Sunrise Pine

Grading, Grade Point Average (GPA), and Credit Requirements

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An overview of the grading system, including credit definitions, annual course load, graduation requirements, and GPA scales (weighted and unweighted).

Credit Definitions

  1. Course Length and Credit Value

    • Year-long course: 1.0 credit

    • One-semester course: 0.5 credit

  2. Earning Credit

    • Credit is awarded for final grades of A, B, C, or D.

    • A final grade of F (below 60%) earns 0 credit.

Annual Course Load

  1. Core Subjects
    Each student must enroll in four core subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

  2. Electives
    In addition to the core subjects, students must select a minimum of two elective courses. Electives may be one-semester (0.5 credit) or year-long (1.0 credit).

  3. Minimum Credits per Year
    Students must earn at least 6.0 credits each academic year.

Graduation Requirement

To be eligible for a diploma, students must earn a minimum of 24.0 credits over four years of high school.

Grading Scale

Final course grades are assigned according to the following percentage thresholds:

  • A: 90–100%

  • B: 80–89%

  • C: 70–79%

  • D: 60–69%

  • F: Below 60%

GPA Scales

A. Unweighted GPA (4.0 Scale)

  • Quality points per letter grade: A \= 4.0, B \= 3.0, C \= 2.0, D \= 1.0, F \= 0.0.

  • Calculation:
    Unweighted GPA=∑(quality points×course credits)∑(attempted credits)
    One-semester (0.5-credit) courses contribute proportionally to the calculation.

B. Weighted GPA (Honors and Advanced Placement)

  • The District awards additional quality points for designated courses:

    • Honors (H): +0.5 quality point to the base value of A–D grades.

    • Advanced Placement (AP): +1.0 quality point to the base value of A–D grades.

  • Calculation: Weighted GPA is computed using the same formula as the unweighted GPA, substituting the weighted quality points.

  • Notes:

    • Weighted GPA may exceed 4.0 due to added quality points.

    • Weighting affects GPA only and does not alter credit value.

Additional Provisions

  1. Course Repeats and Failures
    A course with a final grade of F earns 0 credit and 0.0 quality points. Students must retake required courses to recover missing credits.

  2. Equivalency of Semesters
    Two successfully completed one-semester courses (0.5 credit each) are equivalent to one full credit toward annual and graduation totals.