A list of middle school / high school courses by grade can be accessed in the Academic Overview on the website. The Upper Campus principal, the academic advisor, and the college counselor are available to answer questions regarding class content and to give guidance regarding courses of study.
Calculation of GPA
A student’s grade point average is a single number that reflects the level of academic achievement during high school. It is only calculated based on final grades. If a student is enrolled in a class that is only for one semester, the final grade for that class will be factored into the GPA calculation at the end of the first semester; otherwise, a student’s GPA only changes at the end of the academic year.
The GPA is calculated using the following guidelines:
- Credits (denominator)
- Each full-year class that meets every day is 1.0 credit.
- A class that meets 2 days per week for the whole year is 0.5 credits.
- A class that meets every day but is only one semester in length is 0.5 credits.
- Grade Value (numerator)
- An A in a 1.0 credit class earns 4 points, Bs = 3 points, Cs = 2 points, Ds = 1 point, Fs = 0 points —- regardless of where you are in the range (i.e. a 90 and a 99 both earn a 4.0).
- The grade in a 0.5 credit class earns ½ the value listed above.
- Quality Points (numerator): Additional value (weight) is added for Honors & AP classes
- Honors Classes earn an additional 0.5 grade value for a 1.0 credit class and 0.25 for a 0.5 credit class
- AP Classes earn an additional 1.0 grade value for every 1.0 credit class and 0.5 for every 0.5 credit class.
- Calculation
- The numerator is the sum of the grade values for each class + the sum of the quality points.
- The denominator is the total number of credits represented by the classes in the numerator.
High School Honors Courses
Honors courses are available in most subjects and are a separate class in some content areas. Honors students have additional requirements, such as additional homework assignments, quizzes, tests, or projects. Students in honors classes should expect different requirements than those at the regular level of the course.
Honors assignments may include:
- Extra higher-level questions on tests
- Extra written assignments
- Research papers
- Current event applications
- Extra reading with analytical questions
- Assignments to prepare students for the rigor of AP and college-level classes
- Online and technology-based assignments
- All honors courses will have a comprehensive written final exam. One-half extra point is awarded on the student’s GPA for completed honors classes.
Requirements for taking honors-level courses:
- Students should have an A or B in the prerequisite class.
- Students must have a 3.0 GPA or higher.
- Students must have a teacher’s recommendation in the previous course. (The administration will get these from teachers).
High School Advanced Placement® Courses
Advanced Placement® courses provide students with the opportunity to earn college credit while in high school. At least five students must be enrolled for any elective or AP® course to be offered.
Admissions to Advanced Placement® Courses
General requirements include an A or B in a previous AP course, an A or B average in the subject area of the AP® course, or a 3 on a previous AP® test in the subject area; recommendation from the course instructor; appropriate test scores on standardized tests as used for placement, and a minimum 3.0 overall GPA. Advanced Placement® courses will have additional fees assessed for AP® testing.AP® students may be required to buy supplementary materials like study guides or novels.
Requirements for Successful Completion of Advanced Placement® Courses
Students are required to take the College Board AP exam to complete the course. The College Board charges a fee for each exam. Students should understand that additional work outside the class is necessary to score a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP exam. Colleges have their own policies on what score allows a student to receive college credit.
Because AP® students are required to take the College Board AP® exam, they will not be required to take the GRACE final exam in that subject. However, if a student does not take the AP® exam, they will receive a zero for the exam for that AP® course. Students will not be required to attend any classes on the day of the AP® exam. AP® classes will continue for the remainder of the year with graded work assignments.
High School Transfer Class Policy
All classes taken outside of GRACE are considered transfer classes. This includes classes taken at a prior high school, online classes, and dual-enrollment classes that are not taught on GRACE’s campus.
Dual enrollment and online classes are allowed for the purpose of making up credits, accelerating to the next level of a subject, or for offerings beyond the scope of GRACE. Students must have prior administrative approval to take an online class that is also offered at GRACE. Eligible juniors and seniors may participate in the North Carolina Community College CCP (College and Career Promise) program as outlined in this Community College Dual Enrollment Document. Guidelines for online classes outside of the CCP program are outlined in this Online Course Document. Students may use a study hall to work on an online course but must remain in the study hall classroom. Note: In the event of a schedule conflict, preference will be given to scheduling GRACE classes over non-GRACE classes.
Colleges receive a student’s GRACE Transcript and Transfer Class Transcript.
- The GRACE Transcript records all high school-level classes taken at GRACE (including high school-level classes taken in middle school). Note: only classes taken during high school (grades 9-12) are used to calculate a student’s weighted and unweighted grade point average (GPA).
- Transfer classes will be reported to colleges on a transfer transcript and will include the level of the class and the grade received. Grades for transfer classes are not used in calculating a student’s GRACE GPA. Students will be taught how to calculate their blended GPA as part of the guidance given for college applications.
Drop/Add Policy
Drop / Add Policy – Any Upper Campus student (7th-12th) may drop/add during the first 10 school days with faculty and parent signature. The Drop/Add Form is found in this handbook in the Forms section. A change to a course may result in a change to the student’s class schedule and is subject to space being available in all affected classes. Drop/add is contingent upon a student’s schedule being able to be successfully reworked. This may not be possible 100% of the time.
After the initial 10 school day window, students may not drop classes without penalty. After that time, students will receive a Withdraw Passing (WP) or Withdraw Failing (WF) grade for that grading period. These designations will be recorded on the student’s transcript. Students should meet with the administration at the end of a grading period to discuss options if they are failing a class that is a graduation requirement.
For classes that have both Regular and Honors students being taught together within the same class period:
- If a student’s cumulative grades drop to a C in an honors-level class, they will no longer be eligible for honors in that class since they should focus on regular work to get their grades back up.
- Students may only enter the honors program during the first two weeks of the school year.
- Students may drop the honors component at any time, but all grades earned to date will stand. (This includes any project, test, or assignment for which the due date has passed.) Students must meet with the Principal to complete the “drop” process. Parent signatures will be required to drop out of the honors component.
High School Honors Courses
Honors students have additional requirements such as additional homework assignments, quizzes, tests, or projects. Note: Students in honors classes that are taught separately (i.e. all students in the class are taking honors-level) may have different honors requirements than students that are taught in classes that combine honors and regular students.
Honors assignments may include:
- Extra higher level questions on tests
- Extra written assignments
- Research papers
- Current event applications
- Extra reading with analytical questions
- Assignments to prepare students for the rigor of AP and college-level classes
- Online and technology-based assignments
All honors courses will have a comprehensive written final exam. One half extra point is awarded on the student’s GPA for completed honors classes.
Requirements for taking honors-level courses:
- Students should have an A or B in the prerequisite class.
- Students must have a 3.0 GPA or higher.
- Students must have teacher recommendations (Administration will get these from teachers).
For classes that have a Regular and Honors Section:
- If a student’s cumulative grades drop to a C in an honors level class, they will no longer be eligible for honors in that class since they should be focusing on the regular work to get their grade back up.
- Students may only enter the honors program during the first two weeks of the school year.
- Students may drop the honors component at any time, but all grades earned to date will stand. (This includes any project, test or assignment for which the due date has passed.) Students must meet with the Principal to complete the “drop” process. Parent signatures will be required to drop out of the honors component.
High School Advanced Placement® Courses
Advanced Placement® courses provide students the possibility to earn college credit while in high school.
Admissions to Advanced Placement® Courses
General requirements include an A or B in a previous AP course; A or B average in the subject area of the AP® course or a 3 on a previous AP® test in the subject area; recommendation from the course instructor; appropriate test scores on standardized tests as used for placement; and a minimum 3.0 overall GPA. Advanced Placement® courses will have additional fees assessed for AP® testing.
Requirements for Successful Completion of Advanced Placement® Courses
Students are required to take the College Board AP exam in order to complete the course. The College Board charges a fee for each exam. Students should understand that additional work outside the class is necessary in order to score a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP exam and receive college credit. AP® students may be required to buy supplementary materials like study guides or novels. Students should anticipate at least one hour of additional homework per night for an AP® course.
Because AP® students are required to take the College Board AP® exam, they will not be required to take the GRACE final exam in that subject. If a student does not take the AP® exam, they will receive a zero for the exam in the AP® course. Students will not be required to attend any classes on the day of the AP® exam. AP® classes will continue the remainder of the year with graded work assignments.
Senior Exam Exemptions
Senior exam exemptions are a reward for perfect and near-perfect attendance.
Year-Long Classes: Seniors with an A average (90 or above) in a class for the second semester and 6 or fewer absences in that same class will be exempt from their final exam. Three tardies equal one absence.
Semester Classes: Seniors with an A average (90 or above) in a class for the second semester and 3 or fewer absences in that same class will be exempt from their final exam. Three tardies equal one absence.
High School Graduation Course Requirements
Upon graduation, all GRACE students are prepared to enter college with a strong academic foundation in accordance with the requirements outlined in the chart below. The required credits must be earned in high school. High-school-level classes taken in middle school do not contribute to meeting the minimum required credits for high school graduation, although they will satisfy the minimum requirements for college admissions.
GRACE makes every effort to align our course of study with the high school education requirements set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and prepare our students for competitive admissions to our state’s public university system, the public university systems in neighboring states, and private colleges across the country.
Specific course requirements for NCDPI are noted with an asterisk. Specific course requirements of the North Carolina University System are noted with two asterisks.
| Content / Area | Credits earned in HS | Specific Requirements |
| English | 4 | |
| Science | 3 | Must include 1 life science credit* ** |
| Math | 4 | Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, plus one additional math class above the level of Algebra II** |
| History | 4 | Must include 1 credit of US History* ** |
| Bible | 4 | 1 credit earned per year at GRACE – the requirement is prorated for students who transfer to GRACE after 9th grade |
| World Languages | 2 | Must be earned in the same language |
| PE/Health | 1 | North Carolina High School Requirement* |
| Electives | 4 | Must include 1 fine arts credit*, 1 computer science credit (starting with freshman who begin high school in the 2024-25 school year)*, Junior Seminar, and Senior Seminar. |
| Total | 26 Credits | |
| Community Service | 80 hours | 20 hours per year at GRACE – the requirement is prorated for students who transfer to GRACE after 9th grade |
High School Community Service Requirements
All high school students are required to complete a minimum of 20 hours of community service annually due to the value placed on developing a heart for service. Students are encouraged to exceed this minimum threshold. Community service hours must be documented and submitted via the student’s Givefinity app to receive credit.
To assist students in achieving this goal and to expose them to a variety of ministries in our local community, GRACE will communicate service opportunities in the #AmazingGRACE newsletter. Additionally, the site http://activategood.org/ is a hub for organizations needing volunteers and a great resource for GRACE families to find service opportunities in our community.
Service Guidelines
- NHS Service: NHS students may not double count their required service and tutoring hours to satisfy the NHS requirement of service and the GRACE graduation requirement at the same time.
- Mission Trips: GRACE encourages students to experience the unique blessings and benefits that come with being part of a mission trip. Students who participate in a mission trip (with GRACE or another organization) may report 8 hours of community service per day of their trip, excluding travel days.
- Receipt of Compensation: For a task to count as service, no monetary compensation may be received for the completion of that task.
- Serving in the Home: Service inside the home is a wonderful expression of family commitment; however, household chores, babysitting, and similar family activities do not count toward the graduation requirement for community service.
- GRACE Athletics / Team Managers: Team Managers are recognized as a part of the team they are affiliated with and cannot submit service hours for this role.
- GRACE Athletics / Volunteering: Students who volunteer to work concessions at games, staff the admissions table, announce, live stream, or run the game clock may receive service hour credit.
- GRACE Events: Throughout the year, students may have opportunities to earn community service credit by serving at a GRACE event. These opportunities will be communicated to students as they become available.
- GRACE Electives: Some fine arts elective classes involve committing to performances/events outside of normal school hours. These events are considered part of the class’s instruction and should not be submitted as service hours.
Documenting Service Hours
To receive credit for community service, the student must have an adult supervise the service and sign the community service form or Givefinity app for the hours. Note: Parents should not sign off as the student’s supervisor for community service.
Students have two options for tracking and submitting their service hours. Both methods require students to set up a Givefinity account. Instructions for creating an account are available HERE.
- Enter your hours in the Givefinity app. (Instructions and Examples)
OR
- Submit a Community Service Form to the office for each organization you are serving. Repetitive service for the same organization (weekly volunteering) may be listed on one form with appropriate dates and hours noted and should be submitted in a timely manner.
Checking Community Service Status
Students can check the number of hours they have accumulated by logging in to Givefinity. For record-keeping purposes, community service hours for a given year begin June 1 and run through the end of May each year.
Change in Normal Grade Progression in High School
There are specific instances where a student’s progression through high school may deviate from the normal four-year plan (early graduation, grade retention, modified schedule, reclassification, etc.). Students and parents should schedule a meeting with the Upper Campus Principal and Academic Advisor to discuss a desired change in progression. Based on the specific request, the Student Deans, Guidance Counselor, and/or College Counselor may also be included in this meeting.
