High School Guidelines 9-12

Grade-level advancement for students in grades 9–12 shall be earned by course credits.  Course assignments and unit evaluation shall be used to determine student grades in a subject. An average of 70 or higher shall be considered a passing grade. Students shall earn credit only for work related to content TEKS or class standards/objectives. Extra credit is not given in high or senior high schools. 

If a student earns a passing grade for one semester, but fails to earn a passing grade for the second semester of the course, the District shall award the student credit for the semester with the passing grade. (EI Regulation) A student may be awarded credit for a full-year course by either:

• Earning a grade of 70 or above in both semesters; or
• Earning a grade of 70 or above when both semesters are averaged together. (more details in EI Regulation)

Minor Grades are recorded to communicate progress through the learning target as a unit is in process. These grades include a variety of assignments that give students the opportunity to engage with academic content, demonstrate understanding, and practice skills throughout the learning cycle.

Major Grades are recorded as a summative assessment or reflect the culmination of learning in a unit or about a topic. They are a demonstration of student understanding, and their ability to transfer the learning or apply the content and skills in measurable ways.  If a student fails an assessment, the teacher must reteach and provide an opportunity to reassess for mastery which is reflected by a minimum grade of 70%. (EIE)

Each major grade may only be recorded in the grade book once.

 

Category	Weight	Minimum and Range Requirements per Nine Weeks
Minor Grades	40%	Minimum of 8 minor grades per core content (RLA, Social Studies, Science, Math, LOTE) This maximum range may vary depending on your content. A range of no larger than four grades should be established to ensure that a campus department/grade level has consistency in its practices.   For example: One teacher on a grade level/department team cannot give 10 grades and another teacher on that team gives 30. Therefore, the range may be 10-14 or 18-22, etc.
Major Grades	60%	Minimum of 2 and maximum of 4 major grades per core content (RLA, Science, Social Studies, Math, LOTE)

Semester examinations will be administered in high and senior high school credit-bearing courses.

Semester Exam 

District-created semester exams shall be administered in their entirety.

Semester Exam Grade

The district-created semester exam may count as 100% of the exam grade; however, a campus may choose to supplement the district semester exam with additional measures of assessment (i.e. short answer questions, essay, project, presentation, additional items, etc.) which may constitute up to 40% of the exam grade.

All teachers who teach the same course at a campus must work as a collaborative team to make the decision about supplemental assessments. Campus collaborative teams must be consistent in the content, format, and weighting of semester exam supplements given by teachers of the same course on the same campus.

Each nine-week grade shall count for 40% of the semester average with the remaining 20% coming from the semester exam. The semester final grade shall be calculated by the following formula:

• 1st Nine Weeks - 40%
• 2nd Nine Weeks - 40%
• Semester Exam - 20%

At the end of each semester, a minimum of two days shall be set aside for administering semester examinations, and students will be afforded an opportunity for review prior to the assessment. Each principal shall ensure that extracurricular activities are curtailed during the examination schedules.

Applies to 9th, 10th, 11th grade Regular, Honors, AP or IB English & Math classes (does not apply to Dual Credit or OnRamps)

Students enrolled in regular, honors, AP or IB English or Math classes may be eligible for a grade waiver from the spring final exam when they meet the college ready (TSI) benchmark in that subject area on the PSAT 9, PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, or TSIA 2.0 exams and they meet the district’s additional requirements listed below for exam grade waivers.

TSI college ready benchmarks by grade level:

The following are the minimum scores to be considered “on track” for college readiness on the PSAT and college ready on the SAT and TSIA 2.0. The goal is to meet these minimum scores by grade level but scoring higher is even better! To be eligible for an exam grade waiver, see the table below for the tests, minimum required benchmark scores, and test dates for each grade level.

Grade Level	Test	Testing Date	Reading & Writing	Math
9th Grade	PSAT 9	Oct 2	410 or higher	450 or higher
10th Grade	PSAT/ NMSQT	Oct 2	430 or higher	480 or higher
11th Grade	SAT	March 5	480 or higher	530 or higher
10th-11th Grades	TSIA 2.0	By appointment	945 or higher or Diagnostic score of 5 and 5 on the essay	950 or higher or Diagnostic score of 6

The ACT: Students who meet the college ready benchmark on ACT and provide evidence to their counselor may also be considered.

• English & Reading Combined Score = 40 or higher
• Math = 22 or higher

***Students who are enrolled in AP/IB courses in other subject areas besides English and Math can also earn an exam waiver if they take the AP Exam and they meet the additional requirements listed down below.

Students must meet the TSI College Ready Benchmarks above and these additional requirements:

• A minimum overall average of 70 (per class) for the spring semester.
•  Students shall have no more than seven (7) absences during the spring semester (per class).
  • Students attending school-sponsored events or college visits will not be penalized.
  • Students with medical notes for partial day appointments will not be penalized.
• No major infractions resulting in ISS, Saturday School, Out of School Suspension, or Special Programs Center.
• Students must have no outstanding fines, fees, or debts for school property or other PISD services.
• Students will be required to attend school on the day of their exam in order to meet attendance requirements. Further information will be provided by the campus.

Guidelines For Students Enrolled in Math Models

To support students’ postsecondary readiness and reward responsible academic and behavioral habits, 11th and 12th grade students enrolled in Mathematical Models with Applications may be eligible for a spring Math Models final exam waiver if they meet the following TSI college ready benchmarks and the additional requirements listed above(attendance, discipline, etc):

TSI college ready benchmarks:

• Students must meet the TSI-A Math Benchmark in one of the following ways:
  • TSI-A 2.0 Mathematics Score:
    • A minimum score of 950
      or
    • A score below 950 with a Diagnostic Level of 6
• Scores must be documented in the student’s assessment record prior to the final exam window

Guidelines for Students Enrolled in CTE Courses with IBC Exams

Students in grades 9–12 who successfully earn an approved Industry-Based Certification (IBC) during either the fall or spring semester are eligible for a final exam exemption in the corresponding CTE course in which the certification was earned.

• The exemption applies only to the course directly aligned with the earned IBC.
• The IBC must be earned during the same school year in which the exemption is granted.
• Students must maintain a passing grade in the course and meet all other requirements above to qualify.
   

Additional Opportunities for 12th Grade Students

College Career and Military Readiness (CCMR) is about preparing students for life after graduation. It is developed through curriculum, resources, programs, and activities that help students have the tools they need to enter college or the workforce. CCMR is integrated into the everyday culture of our district as students develop the knowledge base and work habits which will lay the foundation for the successful pursuit of their chosen career.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has defined a set of indicators that students can earn to be considered college, career, or military ready.

Readiness is demonstrated by completing one or more of the following:

• Earning a score of 3 or better on an AP examination
• Meeting TSI benchmark criteria via SAT, ACT, TSI-A, or Texas College Bridge
• Completing a dual credit course (9 hours in any subject or 3 hours in English or mathematics)
• Earning an industry-based certification (IBC)
• Graduating with a completed IEP and workforce readiness goals
• Enlisting in one of the armed forces

Seniors who have demonstrated CCMR readiness may earn final exam grade exemptions in all of their classes in the Spring by meeting the following requirements:

• Demonstrating readiness in one of the areas above.
• A minimum overall average of 70 (per class) for the spring semester.
• Students shall have no more than seven (7) absences during the spring semester (per class).
• Students attending school-sponsored events or college visits will not be penalized.
• Students with medical notes for partial day appointments will not be penalized.
• No major infractions resulting in ISS, Saturday School, Out of School Suspension, or Special Programs Center.
• Students must have no outstanding fines, fees, or debts for school property or other Plano ISD services.
• Students enrolled in AP or IB courses will be required to take the AP or IB National Exams. Failure to take the AP or IB National Exams will result in students not being able to waive their semester exam grades.
• Students will be required to attend school on the day of their exam in order to meet attendance requirements. Further information will be provided by the campus.

*Seniors may qualify for final exam grade exemption for one-semester courses in the Fall semester if the above requirements are met.  In addition to meeting the above requirements, students in an AP or IB one-semester class in the Fall semester will be required to have registered and paid for their AP and IB national exams in order to earn their final exam grade exemption.

A student may be awarded credit for a full-year course by either:

1. Earning a grade of 70 or above in both semesters; or
2. Earning a grade of 70 or above when both semester grades are averaged together.

Business rules for rounding will apply: first semester (70), second semester (69) = 69.5. The final grade will be 70 (1.0 credit).

If a student earns credit for one semester by earning a grade of 70 or above but fails to earn a grade of 70 or above when the two semesters are averaged together, the 0.5 credit earned will not be removed (each semester stands alone in this scenario); therefore, the student will receive credit for the semester passed. This practice of determining credit by averaging the two semesters will be applied to courses students take during the school day, during night school, in the District’s eSchool, in summer school, and in dual credit courses. Averaging of the two semesters may only be applied the first time a student takes each semester of the course. It will not be applied to courses taken through CBE, correspondence courses, or non-accredited online courses. For clarification, dual credit course semester averaging only applies to the high school credit; it does not affect the college grade or transcript. In addition to the more typical situations, averaging also applies to the following:

1. One semester of Honors/Dual Credit or AP and one semester of an on-level course fulfilling the same requirement;
2. Semesters taken during different school years;
3. Semesters taken under different formats, such as eSchool, night school, summer school, and the like; and
4. Students transferring to the District with a semester credit.

The principal may approve exceptions in extenuating circumstances. EI (REGULATION)

Refer to policy EIC(LOCAL).

Citizenship grades for students in grades 6–12 are assigned as E, S, N, and U.

• Excellent: consistently displays outstanding demonstration of the  district character traits; completes outstanding quality assigned work, on time
• Satisfactory: understands and demonstrates the district character traits; completes most assigned work with satisfactory quality, on time
• Needs Improvement: understands and demonstrates the district character traits to some degree; assigned work is not always completed on time and quality is not always satisfactory
• Unsatisfactory: understands and demonstrates the district character traits to some degree; assigned work is often incomplete and late