Honors Diploma

Students planning to apply to universities with competitive admission requirements may pursue the CCSD Honors Diploma. The course work in Honors, Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) classes is more intensive and challenging than in an average class. To qualify for the Honors Diploma, a student must complete the following twelve minimum requirements in honors/AP/IB classes:

* First year foreign language classes, fifth year classes, and external credit options (correspondence courses, credit-by-exam, community service, educational travel, and music equivalent) will not receive Honors credit.

Students must accumulate a minimum weighted GPA of 3.500 to qualify for an Honors Diploma. Students enrolled in weighted Honors/AP/IB courses through this program may have a grade point average greater than 4.00.

For students who enroll in the 9 th grade during or after the 2003-2004 school year, a weighted grade point factor for successful completion of Honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses will be added as follows:

The weighted GPA cap for the Honors Program for students who enroll in 9 th grade during or after 2003-04 school year will be added as follows:

• The weighted GPA cap for the Honors Program is no more than twenty-eight semesters (14 classes) of Honors/AP/IB courses.
• Students will receive a weighted grade point factor of .050 for four semesters (2 classes) of AP/IB courses and will also receive a weighted grade point factor of .025 for twenty-four semesters (12 classes) of Honors courses
• Students who choose to enroll in only Honors level courses will receive a weighted grade point factor of .025 points for twenty-eight semesters (14 classes) of Honors courses.
• The weighted grade point factor of .050 for AP and IB courses will be added to students’ transcripts beginning in January of 2007.

Advantages of the Honors Program

• Most competitive colleges and universities consider not only students’ grades, but also their academic background evidenced by courses listed on the transcript, letters of recommendation from teachers and counselors, and SAT I or ACT scores.
• Enrollment in the Honors Program will assist students in their preparation for college entrance exams.
• The weighted GPA is used when determining ranking in class.

Students may take Honors courses even if they have not chosen to complete the requirements for the Honors Diploma.