I. Marking Periods

A. Report cards are issued twice per year. Grades are cumulative for the semester.
B. Progress reports are issued electronically, midway through the marking term. This quarterly
check point is used to determine academic eligibility for extracurricular activities and athletics.

II. Explanation of Marks

Newburyport High School uses the following system of grades, with plus or minus where appropriate:

A      Indicates general excellence.

B      Indicates consistently good work. However, the student has not demonstrated the degree of thoroughness, initiative, or skills necessary to attain a higher grade.

C      Indicates average accomplishment.

D     Indicates work inferior in quality, skill and thoroughness. It is the lowest passing grade.

F      Indicates failure. Courses in which an F is received will not earn credit toward graduation.

A grade of "Inc" (Incomplete) is assigned when a marking period’s work is incomplete as a result of illness or other serious reason. In most cases, a student has two weeks (10 school days) after the end of the marking period in which to complete the required work. If the work is not made up within that time, the Inc is changed to F. Exceptions to this policy shall be determined on an individual basis.

In certain instances, upon the recommendation of the instructor, a grade of "P" (Passing) may be assigned. In such cases, the course will not be included when the student’s grade point average is calculated.

A grade of “MED” (Medical) is assigned when the student has received a medical exemption from his/her academic responsibilities due to medical reasons. A medical exemption must be recommended by a medical doctor. No credit will be received. Students are expected to make up graduation required courses.

A grade of “NC”. No-Credit, is assigned when a student has taken a course but will not be receiving credit. Except for courses taken to make-up a failure, courses taken at other schools will not count toward students’ GPA at Newburyport High School.

III. Grading System

Numeric Equivalents of Letter Grades

Letter Grade	Numeric Grade	Grade on a 4.0 Scale
A+	98-100	4.0*
A	93-97	4.0
A-	90-92	3.7
B+	87-89	3.3
B	83-83	3.0
B-	80-82	2.7
C+	77-79	2.3
C	73-76	2.0
C-	70-72	1.7
D+	67-69	1.3
D	65-66	1.0
F	0-64	0

Grade Point Average Calculation

Final Letter Grade	College Course Numerical Grade	Honors Course Numerical Grade	Adavanced Placement Numerical Grade
A+	4.00*	5.16	6.02
A	4.00	4.80	5.60
A-	3.70	4.44	5.18
B+	3.30	3.96	4.62
B	3.00	3.60	4.20
B-	2.70	3.24	3.78
C+	2.30	2.76	3.22
C	2.00	2.40	2.80
C-	1.70	2.04	2.38
D+	1.30	1.56	1.82
D	1.00	1.20	1.40
F	0.00	0.00	0.00

 

* Numerical Grade of 4.30 for Weighted GPA calculation

Courses are 2.25 credits per semester

Weighted GPA
All College, Honor, and Advanced Placement courses are weighted as per chart

Un-weighted GPA
All courses are calculated at College level

Computation of GPA

1. For each course multiply the weight of the grade (see above) by the credits to get grade points for that course.
2. Add together all the grade points earned.
3. Divide the total of grade points (from step 2) by the number of credits for all courses.

IV. Grade Point Average and Class Rank

Juniors receive their GPA’s in February of their junior year. This includes all grades up to the first semester of Junior year. Students in their senior year receive their GPA in September. This GPA includes all grades through their junior year. Seniors again receive their GPA in February. (Students are reminded that except for courses taken to make up failure, courses taken at other schools are not counted toward their GPA at Newburyport High School). Newburyport High School does not rank its students.

V. Levels of Instruction

Most of the courses at Newburyport High School are offered at the college prep level. In addition, certain courses are also offered at the honors level and Advanced Placement courses are available in several subject areas. Additional academic opportunities are provided through educational support services including academic support, learning lab, team – taught courses, language lab, and Newburyport Academy.

Certain courses are offered at specific grade levels only to students who meet certain prerequisites. When these criteria exist, they are so noted in the course descriptions listed in this book.

Advanced Placement Expectations

All students who take an AP course will also be required to take the AP exam and pay in full for the exam. Seniors who take a year of an AP course will take the AP exam as their final assessment. If a student does not take the AP exam, then the consequences will be as follows:

• The student will not receive credit for the AP course.
• The student will receive a “Withdraw Failure” (WF) for the AP course on his/her transcript.
• The college to which the student has applied will be notified that the student did not take the AP examination.

In Addition:

• Students must sign and complete an AP contract for any and all AP courses in which they are enrolled.
• Students are not allowed to drop AP courses.
• Students that do not complete AP summer assignments will not be allowed to drop the course.
• Counselor or Administrative approval is required to enroll in more than three (3) AP Courses.

VI. Honor Roll

The Honor Roll at Newburyport High School consists of the levels of High Honors and Honors. In order to be considered for placement on either Honor Roll, a student must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 classes and 1 study hall one semester and 7 classes with no study hall the other semester. The Honor Roll is computed and announced at the end of each semester.

• High Honors are awarded to students who have received only A’s (A+, A, A-)
• Honors are awarded to students who have received only A's and B's (A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-)

Note: If a student is required to take a course that uses the P/F grading system, a P replaces the minimum B grade for qualifying for the honor roll.