Instruction, Grading, & Assessment (part 3)
Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Students with significant cognitive disabilities who entered the ninth grade for the first time on or after the 2020-2021 school year may graduate and receive an alternate diploma when the student’s IEP team determines that the student has:
- Completed an integrated curriculum based on the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) that includes instruction in Mathematics, English/Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies as well as career preparation, self-determination, independent living, and personal care to equal a minimum of 23 units of instruction; and
- Participated in the GAA during middle school and high school; and
- Has transitioned to an employment/education/training setting in which supports needed are provided by an entity other than the local school system.
Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and Honorarian
The Valedictorian of each Effingham County high school will be the senior with the highest cumulative numeric grade point average as calculated on the last day seniors attend school during the senior year school term. The Salutatorian of each Effingham County high school will be the senior with the second highest cumulative numeric grade point average as calculated on the last day seniors attend school during the senior year school term. The Honorarian of each Effingham County high school will be the senior with the third highest cumulative numeric grade point average as calculated on the last day seniors attend school during the senior year school term.
All unit credit must have been earned from institutions which are accredited by or holding provisional status from the Georgia Accrediting Commission and/or one of the accrediting agencies that is a member of the Georgia Private School Accreditation Council and/or one of the regional accrediting agencies recognized by the U. S. Department of Education and identified in State Board Rule 160-5-0-.15.
In order to be eligible for the status of Valedictorian, Salutatorian or Honorarian, the senior must have been continuously enrolled in an Effingham County high school in his/her district for three semesters preceding graduation.
Tie Breaking
In the event of a tie, the following criteria, evaluated in order as necessary, shall be used:
In the event of a tie, the following criteria, evaluated in order as necessary, shall be used:
- Number of Advanced Placement, Honors and Dual Enrollment courses successfully completed with a grade of 90 or above;
- Highest Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or (ACT) scores;
- Highest Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores in one sitting.
Honor Graduate
Graduating seniors with 89.5 or above cumulative grade point averages will be considered Honor Graduates.
Class Rank
Only students pursuing a program of study leading to a regular high school diploma shall be included in calculations for the purpose of determining class rank.
Scholar Endorsement Requirements
The Scholar Endorsement recognizes students who have completed rigorous coursework requiring advanced content, challenging intellectual engagement, daily homework, extensive critical reading and out-of-class research and/or projects. These courses are designed to prepare students for subsequent Advanced Placement coursework as well as enhanced admissions consideration at competitive post-secondary institutions. Students are recognized at Class Night for earning the Scholar Endorsement. To be recognized as Scholar Endorsed, students may not have failing course grades recorded on the high school transcript nor credit removed from a course due to attendance. As part of satisfying the high school graduation requirements, students are eligible for the Scholar Endorsement by completing the minimum course requirements as outlined below.
Graduation Requirements for Scholar Endorsement
| Subject Area | Units Required |
|---|---|
| English/Language Arts (Minimum of four units from the following): • Honors 9th Grade Literature or Honors Literature and Composition I • Honors 10th Grade Literature or Honors Literature and Composition II • AP English Language • AP English Literature • Any AP or Dual Enrollment English course that is recognized by the GaDOE as a core English/Language Arts credit |
4 |
| Mathematics (Minimum of four units from the following): • Honors Algebra or Enhanced Algebra • Honors Geometry • Honors Algebra II or Honors Advanced Algebra • Accelerated Pre-calculus or AP Pre-calculus • Calculus • AP Calculus • AP Statistics • Any AP or Dual Enrollment Mathematics course that is recognized by the GaDOE as a core Mathematics credit |
4 |
| Science (Minimum of four units from the following): • Honors Biology I • Honors Physical Science • Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, or AP Chemistry • Physics or AP Physics • AP Biology • AP Environmental Science • Any AP or Dual Enrollment Science course that is recognized by the GaDOE as a core Science credit |
4 |
| Social Studies (Minimum of three units from the following): • Honors World History • AP Government • AP European History • AP US History • AP Economics • AP Human Geography • Any AP or Dual Enrollment Social Studies course that is recognized by the GaDOE as a core Social Studies credit |
3 |
| Modern Foreign Language • Sequential foreign language courses |
3 |
| Electives in one of the following areas • 3 academic credits beyond those fulfilling the above requirements • 3 courses in one CTAE Pathway • 3 courses in a Fine Arts Pathway |
3 |
*Core classes taken at the middle school level for high school credit do not have to be designated as honors to count for Scholar Endorsement.
STEM Endorsement Requirements
The STEM Endorsement recognizes students who attend the Effingham STEM Program and who have completed rigorous, STEM-focused coursework requiring advanced content, challenging intellectual engagement, daily homework, extensive critical reading, and out-of-class research and/or projects. Students may not have any failing course grades recorded on the high school transcript or credit removed from a course due to attendance. Students are recognized at Class Night for earning the STEM Endorsement. As part of satisfying the high school graduation requirements, students are eligible for the STEM Endorsement by completing the minimum course requirements as outlined below.
Graduation Requirements for STEM Endorsement
| Subject Area | Graduating Class of 2026 and thereafter Units Required |
|---|---|
|
Mathematics (any of the following)
• Algebra • Geometry • Algebra II or Advanced Algebra • Advanced Mathematical Decision Making • Pre-Calculus • Honors Algebra • Honors Geometry • Honors Algebra II or Honors Advanced Algebra • Accelerated or AP Pre-Calculus
• Calculus • AP Calculus A/B • AP Calculus B/C • AP Statistics • Any AP or Dual Enrollment Mathematics course |
5 |
|
Science (any of the following)
• Biology I • Physical Science • Chemistry • Physics • Honors Biology I • Honors Physical Science • Honors Chemistry • Honors Biology II • Entomology • Zoology
• Anatomy/Physiology (embedded credit is not eligible) • AP Biology • AP Environmental Science • AP Chemistry • AP Physics • Any AP or Dual Enrollment Science course |
5 |
|
English/Language Arts (any of the following)
• 9th Grade Literature or Literature and Composition I • 10th Grade Literature or Literature and Composition II • American Literature or Literature and Composition III • British Literature or Literature and Composition IV • Honors 9th Grade Literature or Honors Literature and Composition I • Honors 10th Grade Literature or Honors Literature and Composition II
• Honors American Literature or Honors Literature and Composition III • Honors British Literature or Honors Literature and Composition IV • AP English Language • AP English Literature • Any AP or Dual Enrollment English course |
4 |
|
Social Studies (any of the following)
• World History • Government • US History
• Personal Finance and Economics • Honors World History • AP World History • AP Government • AP US History • AP Economics |
4 |
|
Modern Foreign Language
• Sequential foreign language courses |
2 |
| STEM Pathway Area of Concentration | 3 |
| Scientific Research • Scientific Research I • Scientific Research II • Scientific Research III • AP Seminar (can be taken in place of Scientific Research II or III) • AP Research (can be taken in place of Scientific Research III) |
3 |
| Health (.5 unit)/Personal Fitness (.5 unit) | 1 |
| Successful Completion of a Virtual STEM Portfolio | 3 years |
Crossroads Graduation Ceremonies
All students who attend Crossroads Academy and finish their high school program of study at Crossroads Academy must graduate through a Crossroads Academy ceremony. Students will not be eligible to return to their base school to participate in Senior Week, Class Night, or the school’s graduation ceremony. Crossroads Academy will offer two formal graduations each year (one in January and one in May).
If a student completes his/her graduation requirements in December, students will be awarded their diploma at the January Crossroads Academy graduation. If a student completes his/her graduation requirements in May, diplomas will be awarded at the Crossroads Academy graduation ceremony at the end of May.
If all course work has been successfully completed, with grades of 70 or better, the student may participate in the graduation ceremonies. If any coursework has not been completed, the student will not be allowed to participate.
HOPE Scholarship
Funded through the state lottery, HOPE Scholarships assist with tuition at Georgia’s post-secondary institutions which include the technical colleges. An online resource called GAfutures is a mentor system available to students and their families to help select a college, apply for admission, and plan to finance higher education. GAfutures offers access to comprehensive information about colleges, universities, and technical colleges in Georgia and the most current information about the changes to the HOPE Scholarship. The site also enables students to apply for admission to each school listed. Note: Although the mentor site (www.GAfutures.org) is free, students are responsible for whatever fees are charged by a college upon submitting an application for admission. Counselors can assist students and parents with related questions about the HOPE Scholarship.
HOPE Scholarship GPA is not the same as a student’s high school GPA. The major difference in the two calculations is that the HOPE Scholarship GPA includes only grades earned in the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and foreign language.
Georgia Department of Education’s (GaDOE) high school core and foreign language course numbers that begin with the following prefixes will be included in the HOPE GPA calculation: 23 (English), 26 (Life Sciences), 27 (Mathematics), 40 (Physical Sciences), 45 (Social Sciences), 60-64 and/or 66 (Foreign Language). There are some specific courses, as indicated on GaDOE’s Fourth Science List, that may also be included in the HOPE GPA calculation. Effingham County offers the following courses that may count towards satisfying the fourth Science requirement and may be included in the HOPE GPA calculation: Applications of Biotechnology; Essentials of Biotechnology; Essentials of Healthcare; Sports Medicine; Forest Science; General Horticulture and Plant Science; Animal Science Technology/Biotechnology; Aerospace Science: Science of Flight; Scientific Research III; Advanced Placement Computer Science A; Forensic Science and Criminal Investigations; Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles; Computer Science Principles Programming, Games, Apps, and Society.
All grades earned for attempted coursework in the core subjects during the student’s 9th through 12th grade years that could be used to satisfy a core curriculum graduation requirement, according to the GaDOE, is equated to a grade on a 4.0 scale, where an “A” equals 4.0, “B” equals 3.0, “C” equals 2.0, “D” equals 1.0, and “F” equals 0.
The high school HOPE GPA calculation will count all attempts of the same course, if taken more than once.
From the eligible core courses, any weighting (honor points) added by the high school is removed, then half a point (0.5) is added back to grades of “B”, “C”, “D”, and “F” for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Dual Enrollment (DE) degree-level core courses.
The grade of “A” does not receive the additional weight due to the traditional 4.0 scale (maximum of four points per grade).
High school credits earned in middle school will satisfy graduation requirements, but the credits do not count towards HOPE GPA.
A student’s final HOPE Scholarship GPA will only be calculated if he or she has first met the Academic Rigor Requirements applicable to his or her high school graduating class.
Students may review rigor courses and check their HOPE Scholarship GPA at www.gafutures.org.
Completion of diploma requirements does not necessarily qualify students for the HOPE Scholarship Program.
Georgia Special Needs Scholarship
The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program may provide eligible special education or 504 students the opportunity to attend an approved private school or another public school.
Please visit to the Georgia Department of Education for more information regarding Special Needs Scholarship:
www.gadoe.org/parent-family-resources/georgia-special-needs-scholarship