Academic Guidelines
Grading and Graduation Guidelines
Types of Assessments
While assessments will take many forms and types, they will be grouped under two broad categories.
Formative
Whenever a student learns new material, he or she needs time to practice and gain familiarity with the material. It is expected that the student will make mistakes during this learning process. Any work done during this learning period is considered formative. The purpose of a formative assessment is to evaluate where a student is in the learning process. Formative assessments also inform the teacher of learning areas that may need reinforcement or re-teaching.
Summative
After a student has had instruction and practice on a topic, it is then necessary to evaluate student learning relative to content standards. Summative assessments are the tool used to glean this information. Examples of summative assessments are chapter tests, projects, semester exams, etc.
The Grade Composition
In order to represent an accurate measure of student performance, the academic semester grade needs to be based on work that is evaluated for an appropriate level of mastery of the standards. Summative assessments will, therefore, be the primary constituent of the semester coursework grade. They will account for 80% of the semester coursework grade. Formative assessments will account for 20% of the semester coursework grade.
- All grading is done using the 100-point scale.
- The lowest “earned” grade is 50.
- An “earned” grade is derived from any assessment that is attempted and handed in.
- An attempted assessment is one where the student has made a diligent attempt to follow the instructions and complete the assessment. This includes semester exams.
- Assessments not attempted or not handed in will receive zero points.
Semester Grades
At the end of the semester, a semester grade is awarded. The grade is matched to a final letter grade and the corresponding quality points for the calculation of grade point averages (GPA). See the table below.
| Letter Grade | Score Range | Quality Points (GPA purposes) |
| A | 90-100 | 4 points |
| B | 80-89 | 3 points |
| C | 70-79 | 2 points |
| D | 60-69 | 1 points |
| E | 50-59 | 0 points |
The semester grade is calculated from the semester coursework (80%) and the semester exam (20%). Because semester exams represent a comprehensive understanding of the course material, they play the following additional role in determining the final semester grade.
A semester exam grade of one or two letter grades above the student’s semester grade prior to the exam, will improve overall achievement by one letter grade. For example, a student with a grade of C going into the semester exam who earns a B or an A on the exam will receive a B for the semester. Otherwise, the semester exam accounts for 20% of the semester grade.
Academic Requirements for Graduation
- 28 credits required
-
- 4 Theology
- 4 English *
- 4 Mathematics
- 4 Science (2 of these must include a laboratory component) *
- 4 Social Studies (Must include: 1 credit of World History; 1 credit of American History; 1⁄2 credit of American Government, and 1⁄2 credit of Economics with Financial Applications)
- 1 (1⁄2 Personal Fitness and 1⁄2 Team Sports)
- 1 Performing Fine Arts
- 2 World Language
- 4 Electives
- Students must earn seven credits at Tampa Catholic High School during their senior year.
- Students must complete all courses during senior year.
* Certain English and Science Dual Enrollment classes, by state statute, are awarded additional credits. These additional credits do not count toward any of the requirements set forth in this graduation policy.