Grading
Grading Philosophy
We agree that the primary purpose of grades is to communicate student achievement to all stakeholders with an emphasis on application and demonstration of skills. As such, students at WHS will be graded no less than 85% on assessments that are graded for accuracy and no more than 15% for homework completion, class participation, classwork, etc.
- Both unweighted and weighted GPA are part of the WHS transcript.
- A student's unweighted GPA will stand relative to 4.0.
- An unweighted Grade Point Average (GPA) will be based upon the following numerical values:
- A weighted GPA will be calculated in the following manner:
- Each Advanced Placement level course in which a pupil has received a grade of C- or better in grades 9-12 will award the pupil .10 bonus points per credit.
- Each Honors or Gifted level course in which a pupil has received a grade of C- or better in grades 9-12 will award the pupil .05 bonus points per credit.
- Special Education courses will be weighted the same as Academic level courses.
- Wissahickon does not rank students numerically. The range of unweighted and weighted GPAs will be provided on the high school profile. Colleges may request in writing (to the WHS Guidance Department) specific student class rank information. If this information is required for admission to a particular school or to qualify for a scholarship or specialty program, the Guidance Department will advise whether the student was in the top 5% or the appropriate percentile into which the student would fall, based upon the weighted GPA.
Distinguished Scholarship Roll/Scholarship Roll
In order for students to be eligible for the Distinguished Scholarship Roll, students must have earned a marking period cumulative unweighted GPA of at least 3.75. For the Scholarship Roll, students must have earned a marking period cumulative unweighted GPA of at least 3.50.
Graduation Speakers (Valedictorian)
The valedictorian for the graduating class is the senior with the highest weighted GPA at the end of the 3rd marking period of the Senior year. The valedictorian and a second graduation speaker, elected by a faculty panel from student auditions of submitted speeches, will be the student speakers at graduation.
Homework and Grading Policy
Homework is an integral part of the learning process. The frequency and amount assigned is based upon the needs of the students and course requirements. However, the student’s grade will largely be determined by demonstrated content knowledge and skill performance based upon teacher graded assessments which could include classwork, homework, projects, labs, quizzes, and tests. This assessed work will be counted as at least 85% of the students’ grade. Please refer to the Parent/Student Handbook for additional information on homework, grading policies, and testing guidelines.
National Honor Society
Selection into NHS occurs in grades 11 and 12. However, students begin accumulating status to this program beginning in 9th grade. Applicants must be involved in at least three activities per school year. Students can acquire community service credit through their involvement in sports, clubs and activities, as well as from their outside work. Students can do this by completing the Volunteer Work Option Form and having Letters of Recommendation from the adult supervisor sent to NHS sponsors during the application process.
Viewing Grades & Report Cards
Parents may review overall course grades and report cards in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. Instructions to View Report Cards
Detailed assignments and grades may be viewed in Schoology. Learn more about using Schoology.
Transcripts: Current students may request a copy of their transcript from the School Counseling Office. Transcripts are not available via Schoology or Infinite Campus.