Course Policies

Grading System

The purpose of grades is to enable students and their teachers to have a common understanding of educational progress and to provide a permanent record of academic achievement. Grades are a measure of academic achievement, personal development, citizenship, attendance, cooperation, and classroom participation.

Letter grades range from A to F. Letter grades and their corresponding points are given below:

Letter Grade Meaning Points Percentage (%)
A Excellent 4.00 90 - 100
B Good 3.00 80 - 89
C Satisfactory 2.00 70 - 79
D Poor 1.00 60 - 69
F Fail 0.00 0 - 59
P Pass N/A -
I Incomplete N/A -
IP In progress N/A -

Incomplete grades are given when attendance falls below the minimum acceptable level or the student fails to hand in all work by the end of that course's term. If a student receives an “I” for failing to hand in all work, he or she must make arrangements to makeup the necessary work. A grade of “IP” represents a course for which not all grades have yet been entered.

ELD Grading System

The following grading system will be used and reported in ELD:

Letter Grade Grade Point %
A = Excellent 4.00 90 - 100
B = Good 3.00 80 - 89
C = Average 2.00 70 - 79
D = Below average 1.00 60 - 69
F = Fail 0.00 0 - 59
  • To pass any particular ELD course, a student must achieve a GPA of at least 1.00 (numerical grade of at least 60%) for the course
  • To pass an ELD level, a student must pass every course that he or she is enrolled in and achieve a GPA of at least 2.00 (numerical grade of at least 70%)
  • Homework and class work will be used in grading

Adding/Dropping Courses

Students may choose to add or drop a class within the first week of each semester without penalty. If a class is dropped after this period, the student will receive a grade of “Incomplete.”

For ELD classes, group changes are allowed only during the first two days of each session. Changes will be granted only for compelling academic reasons and only with permission from the Director of ELD.

Pass/Fail Option

Juniors and seniors in good academic standing may, with the approval of the teacher, college counselor, and vice principal of academic affairs, take a course on a pass/fail basis. A student taking a course pass/fail assumes all the normal responsibilities of a class (attendance, assignments, testing) but receives a grade of either pass (P) or fail (F). Taking a course pass/fail is based on the following criteria:

  • No course required for graduation may be taken on a P/F basis; however, a course taken P/F may count towards fulfilling the 24-credit graduation requirement.
  • A student may take no more than one P/F course per semester.
  • The deadline for applying for P/F is no later than one week after the midterm for a semester long course.
  • A student who has a course designated P/F before the midterm may not later change the designation of the course to a letter grade status.

Audit Option

Seniors who have already completed their credit requirements may elect to audit a course with the approval of the course instructor, counselor, and vice principal of academic affairs. The student must attend all classes, participate actively in class discussions and complete all homework assignments. The student will be required to fulfill all course responsibilities with the exception of tests, papers, and final examinations. Credit will not be awarded for the course, and no report will be written. The deadline for electing to audit a course is at the end of the first week of classes.

Auditing a course has limited advantage to most students, so such requests will be given sufficient scrutiny and are generally discouraged. Students looking to audit a course should first consider the pass/fail option before making a final decision.

The audit option does not apply to ELD classes.

Grade Changes

Grade changes are rare events requiring a successful petition to the Principal supported by strong documentary evidence that the original grade was in error. Any change in a high school semester grade must occur within one year of its issue. Any change in an ELD grade must take place within 30 days.

Repeating Courses

Students have the option of repeating a course, if space permits. Students exercising this option will not earn additional credits towards graduation; however the higher of the grades earned for the course will be used in the calculation of the GPA. All grades will be on record and appear on the transcript. This policy does not apply to ELD classes.

ELD Expulsion Policy

Students who fail the same ELD level twice will be subject to expulsion from the ELD program and from APU International School. Students who fail any combination of ELD level a total of five times will also be subject to expulsion from the ELD program and from APU International School.

Final Exams

Each high school course culminates in a comprehensive final exam or project.

Report Cards

Students receive high school report cards within two weeks following the end of each semester. Spring Semester report cards are delivered via mail. Report cards must be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to the homeroom teacher by the dates specified.