[SutherlandMatters] High School Program of Studies Revision Proposals sent to Superintendent

[David Rogers]

A committee of parents, school administrators, and teachers has been
meeting through the fall to review the high school "Program of Studies"
and offer recommendations for revision to the Superintendent.  That
committee has completed its work and has sent the following
recommendations for change to Dr. Moran for her consideration.  She will
review the recommendations and may make changes in them herself before
sending them to the School Board.  Any proposed changes that are
approved would NOT affect students currently in high school, but would
begin to be in effect for current 8th graders when they enter next fall.
I have listed key proposals for your information.

 

1.	GPA - Weighted Grades - Class Rank

Summary: Students already in high school will continue to use the
current system through their graduation. Beginning with the entering 9th
grade class of 2007-08, GPA will be calculated on a 4 point scale. No
weighted grades will be calculated. Recognition of high achieving
seniors will be based on their GPA according to the following scale:
Graduating seniors in the class 2011 will be recognized as follows:

 

summa cum laude

GPA            4.0

magna cum laude

GPA 3.5 - 3.99

cum laude

GPA 3.0 - 3.49

 

 

 

 

2.	Grading Scale

Summary:  We recommended a movement to a 10 point grading scale with the
option for teachers to use an alternative 5 point scale as follows:

Albemarle County secondary schools use either of the following teacher
determined grading scales: 

 

A  =  100 - 90  B  =  89 - 80   C  =  79 - 70    D  =  69 - 60    F  =
59 - 0

 

A = 5.0 - 4.0   B = 3.9 - 3.0  C = 2.9 - 2.0   D = 1.9 - 1.0   F = 0.9 -
0.0

 

Grades below 60 or 1.0 will be considered incomplete, and all students
are expected to continue working with the teacher to achieve mastery of
the content objectives.

 

All incomplete work must be completed in order to be eligible for
credit. Students should make arrangements within 5 school days of the
assignment due date, in collaboration with their teacher, to work
towards mastery.

 

 

3.	Levels in Courses

Summary:  Courses for English, History and Social Science, Mathematics,
Science, and World Languages are offered at various levels redefined or
clarified as: Practical, Standard, Academic / Advanced, and Honors. AP
and college dual enrollment classes will continue to be offered.
Individual schools may choose to consider combining some levels as
determined by readiness, appropriateness, and input from school staff.

 

 

4. Exams / Exam Options

Summary: All high school courses will conclude with a final assessment
(exams).  All year - long courses have exams at the midterm and at the
end of the year.  Semester courses have final exams at the end of the
semester.

Exams will count for 20% of the final grade unless weighing the exam
grade at a higher value reflects a more accurate representation of the
proficiency level as determined by the classroom teacher. (This practice
will not apply to students who elect to use the SOL exam option listed
below.)


END OF COURSE EXAM OPTIONS:


For non -SOL courses, 2nd semester, all students may earn an exam
exemption after demonstrating proficiency at a high level. Students must
have a grade of 90 or 4.0 or higher in the class to earn an exam
exemption. 

Courses with SOL test: (Full Implementation will be decided upon at the
individual school level)

Students passing SOL tests may choose to earn the following exam scores
or take the final exam.

Practical                       Standard/Academic
Honors

A (100)      500-600           A (100)            500-600           A
(100)            550-600

B (89)        440-499           B (89)              466-499           B
(89)              500-549

C (79)        400-439           C (79)              400-465           C
(79)              400-499

399-     *                                  399-     *
399-     *

*Students must take another final assessment in order to demonstrate
proficiency in the class for the year.

Courses with an Advanced Placement exam:

Advanced Placement (AP) exams are considered the final assessment.

 

 

Please be advised that informational meetings about changes will be held
at each high school so that parents will understand the proposals and
potential impact on your children.  Those sessions are currently being
scheduled and the dates will be announced as soon as they are finalized.
All sessions will be open to the public. At this time a sessions has
been scheduled at Western Albemarle High School at 7:30 on November 13.
The current High School Program of Studies is available from the
Albemarle County web page (enter the Parent section and look for "High
School Program of Studies").  

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://listserv.bnsi.net/pipermail/sutherlandmatters/attachments/20061107/4b9e87c3/attachment.html