Course Requirements

MINIMUM GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS - 26 CREDITS

CREDIT REQUIREMENTS

RELIGION I, II, III & IV 4 Credits

ENGLISH I, II, III & IV 4 Credits

MATHEMATICS 4 Credits

SOCIAL STUDIES 3 Credits

SCIENCE 3 Credits

WORLD LANGUAGE 2 Credits

ELECTIVES 6 Credits

Freshmen and Sophomores must take a total seven credits each year. Juniors and Seniors must take a total of at least six credits each year.
Note: Summer school is required for failed courses. No diploma will be awarded if summer school is outstanding.

GRADING

The teacher will establish the standards for his/her own course and explain the students’ accountability. The letter grades signify the following:

A+ 97 - 100

A 93 - 96

B+ 89 - 92

B 85 - 88

C+ 81 - 84

C 77 - 80

D+ 74 - 76

D 70 - 73

F Below 70

COURSE LEVELS

Academic Levels/Groupings at Holy Spirit High School recognizes that students are at varying levels of academic development. To best serve the needs of a diverse population, our curriculum is delivered at four different levels of difficulty. Course levels are established according to various criteria, including but not limited to content, pacing, academic discipline, and course prerequisites.

Based on demonstrated academic performance, students may have the option to move from one course level to another. Students wishing to advance to the next level of difficulty must earn a minimum final grade of 92 in the current level or obtain a recommendation from their current teacher (except in the case of moving to an Honors level, which requires both). For example, to move from the college prep level to advanced level, a student must earn a 92 in the college prep level course or get the teacher recommendation.

A Course Request Waiver Form is available to a student who does not meet the minimum grade requirements in a course and has not received a teacher recommendation.

COURSE WAIVERS

Placement in courses/levels is at the recommendation of the teachers in each department. A waiver is a parental option to place a student in a particular course of level against the recommendation of the department. It should be used only after much thought and is intended for use by parents/guardians who have a compelling reason for believing that the student is capable of successful performance in a course or course level for which he/she is not approved. Course Waivers are not applicable to AP Level courses. Once a waiver is signed by the student and parents/guardians:

cannot transfer out of the class,
will receive a grade based solely on his/her achievement,
may need outside tutoring to keep up with the material since the course will move at a pace appropriate for it.

ACADEMIC LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS

College Preparatory (CP) Courses are intended for students at grade level in their academic skills. Student ability level will be determined by previous academic achievement and standardized test scores where available. Students enrolled in courses designated as College Preparatory will receive instruction that will prepare them to successfully enter college as well as other postsecondary schools, the work force, or the military.

Sample Schedules for College Preparatory (CP) Program

FRESHMAN	SOPHOMORE	JUNIOR	SENIOR
Religion I	Religion II	Religion III	Religion IV
English I	American Literature	British Literature	World Literature
World History	US History I	US History II	Elective - Social Studies
Biology	Quantitative Science	Chemistry (or Elective)	Elective - Science
Algebra I	Geometry	Algebra II	Algebra III/Trig, Survey of Math
French I, Latin I, Spanish I	French II, Latin II, Spanish II	French III, Latin III, Spanish III	Elective - Foreign Language
Freshman Seminar, Art or Music	Sophomore Seminar, Art or Music	Elective	Elective

Advanced (ADV) Courses are intended for students with strong academic skills at or above grade level. Student ability level will be determined by previous academic achievement and standardized test scores, where available. Students enrolled in courses designated as ADV will receive instruction at a pace and depth that will prepare them to successfully enter colleges with competitive enrollment criteria as well as other post-secondary schools, the work force, or the military.

Sample Schedules for Advanced (ADV) Program

FRESHMAN	SOPHOMORE	JUNIOR	SENIOR
Religion I	Religion II	Religion III	Religion IV
Advanced English I	Advanced American Literature	Advanced British Literature	Advanced World Literature
Advanced World History	Advanced US History I	Advanced US History II	Elective - Social Studies
Advanced Biology	Advanced Quantitative Science	Advanced Chemistry	Elective - Science
Advanced Algebra I	Advanced Geometry, Advanced Algebra II	Advanced Algebra II, Advanced Pre-Calculus	Advanced Calculus, Advanced Pre-Calculus, Advanced Statistics
Advanced French I, Advanced Latin I, Advanced Spanish I	Advanced French II, Advanced Latin II, Advanced Spanish II	Advanced French III, Advanced Latin III, Advanced Spanish III	Honors French IV, Honors Latin IV, Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish IV
Freshman Seminar, Art, or Music	Sophomore Seminar, Art, or Music	Elective, Art, or Music	Elective, Art, or Music

Honors (H) Courses are intended for students who are working well above grade level in their academic skills and have expressed a desire to extend themselves in terms of workload and expectations. Curriculum is taught at a deeper level, often requiring students to demonstrate more abstract thinking and problem solving skills. More extensive reading and writing assignments are the norm. Participation in honors courses is required of students seeking to gain entry to highly competitive and most competitive 4 year colleges.

Advanced Placement (AP) Courses incur an additional cost for the mandatory AP Exam in May of the academic year. AP Courses expose students to a curriculum approved by The College Board and are taught under guidelines established by this organization. An AP course is a college level course. An AP student must meet rigorous academic standards, be highly motivated, be willing to commit significant time to course work that may include independent reading and writing assignments, as well as extra sessions in order to meet course requirements and to prepare for the AP Exam. Students in AP classes will sit for an exam in May of the year in which the course is delivered. Colleges will often award credit for success on these examinations as measured by a score of 3, 4 or 5 (depending on the course and the college). Students choosing an AP course will take the AP Exam. A class project or presentation, depending on the class, will replace the final exam. Participation in AP Courses is recommended for students seeking to gain entry to the most highly competitive four year colleges.

Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) Courses Students must meet four of the five requirements. Students will be required to take an end of the year exam: AP Classes will take the AP Exam in May, Honors Classes will take a course final exam.

A final grade of 92 or above in all previous subject classes and current semester average of 92 or above;
A PSAT score of 570 or above in Reading & Written Language;
A PSAT score of 530 in Mathematics;
Guidance Counselor recommendation;
Current subject teacher recommendation.

Sample Schedules for Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) Program

FRESHMAN	SOPHOMORE	JUNIOR	SENIOR
Religion I	Religion II	Religion III	Religion IV
Honors English I	Honors American Literature	Honors British Literature	AP World Literature, Honors World Literature
Honors World History	Honors US History I	Honors US History II, AP Psychology	AP European History, AP Psychology
Honors Biology	Honors Chemistry	AP Chemistry	AP Physics
Honors Algebra II	Honors Geometry	Honors Pre-Calculus	Honors Calculus, AP Calculus
Advanced French I, Advanced Latin I, Advanced Spanish I	Advanced French II, Advanced Latin II, Advanced Spanish II	Advanced French III, Advanced Latin III, Advanced Spanish III	Honors French IV, Honors Latin IV, Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish IV
Freshman Seminar, Art, or Music	Sophomore Seminar, Art, or Music	Elective, Art, or Music	Elective, Art, or Music

Advanced Courses

Students must meet three of the four requirements

A final grade of 92 or above in the previous subject class and current semester average of 92 or above
A PSAT (or PSAT 8/9) score of 490 or above in Reading & Written Language A PSAT (or PSAT 8/9) score of 430 or above in Mathematics
Counselor recommendation
Current teacher recommendation (Science classes require recommendations from both current science and math teacher)

PSAT Scores

Students	PSAT Test Scores	AP & Honors	Advanced
Rising Seniors	Reading & Written Language	570	490
	Math	530	430

Rising Juniors	Reading & Written Language	530	450
	Math	530	450

Rising Sophomores (PSAT 8/9)	Reading & Written Language	540	460
	Math	500	430

CLASS RANK (to be changed)

Distinguished Honors: Top 5% of class

High Honors: 6th - 10th percentile

Honors: 11th - 20th percentile

Unweighted GPAs (used for determining eligibility and NCAA core GPA among other things) are based on letter grades and calculated on a 4.0 scale. A= 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0.

Course Requirements

Course Symbols