Academic Policies:
Grades 9-12

Pass/Fail Framework

The following courses are grade on a high pass/pass/fail framework. Courses graded in this framework are not included in the calculation of a scholar’s Grade Point Average (GPA).

Course Grading Components

Each scholar will be enrolled in at least four core courses (English, Math, Science, and History), as well as two or three electives. The course grade for Core Courses, Academic Electives, the SAT Course (an Academic Elective), Arts & Athletics courses is calculated as follows:

Core Courses

SAT Course

Academic Electives

Arts & Athletics Courses

Classwork and Homework 

Our curriculum is rigorous and requires daily preparation and practice. Scholars can expect about two to three hours of homework on weeknights and four to six hours on weekends and holidays. The frequency of classwork and homework assignments that make up a scholar’s grade in high school is included below. All assignments must be submitted by 11:00PM on the due date.

All Subjects: Classwork and Homework Completion Rubric

*Completion Standard: Scholars are expected to complete their work on time and at high quality. Work is only considered complete if it meets the following Completion Standard: 

• No blanks

• Following the basic directions for the assignment

• Response demonstrates the conventions of professional writing. It may include minor proofreading errors, which do not detract from the cogency of the response.

• Showing work, when required

• Submitting the assignment correctly and on time

**For performance-based work, the skills/techniques being studied are represented in the work.

Arts and Athletics Electives

Scholar Talent Classwork Quality Rubric

*Completion Standard: Scholars are expected to complete their work on time and at high quality. Work is only considered complete if it meets the following Completion Standard: 

• No blanks

• Following the basic directions for the assignment

• Response demonstrates the conventions of professional writing. It may include minor proofreading errors, which do not detract from the cogency of the response.

• Showing work, when required

• Submitting the assignment correctly and on time

**For performance-based work, the skills/techniques being studied are represented in the work

Participation

Each week, scholars will earn a grade for their preparation and engagement in class. This grade is indicative of their ability to independently direct their learning. Participation grades in core academic courses and arts and athletics electives are calculated based on how consistently scholars display effort, sophisticated thinking, and self-regulation, according to the rubric below:

Scholar Talent Participation Rubric

Assessment Policies

All internal and external assessments are mandatory. All scholars will be enrolled in courses with external assessments.

Assessment Categories

High School assessment grades are determined by scholar performance on major assessments, medium assessments, and small assessments.

Small Assessments

Small assessments have a weight of 1 in the gradebook and are often in the form of quizzes. Announced and unannounced quizzes will assess scholars’ preparedness and study skills.  

Medium Assessments

Medium assessments have a weight of 3 in the gradebook and are often in the form of papers or unit tests. Clear and effective writing is an essential skill for success in college and professional life. The ability to study and prepare for a test is also an important academic skill for college and graduate studies. 

Major Assessments

Major assessments have a weight of 10 in the gradebook and determine the greatest portion of a scholar’s grade. Major assessments include summative assignments and Midterms/Finals, and scholars are expected to study for these exams outside of class and the formal preparation they are given.

Finals Retakes

All courses that offer Finals in Semester 1 and Semester 2 will have Retakes opportunities. Finals Retakes operate under the following policies:

• Retakes are optional, but encouraged, for all exams. 

• All final exams for all courses, including APs, take-homes, and for academic electives, are eligible for Retakes. 

  • Semester 1 Final Retake Exams will be Take Home Exams, with the exception of PreMed, EEng and CPLit, which will allow scholars to revise their Finals Projects. The Take Home Exams or revised Final Projects will count as extra credit in the Q2 Assessment Category.

  • April Practice tests are considered the S2 “final exam” for AP courses; Retakes for these exams will occur in June during the S2 Finals Retakes window. 

  • Semester 2 Final Retake Exams will either be in person, sit down exams or take-home project based revisions. Either the Semester 2 Final Exam grade or Semester 2 Final Retake Exam grade – whichever is higher – will count toward the Q4 Final Exam Category.

External Exams

Passing Scores

The minimum passing score for all AP exams is 3.

Opting Into Additional External Exams

In some cases, a scholar may be interested in taking an external exam not required by their coursework. If a scholar is interested in opting into an external exam, the scholar should direct a request to their advisor. Requests are ultimately approved by school leadership.

In some instances, content teachers may invite scholars to sit for an optional external exam.

Missing a Required External Exam

If a scholar is enrolled in an external-culminating course, they are required to sit for the external exam. Scholars who fail to sit for the exam will not receive a score.

Assignment Policies

Classwork and Homework (not including Summer Homework, see policies here) assignment grades follow the policies below:

Valid Grades

Valid Grades are used in scholar gradebooks to represent if an assignment was complete, incomplete and/or why an assignment was not submitted. The following valid grades may appear in scholar gradebooks:

• C (Complete): Indicates that an assignment graded for completion meets all criteria on the Completion Standard. This will count as a 100% in cases where the score counts toward grades.

• INC (Incomplete): The assignment was submitted on time and at least 50% of it is complete; however, it does not meet all criteria on the Completion Standard. This will count as a 50% in their grade, unless it is revised—at which point, it will be evaluated in accordance with revised work policies.

• M (Missing): The assignment was either not submitted or less than 50% of it was completed at the time of submission. This will count as a 0 in their grade, unless it is completed and submitted late—at which point, it will be evaluated in accordance with late work policies.

• EM (Expected Missing): An assignment is expected to be missing from a scholar gradebook. This will not impact their grade.

• EX (Excused): Scholar is excused from an assignment. This will not impact their grade.

• L (Late): The assignment meets the Completion Standard but was handed in late. 

Revised Assignments

These are assignments scholars have turned in on time, revised, and resubmitted for a higher grade.

• Only assignments that are scored for quality and submitted on time are eligible for revision.

  • Assignments that earned an INC or M at the time of initial grading are not eligible for revision; However, they may be submitted as late work (see Late Assignments policy).

• Revised assignments will be rescored according to the Quality Rubric.

• Scholars have until 8 am the Monday after they receive their grade to revise their work. 

• Scholars are responsible for notifying their teacher via email before Monday at 8 AM to notify them that the assignment has been revised. This is both to make this process manageable for the teacher and to teach the scholars professional work habits for HS and college. 

  • If the scholar does not email their teacher, the work is ineligible for revision.

Makeup Assignments

These are assignments scholars missed due to an excused absence or reason.

• Scholars have until 8 am on the Monday following their return to school to submit makeup assignments.

  • If the work is not submitted in the specified timeframe, scholars will earn an “M” and will receive a 0 for the assignment.

• Scholars are eligible to earn up to 100% on the assignment, based on the quality of their work.

• Scholars are responsible for notifying their teacher via email that the assignment has been submitted.

Late Assignments

These are assignments scholars did not turn in on time that are not excused.

• Scholars may submit late assignments by 8 am on the following Monday. Late assignments will receive the valid grade “L”, counting for 60% credit. 

• Scholars are responsible for notifying their teacher that the assignment has been submitted late. 

• At the end of each quarter, teachers will drop the lowest homework grade in each Academic class, which can include a 0 from late work. In Arts and Athletics courses, the lowest Classwork grade will be dropped instead because there are no Homework assignments in these courses.

• Note: Summer Homework assignments are not eligible to be dropped as a lowest homework grade.

Excused Assignments

Assignments that have been excused In the case of extenuating circumstances, such as a family emergency. 

• Scholars may petition to excuse an assignment by directing this petition to their content teacher. Requests are ultimately approved by school leadership.

• Excused assignments are noted by “EX” in the gradebook and do not impact scholar grades.

Extra Credit

In most units, scholars have the option to complete an extra credit assignment. High-quality extra credit assignments can improve a scholar’s quarterly course grade. Scholars may only receive credit for one extra credit assignment per unit.

Extensions

In unique instances, a scholar may be granted an extension. Extensions rarely exceed the span of a week. The scholar should direct the request to their content teacher. Extension requests must be made no later than two days in advance.

Summer Homework

Continuing a scholar’s education through the summer is essential to combat “summer slide” and prepare scholars for the upcoming school year. In high school, Summer Homework is assigned in all core courses. 

Scoring

All core courses will have a Summer Homework category in Quarter 1 gradebooks. The Summer Homework gradebook category counts for 5% of Quarter 1 grades for these courses. Summer Homework assignments will be graded in accordance with rubrics that are used during the school year. Additional policies include:

• Late Submissions: There will be one opportunity after the initial submission deadline for scholars to submit late and revised work. Scholars that missed the original submission deadline are encouraged to submit their summer assignments to earn a maximum late grade of 70%.

• Revisions: Scholars can revise previously submitted work to improve their grades by up to half of the original points lost, even if that results in a number not on the rubric.

• Excused Assignments: Excusals for missing Summer Homework assignments are the rare exception. If scholars miss the initial submission deadline, they must submit it in accordance with the late submission policies.

Withdrawn & Re-enrolled Scholars 

If scholars withdraw from SA at the end of the school year and re-enroll over the summer, they will not be able to complete the Summer Homework assignments because they will lose access to their SA credentials and be unable to access Google Classrooms. 

• These students will receive an Expected Missing (EM) in their gradebooks. 

Academic Failure Policies

Failed Courses

If a scholar earns a cumulative grade of less than 70%, they have failed the course and do not earn credit for it. If the scholar is unable to earn 23 credits in four years, they will need to complete additional year(s) of coursework in order to graduate. If a scholar fails more than two core academic courses during high school, they will need to complete an additional year of coursework. 

Failed External Exams

The school will not arrange for scholars to retake AP exams. In rare instances, scholars may petition their advisor to retake an AP exam. Requests are considered and approved by the principal. 

Extended Medical Leave

In rare instances, a scholar may need to be absent from school for longer than a week for medical purposes, and may be placed on extended medical leave. In this instance, the advisor, content teachers, and school leadership will work with the scholar and family to plan an alternative instructional plan. While on extended medical leave, scholars are not permitted to be on HSLA campus.

Graduation Requirements

To graduate from HSLA, a scholar must fulfill course credit and exam credit requirements. Scholars must earn a passing grade of 70% in 23 academic core courses (English, History, Math, and Science) as well as Arts and Athletics courses. We strongly encourage all high schoolers to take four core courses per semester.  To graduate from HSLA, a scholar must also pass 5 external exams. 

Specific departmental course credits and external exam requirements must be distributed as follows: 

*Regents Exams scholars take in Middle School also apply to the External Exam requirement. Because scholars are required to pass the Regents Exams in order to matriculate to High School, they are not included in this table. See the Middle School Assessment Policies for specific information about these Regents Exams.

After-school Clubs or Teams

Arts and elective credit can be satisfied by participating in a team and select scholar clubs that have been pre-approved for credit. New teams may petition to be included.

Senior Year Matriculation

Senior year is an exciting time of intro- and retrospection. You will prepare to close one chapter of your academic career and start to write a new chapter of your life. Senior year will also present new and demanding challenges that will require tremendous effort and determination.

It is critical that every rising senior demonstrates preparedness for the journey ahead of them, so that they can focus on their college application process and graduating with the highest GPA possible.

In order for juniors to matriculate into senior year, juniors must have earned at minimum:

• 5 external exams. 1 English, 1 History, 1 Math, 1 Science and 1 additional exam.

• 11 core content credits. At least 2 English, 2 History, 2 Math and 2 Science credits, plus 3 additional core content credits.

• 6 elective credits. These may be fulfilled with art, athletic or academic elective courses.