Grading Overview
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Advanced Placement courses are weighted by 1.0 quality points. The grading system follows:
AP Courses
- 5.0=A
- 4.0=B
- 3.0=C
- 2.0=D
- 0=F
All Other Courses
- 4.0=A
- 3.0=B
- 2.0=C
- 1.0=D
- 0=F
Semester Assessments
The semester assessment schedule will be established based upon the official school calendar. Each assessment will be 90 minutes in length. Dual-enrollment courses for DMACC credit cannot be waived.
Honors Diploma students and Scholarship Distinction students must take final exams in all required courses in that program.
Course Competency Exam
The Course Competency Exam does not give credit but merely advances the student.
Repeating a Course for Grade
A student may retake a Valley High School, Valley Southwoods, or Walnut Creek Campus course at any site. Both grades will be shown on the transcript, and the highest grade will be used in the GPA. Credit for a course can be awarded only once, and a student cannot gain additional credit or lose credit by repeating a course where credit was already earned.
Audit
Students may choose to take any course not offered for DMACC credit on an audit (no credit-no grade) basis. This option may not be applied to any of the 5.5 required credits each semester. The audit decision must be made prior to the semester in which the course is taken.
Additional Resources
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Dropping/Adding a Course
Thoughtful preregistration eliminates many problems for the student and the school when the year begins. Exceptions may be approved by administrators; however, it is very difficult to change courses after the master schedule is made. Be sure to give considerable thought to your course selection.
Guidelines for Valley and Valley Southwoods
- Students may drop a class during the first 10 days of the semester and the course will be removed from their schedule.
- If a student drops a class on the last day of first-quarter or third-quarter, a “W” for withdrawal will appear on the student’s permanent transcript.
- After first-quarter or third-quarter, the student may elect to drop a class and receive a failing grade for the course.
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Pass/No Pass
Students will have the opportunity of choosing one Pass/No Pass per semester providing it is not a required course or offered for DMACC credit. No course that can meet a graduation requirement can be taken Pass/No Pass until that graduation requirement is completed. Credit may be earned on a Pass/No Pass basis. Students will be expected to obtain a parent’s signature for approval plus the signatures of their counselor and instructor to indicate their awareness of the student’s intentions.
The Pass/No Pass decision must be made prior to the end of the first nine weeks of any semester and prior to the end of the seventh day of class for all summer school courses. In addition to the strict Pass/No Pass option, students can elect to remain on a grade basis if the earned grade for the semester is:
- A
- B or better
- C or better
Students electing to take a class Pass/No Pass need to be aware that the class will not count toward the 5.5 credits needed to meet the criteria for Academic Letter awards.
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Eight-Credit/Period Day
To qualify for a physical education waiver due to an academic schedule of eight credits/periods, the schedule must be either:
- core driven (no more than two electives), or
- reflective of core classes for grade-level and graduation, and electives that demonstrate the student’s deep interest and past participation. Examples: 3-4 music courses (vocal and instrumental) or 3-4 technology-based electives. The student cannot randomly take 3-4 electives that do not support a pattern of past interest of collaborative content.
The eight-credit/period schedule is not an option just to get out of physical education. Final decision and approval/denial for the eight-credit/period schedule is made by the building principal.
