Transitioning to High School

Middle school is a time to challenge yourself academically and experience new and exciting pathways. Take ownership of your education as well as opportunities to explore the various course options. Take advantage of rigorous coursework, arts, and career and technical education opportunities that will prepare you for college and a career. As you transition to high school, you will have more opportunity to select courses based on your career and educational aspirations. It will be especially important for you to talk with your school counselor, parent(s), and teachers concerning your course selections. Choices you make in high school affect your post-high school plans, so carefully consider your course selections and academic performance.

In spring of your eighth-grade year, you will register for courses to take in high school. All eighth graders will complete a High School Four-Year Plan to map out the coursework for their high school years. Middle school will prepare you for successful study in high school, and your school counselor will work with you to develop a high school plan and career pathway options.

What students should know and understand before transitioning to high school:

• How to calculate your GPA
• How to read a transcript
• The meaning and importance of a course credit
• Your high school graduation requirements
• How to complete a High School Four-Year Plan
• The attendance policy
• The Career Clusters and Course Concentrations
• High School Options
• The meaning and importance of various curriculum options, such as

1. Honors/Advanced Placement (AP)
2. International Baccalaureate (IB)
3. College Courses
4. Credit by Demonstrated Mastery (CDM)
5. Virtual Learning
6. Diploma Endorsements
7. Career and College Promise

The following pages contain information about high school graduation requirements. To earn a high school diploma, students must meet all course and credit requirements for the Future Ready Core Course of Study. Students who complete all graduation requirements will receive a diploma at graduation.

In preparation for college admissions and success in college level courses,

it is highly recommended by college admission officers that students continue taking higher-level courses throughout high school. Students meeting prerequisites have open access to Honors, AP, and IB courses.

Click here for Graduation Information in the Student Family Handbook

Course Withdrawal Penalty

Students attending a block schedule school may drop a course only during the first 10 days of the semester; students attending a traditional calendar school may drop a course only during the first 20 days of the school year.

Withdrawal From An EOC Course

The 10/20 Day Rule was established by the State Board of Education upon the recommendation of the Compliance Commission for Accountability. The rule (TEST-003) states that students may drop a course with an EOC test within the first 10 days of a block schedule or within the first 20 days of a traditional schedule. The 10/20 Day Rule was established to prohibit the removal of students from EOC courses later in the instructional year to avoid the impression that a school might have deliberately circumvented the requirement to test all students enrolled in EOC courses.

The rule is not intended to preclude doing the right thing for students in individual extenuating circumstances. Consequently, exceptions are allowable in individual cases where circumstances are extenuating and it is clearly in the interest of the student to remove them from an EOC course. Each case should be weighed individually to ensure the accountability of the school is not compromised. Some examples of acceptable individual withdrawals after the 10th or 20th day are as follows:

1. A student transferred into the school without sufficient records to inform a proper placement. Records do not arrive until after the 10th or 20th day, respectively. In such cases, the school has latitude to withdraw a student if the student has been inappropriately placed in an EOC course.
2. A student is withdrawn to enroll in a higher-level EOC course. The student will take the appropriate test for that course. In such a case, the student may be better served and the school is still held accountable through the course’s test.
3. There is a valid medical reason for removing a student from a course. In very rare cases, an individual student may be involved in a major medical emergency such as an accident that incapacitates the student for an extended period of time. In such instances, it may be in the student’s best interest to be withdrawn from a course.

For all situations, the principal of the school should review each case individually and decide, in consultation with the teacher and parent/guardian, whether withdrawal is necessary. If it is determined the student should be withdrawn from the course (after the 10/20 days), the school must request approval from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Director of Accountability Services.

Repeating a Course for Which Credit Was Earned

Beginning the 2018–2019 school year, once having been awarded a high school credit for a course, a student may not repeat the same course for credit. Exceptions to this rule apply to:

• OCS students enrolled in CTE courses (students can earn credit for the same CTE course only twice);
• Students enrolled in proficiency-based courses in Arts Education;
• Community college and university courses that are required by the community college or local university to be repeated if a specific grade is not achieved in them;
• Students enrolled in Level V military science courses; and
• Students who are medically fragile and receive a medical exemption to repeat a previously passed course.

Other than the exceptions listed above, students are permitted to repeat a course for credit only when they have failed it.

Repeating a Course

In alignment with State Board of Education policy CCRE-001, high school students who have failed a course for credit can repeat the course. Beginning in the 2015–2016 school year, for students who initially fail a high school course and repeat the full course (not credit recovery) and earn a passing grade, the passing grade will replace the failing grade in GPA calculation. Students who repeat a course for credit and pass the course earn credit toward graduation only once.

Credit Recovery

Beginning with the 2025–26 school year, all high school credit recovery courses must result in a numeric grade, per SBE Policy CCRE-001 and GCS Policy 3240-E. Grades will be calculated using a weighted formula: 60% of the original failing grade (minimum recorded as 50) and 40% of the credit recovery grade. For courses requiring an EOC, the EOC score will count for 20% of the final grade if it had not been previously completed.

Students who do not pass credit recovery may retake the course or re-engage in credit recovery once, with principal approval and documented additional support.

Early Graduation

Early Graduation is a serious decision that requires principal approval. The choice to graduate early has a significant impact on available post-high school education and employment options. It should not be a rushed decision but rather a well-planned and thoughtful action weighed carefully by students and parents over time. It may be accomplished by completing summer online courses. Graduating early allows the student enough time to complete only the minimum graduation requirements and will limit the student’s opportunities to enrich their course of study through accelerated courses such as Advanced Placement, higher-level World Language classes, and classes in Career and Technical Education. Conferences with your school counselor will assure a comprehensive analysis of postsecondary options available to early graduates. Students who have completed all graduation requirements, including specific course and testing requirements, an appropriate course of study, and total number of graduation credits required, may request to graduate early either at midyear of their senior year or at the end of their junior year. The student’s grade classification will be based on the GCS high school promotion standards and grade 9 entry date. Diplomas are awarded only at the end of the school year.

Diploma Endorsements

Students enrolled in North Carolina high schools shall have the opportunity to earn endorsements to their high school diploma. Endorsements are not required to graduate, but are an additional recognition from the state. The five endorsements available to high school students are:

• Arts Proficiency Endorsement indicating proficiency in one or more arts areas in grades 9-12
• NC Citizenship Proficiency Endorsement indicates successful completion of components of a national civics exam.
• Career Endorsement indicating completion of a rigorous Course of Study that includes a Career Technical Education (CTE) concentration in one of the approved CTE Career Pathways
• College Endorsement indicating readiness for entry into community colleges
• College/UNC Endorsement indicating readiness for entry into a four-year university in the University of North Carolina system
• World Languages Endorsement indicating proficiency in one or more languages in addition to English
• NC Academic Scholars Endorsement indicating that students have completed a balanced and academically rigorous high school program preparing them for postsecondary education

These endorsements are earned by completing specific coursework, maintaining a minimum grade point average, and earning additional industry certification (Career Endorsement only). Information for the NC Academic Scholars Endorsement is posted below. For specific information on the requirements to earn the Career Endorsement, College Endorsement, College/UNC Endorsement, World Languages Endorsement, or Arts Proficiency Endorsement, please visit:

NC Department of Public Instruction Diploma Endorsements

For information about Guilford County Schools' Service Learning Endorsement, please visit:

GCS Service Learning Regulation

GCS Service Learning Website

Grading Scale Section of Student Family Handbook

AP Course Credit

Students enrolled in AP courses are expected to take the AP national exam administered in May, which is provided at no cost to them. Students earn AP quality points in all AP courses, regardless of their performance on the AP exam. Potential college credit or advanced placement opportunities depend solely on AP exam results.

Some AP science and art portfolio courses require a corequisite lab to earn course credit. Students taking AP lab courses may opt to take them as Pass/Fail, which does not affect the student’s GPA, or for a non-weighted grade, which is included in calculating the GPA. An AP Lab Waiver Form must be signed by the student and parent before enrolling in the lab course with the understanding that graded classes will be averaged into the student’s GPA on a 4.0 weighted scale.

Weighted Grades

QUALITY POINTS LETTER GRADES	STANDARD COURSES	HONORS COURSES	AP/IB AND DUAL ENROLLMENT COURSES
A	4	4.5	5
B	3	3.5	4
C	2	2.5	3
D	1	1.5	2
F	0	0	0