GPA QUICK FACTS

Overview

Updated 06/30/2011
Flour Bluff Independent School District

• Students who take high school credit courses earn a Grade Point Average (GPA) which is recorded on the student’s transcript.
• When a student applies to colleges, scholarship programs or employers and provides a transcript, the GPA of the individual is usually considered as a factor in selection of the individual.
• The Grade Point Average is composed of all the high school credit courses a student takes, except courses designated as local credit or high school credits transferred from institutions that are non accredited, nonpublic schools, including home school (i.e. office practice, remedial courses, etc.)
• When students take high school credit courses in junior high, these courses count in the GPA.

• If a course is re-taken, each semester completed will be included in the GPA. Students who fail a class for credit that is required for graduation must re-take the course. Both the previous and new grades will be included in the GPA.
• Some high school credit courses are “weighted,” meaning they earn additional value in the GPA. For each semester completed in a “weighted” class, the student earns 10 additional points on the average for the class.
• When a course is a full credit, each semester grade is counted in the GPA and if the course is weighted, the student earns 10 additional points on each semester average for the class.
• When a student takes a full credit course in a semester that is not detailed into two semester/half-credit grades, the final grade counts twice as does the weight, if it is a weighted course.

Dual Credit course grades are officially reported at the end of the semester and students do not receive official six weeks or progress report grades for these courses.

When a student takes a Credit by Exam or Correspondence Course, the grade earned is reported on the transcript as the course grade and is calculated into the GPA. Students must earn a 90 or better on a Credit by Exam, without prior instruction, or a 70 or better with prior instruction, in order to earn credit and to have it placed on the transcript.

Updated 06/30/2011

Students who are in the “Top Ten Percent” of their class at the end of the junior year, mid-senior year or end of the senior year are automatically admitted to Texas public colleges and universities, if they meet the application deadlines. The University of Texas at Austin has a unique set of rules for entry, based on legislation—see your counselor for specific details, based on the year of graduation.

A student in the “Top Ten Percent” should apply for college and scholarships based on the official rank in place at the time of the college or scholarship deadline. Ranks pertaining to the “Top Ten Percent” are posted at the end of the junior year, mid-senior year and end of the senior year.

In order to be in the “Top Ten Percent,” the student must complete the Recommended or Distinguished Achievement Plan and have a GPA in the top ten percent of the class. The student must have graduated from a public high school in Texas accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization. Students in the “Top Ten Percent” are eligible for college scholarships offered through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The student with the highest GPA at the end of the senior year (through the 5th six weeks) is determined to be the Valedictorian. (The student must have completed the last three semesters at Flour Bluff ISD.)

If there is a tie, the position of Valedictorian will first be awarded to the student with the highest number of advanced credits. If a tie remains, the position of Valedictorian will be awarded to the student with the highest number of credits earned. Dual credit grades during the final spring semester of the senior year will not be calculated into the official GPA calculation for Valedictorian and Salutatorian, as the official grades are not received until the end of the semester.

The student with the second highest GPA at the end of the senior year (through the 5th six weeks) is determined to be the Salutatorian. (The student must have completed the last three semesters at Flour Bluff ISD.)

The most critical factors in determining a student’s GPA are the number of weighted and unweighted courses the student takes over their entire high school credit career and the grade the student earns in the courses.

Students have the option to start taking high school credit courses while in the junior high. Students may also take high school credit courses in summer school, by correspondence or distance learning and as articulated credit or dual credit at designated colleges and universities. (i.e. Del Mar College, Texas A & M University—Corpus Christi, Del Mar Regional Technical Center, Craft Training Center, etc.)

The following high school credits are offered in the junior high:

• Algebra I
• Geometry
• NJROTC
• Health
• Communications Applications
• Business Information Management
• Theatre Arts I
• Art I
• Spanish I
• Project Lead the Way—Introduction to Engineering

Updated 06/30/2011

• Students who transfer high school credits for courses designated as Advanced Placement, PreAdvanced
  Placement, Dual Credit or advanced credit from accredited institutions shall receive
  weighted credits counted toward the GPA as approved by the FBISD Board of Trustees.
• For students who have letter grades such as A, A+, A-, etc., a board-approved conversion scale is
  used to determine the numerical average.
• Graduating seniors who have maintained a cumulative average of 90 or above and are completing
  the Recommended or Distinguished Achievement Program shall be recognized as graduating with
  academic distinction. No rounding up shall be used in this calculation.