Academic Honors Recognition for academic honors shall be given to the following graduating seniors: 1. The valedictorian shall be the highest-ranking student. 2. The salutatorian shall be the second highest-ranking student. To be eligible for valedictorian or salutatorian honors, a student shall have been a registered full-time student by the first day of the second week of his or her junior year and shall be completing his or her fourth year of high school. Early graduates shall not be eligible for valedictory or salutary honors. To qualify to give the valedictorian or salutatorian speech, a student shall not have engaged in any serious misconduct violation of the Student Code of Conduct, including removal to a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP), a three-day suspension, or expulsion during his or her last two semesters. The top ten graduates shall be the valedictorian, the salutatorian, and the students with the next eight highest grade point averages (GPAs), not including early graduates. Students must graduate under the Recommended Program or the Advanced/Distinguished Achievement Program to be eligible for valedictorian or salutatorian honors or to be a top ten graduate. District honor graduates shall include all students whose GPAs comprise the top 15 percent of the graduating class. A student s class ranking shall be determined within the graduating class of the school year in which the student completes all requirements for a diploma, regardless of the number of years the student is enrolled in high school. Top Ten Percent Early Graduation All students whose GPAs comprise the top ten percent of the graduating class and qualify for automatic admission under Education Code 51.803 shall be recognized. Eligibility standards required for the local procedure for determining valedictorian and salutatorian (or other local honor positions) shall not apply to the procedure for determining the top ten percent. The GPA shall be reported on the student s transcript as required by TEA and made available in accordance with the application deadline when requested by the student. [See (LEGAL)] Rounding up the top ten percent shall not be permitted. Final calculations for class ranking shall be conducted at the end of the third nine-week grading period, and class rankings shall be frozen at that time. To be eligible to graduate in less than four years, a student shall complete all coursework and exit-level testing required of the ninth DATE ISSUED: 9/10/2015 1 of 5 -X
grade class in which the student began high school. A student wishing to graduate early shall notify the appropriate counselor of his or her intention in writing by the first day of his or her third year of high school. Early graduates shall: 1. Not be allowed to displace four-year graduates in determining the top ten graduates; 2. Not be eligible for the honors positions of valedictorian or salutatorian, regardless of GPA; and 3. Be eligible for all other honors. The highest rank that may be earned by an early graduate shall be number 11 in the graduating class. If more than one early graduate has a GPA high enough to fall within the top ten of the four-year graduates, the early graduates shall be ranked on the basis of their GPA. Transfer Students A student who transfers into a District high school with higher-level course credits shall receive similar credits counted toward the GPA according to the list of higher-level courses offered in the District and the grade point scale used for credit earned in the District. A student transferring into the District shall receive the numerical grades that were earned in courses at another school. Letter grades shall be recorded as follows: Grade Conversion Scale A 95 B 85 C 75 D 70 F 60 Breaking a Tie In case of a tie in weighted grade averages among the top ranking students, the following methods shall be used to determine who shall be recognized as valedictorian, salutatorian, top ten, and top ten percent of the class: 1. The weighted grade average shall be computed to a sufficient number of decimal places until the tie is broken. DATE ISSUED: 9/10/2015 2 of 5 -X
2. If a tie still exists, the student with the most Advanced Placement (AP) courses shall be considered first. Class Rank Calculation for Freshmen in 2012 13 3. If a tie still remains, the student with the highest numerical grade average of all AP courses taken shall be the higher ranking student. Class rank for senior students shall be calculated by averaging course year-end grades earned in grades 9 12. The numeric yearend average shall earn grade points according to the District s weighted grade point scale. Class rank shall be calculated at the end of the third nine-week grading period. For purposes of class rank, courses designated as AP shall be weighted as Tier One courses; dual credit courses taken on campus and Pre-AP courses shall be Tier Two courses; and academic courses shall be Tier Three courses. Only the following courses shall be used to calculate a student s GPA: 1. Courses defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) as the core subjects of English language arts I IV, mathematics, science, and social studies; 2. Courses defined as languages other than English; only the language courses that meet the student s graduation requirements shall be calculated to determine GPA; 3. Pre-AP courses; and 4. AP courses. Credit earned in distance learning courses, summer school, correspondence courses, and dual credit college courses not taken on the high school campus shall not be included in the GPA calculation. Dual credit courses that meet the criteria above of the four core classes taken on the high school campus shall be included in the calculation. All grades on a student s transcripts, including failing grades and repeated courses, shall be included in determining the student s GPA and rank in class. A senior student who is enrolled in, but does not complete, a semester of active participation in a credit-eligible extracurricular activity shall receive a grade of withdrew while passing. The class shall not be included in the computation for GPA. The weighted scale below shall be used to award grade points for the freshman class of 2012 13: DATE ISSUED: 9/10/2015 3 of 5 -X
Grade Tier One Tier Two Tier Three 100 6.0 5.5 5.0 99 5.9 5.4 4.9 98 5.8 5.3 4.8 97 5.7 5.2 4.7 96 5.6 5.1 4.6 95 5.5 5.0 4.5 94 5.4 4.9 4.4 93 5.3 4.8 4.3 92 5.2 4.7 4.2 91 5.1 4.6 4.1 90 5.0 4.5 4.0 89 4.9 4.4 3.9 88 4.8 4.3 3.8 87 4.7 4.2 3.7 86 4.6 4.1 3.6 85 4.5 4.0 3.5 84 4.4 3.9 3.4 83 4.3 3.8 3.3 82 4.2 3.7 3.2 81 4.1 3.6 3.1 80 4.0 3.5 3.0 79 3.9 3.4 2.9 78 3.8 3.3 2.8 77 3.7 3.2 2.7 76 3.6 3.1 2.6 75 3.5 3.0 2.5 74 3.4 2.9 2.4 DATE ISSUED: 9/10/2015 4 of 5 -X
Grade Tier One Tier Two Tier Three 73 3.3 2.8 2.3 72 3.2 2.7 2.2 71 3.1 2.6 2.1 70 3.0 2.5 2.0 Below 70 0 0 0 Class Rank Calculation for Freshmen in 2013 14 and Thereafter For purposes of class rank, the following tiered system shall be used: 1. Advanced-level Tier One courses (6.0) shall include AP, oncampus dual credit, and college credit CTE courses. 2. Advanced-level Tier Two courses (5.5) shall include Pre-AP, District honors, and designated courses. 3. General-level Tier Three courses (5.0) shall include regular courses. 4. Prescribed Tier Four courses (4.0) shall include courses with modified curriculum and credit recovery for courses taken during the school year. 5. Non-GPA Tier Five courses (NA) shall include intervention classes, summer school courses, distance learning courses, correspondence courses, and other courses not assigned a GPA in the course selection guide. The weighted scale used to award grade points and the list of courses in each category shall be included in the District high school course selection guide as well as in the District high school handbook. DATE ISSUED: 9/10/2015 ADOPTED: 5 of 5 -X