Grading & Transcripts

Class rank for the purposes of determining “Top Ten Percent” will be determined during the final quarter of the senior year. Students who are in the top 10 percent of their graduating class are eligible for automatic admission to any public university in Texas under admissions policies (see the Responsive Ed Student/Parent Handbook for more details).

Academic honors are a traditional recognition for students who have demonstrated an exceptionally praiseworthy level of achievement in their coursework. Academic honors will be announced during the commencement ceremony and acknowledged by honors cords provided by the school. The requirements for the three levels of academic honors are as follows:

• Cum Laude: a minimum 3.4 GPA (unweighted)

• Magna Cum Laude: a minimum 3.6 GPA (unweighted) 

• Summa Cum Laude: a minimum 3.8 GPA (unweighted)

The following is the selection method to determine the FCA valedictorian and salutatorian:

1. The student who is selected as the highest ranking graduate eligible to receive the Honor Graduate Certificate will serve as valedictorian with the second highest ranking graduate serving as salutatorian.

2. Both the valedictorian and salutatorian must be students of good character who have been enrolled in the school for no less than four calendar semesters; and

• By the date of graduation, both the valedictorian and salutatorian must have met all Texas State Graduation Requirements applicable to him or her, including meeting all state assessment requirements;

• The student with the highest cumulative grade point average will be selected as valedictorian, with the second ranking student serving as salutatorian. All calculations for this honor will be conducted at the end of the spring semester (before graduation) each school year. In the event of ties, calculations will be made to the tenths, hundredths, and thousandths places if necessary;

• Only one student will become valedictorian and one other will become salutatorian. In the unlikely event that two students who have met all the criteria finish with the same GPA, school administration and senior faculty will determine the Valedictorian or Salutatorian based on which student best represents the school and the student motto.

To account for different levels of rigor at other schools, the following system is put into place so more accurate head-to-head comparisons can be made:

• Students who attend FCA full time for four years will have their cumulative GPAs compared.

• Students who attend FCA full time for three years will have their cumulative GPAs compared to the three-year averages (sophomore to senior) of the above students.

• Students who attend FCA full-time for two years will have their cumulative GPAs compared to the two-year averages (junior and senior) of the above students.

Responsive Ed requires college acceptance as a graduation requirement.

Students are responsible for their academic behaviors and are expected to produce their own work at all times. Students found to have engaged in academic dishonesty shall be subject to grade penalties on assignments, papers, or tests and disciplinary penalties (copying and plagiarism are Level II offenses in the ResponsiveEd Code of Conduct). Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism and the use of Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT, etc).

Cheating occurs when one or more students act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage on class assignments, homework, or assessments of any sort. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, copying the classwork, homework, or assessment information of another student or students, unauthorized communication between students prior to or during an examination, or the use of unauthorized aids during assignments or assessments. Caveat: a student may engage in unauthorized communication during assignments, quizzes, or tests in the classroom without intent to gain an unfair advantage. This is still unauthorized communication and subject to discipline for academic dishonesty.

Plagiarism occurs when a student uses someone else’s words or ideas and presents them as one’s own. Students must give credit when using the words or ideas of another. Plagiarism can include copying an outline, one sentence, one page, or an entire paper without properly citing the source. Merely rephrasing someone else’s words is a form of plagiarism. Copying and using another student’s pre-writing content is also a form of plagiarism. Caveat: a student may inadvertently plagiarize by not clarifying teacher instructions about what is permissible while working with other students or by working in a lazy or disorganized manner that leads to negligence in ensuring proper citation. This is still considered plagiarism and is subject to discipline for academic dishonesty.

The determination that a student has been academically dishonest shall be based on the judgment of the classroom teacher and school administrator, taking into consideration written materials, observation, or information from students. 

For a first offense, a student will receive a zero on the assignment, assessment, or paper, and will be assigned to serve two detentions at the minimum. If the first offense involves a major assignment, paper, or test the student will redo the work or take an alternate assessment and the starting point for the grade will be 70%; to determine the final grade on the make-up, points will be deducted from them based on merit. If the offense involves a smaller daily assignment or a small quiz, the student will not make it up and will earn a grade of zero. Continued membership in National Junior Honor Society and National Honor Society may be jeopardized. A second offense would result in a suspension and a grade of zero, for any assignment, with no possibility for makeup. A third offense would lead to an expulsion process. All instances of copying, cheating, or plagiarism will be noted and placed in a student’s file.

Unexcused Late Work:

Teachers will penalize daily homework assignments that are late according to the following rules:

1 day late: 25% off the final grade

2 days late: 100% off the final grade; automatic 0

*For every third missing/late assignment that accrued a 0, in each class, a student will receive a detention.

Make-Up Work or Late Work Due to Absence:

It is the responsibility of the student to make up missed classwork and homework after any absence, planned or due to illness, in a timely manner. A student, or parent in the case of young children, may contact the teacher or a classmate to get any missed assignments or notes, etc.

Missed work due to an excused absence must be made up within the same number of days missed, not to exceed 5 days. For example, if a student is absent one day, then he or she has one school day in which to make up the work; a two-day absence would mean two school days in which to make up the work, etc. 

Classwork missed the day of an unexcused absence for any reason will result in a zero. The exceptions are tests and major assignments. 

An absence on the due date of a major assignment (test, essay, lab report, etc.) or exam may not extend the due date of that assignment. The student should expect to submit the work and/or make up an exam on the day of his or her return. Absences during the preparation time of a major assignment may not extend the due date.

Attendance Policy:

Our mission at Founders is to provide exceptional classical education and to encourage the virtues of character necessary for human flourishing. This requires a commitment, over the course of many years, to a specific course of study. A chief element of that commitment is regular and punctual attendance.

It is critical to student safety that we know where all students are on school days. Parents should report absences before 8:00 am. 

Parents must report to the school each day a child is absent at FCAFM attendance. If a parent fails to notify the office of a student’s absence, the absence will be coded as unexcused. An unexcused absence is any absence not excused by law or listed in the RES Parent/Student Handbook. Absences due to family vacations are not excused for official attendance purposes. When a student is absent three or more consecutive days from school, a doctor’s note is required to return to school.  For more information about attendance, please consult the RES Parent/Student Handbook.

The 90% Rule:

To receive credit in a class, a student must attend at least 90 percent of the days the class is offered. These days include both excused and unexcused absences. A student who attends fewer than 90 percent of the days the class is offered may be referred to the Attendance Committee to determine whether there are extenuating circumstances for the absences and how the student can regain credit.