically superior juniors are encouraged to take the test. Those juniors in each state whose combined verbal, math and writing scores rank at the 99 percentile qualify for the next level of the National Merit competition. Those who rank from above the 98 percentile down to the 96 percentile receive a commendation, but do not continue in the Merit competition. This test is also for juniors who want to compete in the special scholarship programs for African American students. Academically superior sophomores may want to take the PSAT for practice; however, only PSAT scores taken in the junior year qualify for the National Merit Programs. 


SAT I (Scholastic Aptitude Test) - This is a three-hour and 45-minute test that measures critical reading, mathematical reasoning, and writing skills. It is given on seven dates throughout the year: October, November, December, January, March, May and June. Specific dates are available in the guidance office; however, SAT I and SAT II cannot be taken on the same day. 

Please note that the registration deadlines for these tests are about one month earlier than the test date. 


AP (Advanced Placement Exams) - Most are three-hour examinations based on full-year college-level courses. A few are two-hour exams based on half-year college courses. Exams are given once a year in May. Currently Armstrong offers: Biology, Environmental Science, Calculus, Chemistry, English Language, English Literature, Human Geography, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Music Theory, Physics, Psychology, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History, Statistics, Computer Science Principles, Seminar and Research. 


ARMSTRONG HIGH SCHOOL CAREER CENTER 

The Career Center is available to help students prepare for their future. Services and resources available include: 1) College visits, 2) Assistance with college applications and financial aid, 3) Assistance with Xello, and 4) PSAT, ACT, and SAT registration information. The Career Center is located in the Guidance Office.