Secondary Academic Policies
Awards | Extra-Curricular Participation | GPA Calculations | Grade Sheets and Report Cards | Grading Scale | Honors Courses | Make-up Credit | Probation | Semester Exams and Exemptions | Testing | Transcript Release | Transfer Credit
Academic awards will be presented in a spring assembly. Teachers will submit nominees for each award to the Awards Committee based on performance. This committee will choose the winners of awards based upon overall performance.
Students must maintain standards of the TSSAA for athletic participation at the varsity level. This is a minimum standard. Current TSSAA standards are that all students participating in varsity athletics must pass five subjects the previous semester (summer school counts for fall eligibility). Activities which have standards already prescribed which are more rigorous than this policy may continue to use those previously established standards with administrative approval.
Grade point average (GPA) will be calculated on a numerical scale (0-100%) carried out four decimal places. Honors courses will be weighted four (4) points. These points are added on all academic records, report cards, transcripts, and when figuring GPA for class rankings.
Progress Reports may be viewed by parents at any time on RenWeb which may be accessed on the school website at www.JCSEagles.org. New families may call or email the Academic Affairs Office to have their RenWeb passwords activated. All students and parents must have a valid email address on file with the high school office in order to access student records on RenWeb. Report Cards are computer generated and are available only on RenWeb at the end of each grading period.
The following legend will be used for all academic and conduct evaluations:
A = 93 – 100 B = 85 – 92 C = 75 – 84 D = 70 – 74 F = 0 – 69
I = Incomplete S = Satisfactory U = Unsatisfactory E = Excellent
P = Pass F = Fail N= Needs Improvement NG= No Grade
Various high school courses in the course catalog will be designated as Honors (H) courses. For all such designated courses, a weighted calculation will be used uniformly throughout the Jackson Christian system. Students satisfactorily completing Honors classes at Jackson Christian will have four (4) points added to their earned percentage grade on all academic records, report cards, and transcripts. A designation of (H) will be placed by the course title. When calculating GPA, class rank, and the like, this grade with the four (4) weighted honors points will be part of the average for all courses designated (H). Any student enrolled in an honors course or an advanced course will be transferred to the non-honors equivalent for that course at the end of any grading period in which the student has failed to earn a grade of at least 85%, with the inclusion of any added points for honors courses. If valid or unusual circumstances exist, the teacher may, at his or her discretion, request that the Dean of Students delay the transfer for one nine-week grading period to allow that student to earn a grade of 85%. Transfer students who have earned honors credit(s) in an accredited school will have those honors credits recorded on their Jackson Christian School transcript under the following guidelines: Jackson Christian will give honors credit only when the same course is offered for honors at Jackson Christian. All grades for honors classes will be recorded at the time the transfer student is accepted. The grade reported to Jackson Christian is the grade that will be recorded. No points will be added. If the transfer grade is a letter grade only, a numerical grade will be assigned according to the policies in this handbook.
Any student who fails a course must repeat that course the following year at Jackson Christian, remediate the course through AOA credit recovery or repeat the course during the summer with a Jackson Christian instructor. Requests for exceptions to this practice will be considered only in extreme circumstances and must be approved in advance by the Director of Academics.
Academic Probation (AP) is defined as a designated period of time (usually one or two semesters) during which a student is expected to show improvement in academic grades or possibly not be readmitted to Jackson Christian the following semester. Each case will be evaluated on an individual basis. Behavior and attitude of the student will be a consideration. All students on AP will be reevaluated each semester. Students may be placed on Academic Probation when their low grades appear to be the result of poor effort (poor record of homework completion, lack of participation in class observed by the teacher, spotty attendance record).
Students will take exams at the end of each semester. These will be administered during a special schedule with no more than two exams scheduled on any day. Middle School students will take one exam per day. The release time of 11:30 A.M. is to enable students to have adequate time to prepare for the next day’s exams. The exam schedule will be announced by the Director of Academics prior to exam week. Students are expected to adhere to all exam procedures and guidelines which will be published and posted in advance of these exam days. Semester exams will count 1/5 of the final semester average. Semester exams will be administered for any course in grades 6-12 for which students receive credit with the exception of Physical Education, Yearbook, Chorus, Band, and Bible. In order to make up a semester exam, the student must present a doctor’s statement to the office and have had the absence cleared with the Dean of Students prior to the time of the examination. Retaking of failed semester exams is generally not permitted. Permission from the Director of Academics is necessary for any deviation from this policy.
All students will take all exams through the Fall semester of their senior year. Only seniors may be exempt from Spring exams by meeting all of the following conditions:
1. Have an A average for the semester at the end of the fourth quarter when the 3rd and 4th quarter averages are added together and divided by two.
2. Have no more than 5 excused absences and no unexcused absences for that class that semester. No exceptions will be made for extended absences due to illness.
3. Have no U in conduct for that class that semester.
Standardized achievement tests are administered on an annual basis at Jackson Christian according to the following schedule:
Students through 5th grade – NWEA
6th and 7th graders – ASPIRE
8th and 9th graders – PRE-ACT
10th and 11th graders – ACT and PSAT
These tests are used to measure the student’s scholastic progress. Test scores, as well as all school records, are protected by the right to privacy.
Transcripts of a student’s record will be released by the counselor to educational institutions, parents, or the student for any requested purpose without cost to the student or institution. The request must come in writing from the parent or guardian. No student may have a transcript released for any reason unless the financial account to Jackson Christian is current.
Students who transfer from a non-accredited institution or home schooling will be evaluated on an individual basis. A grade of “P” (Pass) may be assigned when credit is granted for high school courses. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the parents to furnish documentation of accreditation. A description of course content and/or an examination the equivalent of the semester exam in the course given at Jackson Christian may be required before credit is awarded. Students who transfer to Jackson Christian from an accredited institution with “letter grades” on their official transcript will have a numerical value assigned and recorded on the official Jackson Christian transcript in order to determine GPA on an equal basis with all Jackson Christian students. This transition from letter to numerical average will be done as follows: A = 97% B = 89% C = 80% D = 72% F = 60% To qualify for the Jackson Christian diploma, a minimum of 22 credits is necessary. Transfer students who are unable to meet this requirement because of a lower requirement in the previous school will be evaluated on an individual basis with a minimum requirement that they must pass all seven (7) subjects during their years at Jackson Christian (or make them up satisfactorily in an approved summer program).