END OF SEMESTER ASSESSMENTS
All students must take end-of-semester assessments or participate in an end-of-semester activity or project for a course.
No student will be excused from school during exams unless it is due to illness or emergency. Requests to reschedule end of semester assessments are to be made to the Associate Principal. Any student unexcused from the end of semester assessment period or leaves the end of semester assessment period early will receive no credit for the exam or final activity.
Rescheduled exams are to be completed within a two-week period after the last scheduled exam or student will receive a grade of zero.
The end of semester assessment is 20% of the semester grade.
STUDENT REQUESTS FOR WITHDRAWAL FROM CLASS/LEVEL CHANGE
Students may withdraw from a course during the first six weeks but not within the first three days of the semester after meeting with their counselor and securing the required forms from the counselor. All students must maintain a course load of five full-credit courses, including physical education. Students who withdraw within this time frame will have the course deleted from their record. Students may not add an academic class or obtain a study hall waiver from a dropped course.
TEXTBOOK COLLECTION PROCEDURES
Textbook collection procedures will be announced prior to the end of each semester. Students who do not turn in textbooks will be placed on an obligation list and will be notified of the obligation at the time report cards are mailed. Any outstanding obligations will prevent a student from registering and receiving a schedule for the next school year.
Report cards, issued two times a year, are mailed to the student's home approximately two weeks after the end of each semester. The mailing dates for report cards will be announced in the high school newsletter.
During the first week of each semester, each teacher will explain how grades are determined. The school grading system is based on letter grades:
The end of semester assessment is 20% of the semester grade.
All courses, including P.E., are used to compute students’ grade point average. The following numerical values are assigned to letter grades (Values for weighted grades are in parentheses):
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| | | | 0.00 (Negatively impacts GPA) |
| | | | 0.00 (Negatively impacts GPA) |
| | | | 0.00 (Does not impact GPA) |
| | | | 0.00 (Does not impact GPA) |
Students may replace the grade they receive in a course by retaking the same course at GHS under the following conditions:
The course retake must be completed within 13 months of the conclusion of the initial course.
Students may not retake a course after completing the next course in a sequence. For example, students may not retake Algebra after completing Geometry.
When a student retakes a course at GHS, the most recent grade will be used for purposes of credit and grade point average. The course in which the lower grade was earned will remain on the transcript with an “R” (repeat).
Retaken courses do not earn duplicate credit.
Students choosing to retake a course they have already passed will have that option on a space-available basis.
All courses remain on the student transcript, with the exception of a course that a student fails repeatedly. The ‘F’ in the original course remains on the transcript until such time that a student earns a higher grade when repeating the course.
Students choosing to retake a course at GHS need to complete the Course Retake Form and submit it to their counselor.
Students choosing to retake a course at a location other than GHS will need to consult their counselor and complete the External Credit Pre-Approval Form. Note that credits earned externally do not impact the GPA.
Geneva High School uses a dual grade reporting system. All students are eligible to select weighted courses.
Courses receiving additional grade weighting will include advanced placement (AP) courses and honors courses.
Transfer credits receive weighted credit only for weighted courses offered at Geneva High School.
The method of weighting consists of adding one additional grade point (1.0) to semester grades.
To receive additional grade weighting in Honors or AP classes, students must achieve a semester grade of C- or higher.
Cumulative grade point average (GPA) appears two ways on report cards and transcripts. One G.P.A. is computed without weighting. A second GPA using the weighted system is reported. Both weighted and unweighted GPA will be used in calculating semester honor rolls, National Honor Society eligibility, scholarships and for college admission purposes. This reporting method is available for college or university admission purposes and state or national scholarship/award programs. Geneva High School no longer reports individual rank in class. Instead, a grade point average (GPA) distribution statistic is provided at the conclusion of the sophomore, junior and senior years that communicates a student’s relative standing within their graduation class. Colleges receive information regarding weighted and unweighted GPA distributions via the GHS school profile, which contains the cumulative GPA information. The following data points are listed: The highest GPA as well as the following percentages: top 5%, top 10%, top 25%, and top 50%.
In lieu of choosing a valedictorian and salutatorian, the top five percent (5%) of the unweighted and the top five percent (5%) of the weighted GPA. list will be recognized during the graduation ceremony.
Students can turn in work after the initial due date for 70% of its regular value up until the end of that chapter or unit.
The late work policy may not need to apply to:
Daily practice assignments that are graded for completion instead of accuracy (for example, math practice problems and world language vocabulary practice).
Lower point value assignments gone over in class (for example, reading guides in English).
Course syllabi will clearly identify the types of assignments that are excluded from the late work policy.
Selection Procedure: Membership in the Geneva Community High School Chapter of the National Honor Society is both an honor and a responsibility. Students are selected by the National Honor Society Faculty Council. Junior and senior students who have completed at least one semester at Geneva Community High School may be considered for membership. The selection procedure to be followed is outlined below:
Juniors and seniors with a weighted or unweighted, cumulative grade point average of 3.50 and above are notified late in the fall that they are eligible for membership in the Geneva Community High School Chapter of the National Honor Society. A junior or senior student with a weighted or unweighted, cumulative grade point average of 3.50, who has violated the Geneva High School Student Activities Code of Conduct during the previous year will not be considered for membership.
Eligible students must complete a Student Activity Information Form to be returned to the National Honor Society Advisor in the time period specified. Students who do not return this form in the designated time period will not be considered for membership. The Student Activity Information Form is forwarded to the National Honor Society Faculty Council responsible for the final selection of candidates.
Eligible students are encouraged to attend an informational meeting where the specific criteria are explained.
The Faculty Council evaluates each candidate based on SCHOLARSHIP, SERVICE, LEADERSHIP and CHARACTER from the information on the Student Activity Information Form. In mid to late December all candidates are informed in writing of the decision of the National Honor Society Faculty Council.
Juniors and seniors selected by the Faculty Council are invited to join the Geneva Community High School Chapter of the National Honor Society. The selected students are inducted into the National Honor Society in a special ceremony sometime after January 1.
The decision to admit a student into membership of the National Honor Society rests solely with the N.H.S. Faculty Coucil. All decisions of the National Honor Society Faculty Council are final.
Those selected to be members of the National Honor Society must continue to meet the organization's standards.
Juniors and seniors may request exemption without credit from physical education for the following reasons:
The student is participating on an athletic team or in marching band, dance, or cheer team as certified by the athletic director.
The student provides written evidence from an institution of higher education that a specific course not included in existing state or local school minimum graduation standards is required for admission. A counselor must verify that the student's present and proposed schedule will not permit completion of the needed course.
Upon written notice from a student’s parent/guardian, a student will be excused from engaging in the physical activity components of physical education during a period of religious fasting.
Each request for exemption from physical education instruction is verified and eligibility determined on a case-by-case basis by the high school administration. Every student excused from physical education course requirements is provided with a schedule which meets minimum school day requirements. Students are assigned to a study hall and cannot pick up another class.
Exemption forms for sports participation are available from the PE Department. A form must be submitted for each quarter. A student may be exempt for a maximum of two quarters per school year.
Exemption forms for academic reasons are available from the Counseling and Advising Office.
District #304 Board of Education has established a policy ensuring the privacy of student educational records as required by federal and state law. Policy 7:340 Student Records.
A student record is the written history of the performance and the activities of any child enrolled in school. This record contains the state and federal mandated information and any other information necessary to evaluate a student's progress.
Student records are broken into two parts: the permanent record, which is kept for at least 60 years; and the temporary record, which must be destroyed five years after the student's class graduates. These two parts of the record contain different types of information. The permanent record contains information useful for the rest of the student's life. The temporary record contains information most important to have during the student's school years.
All school records are maintained under the student's legal name. A name may be changed on school records only by a court order. Geneva High School does not report disciplinary records to post-secondary institutions without student/parent permission.
School District #304 adheres to the following record destruction schedule:
Permanent records are destroyed 60 years after a student has left the district.
Temporary records are destroyed 5 years after a student's class has graduated.
Parents shall have the right to challenge the accuracy, relevance, or propriety of any entry in the school records, exclusive of academic grades of their child.
A transcript is a cumulative record of a student’s courses, credits, grades, grade point average (GPA) and class rank earned during high school and is organized by semester. A student’s attendance record and ACT/SAT test scores may also be included on a transcript. A transcript may be either official or unofficial:
Official Transcript – includes the principal’s signature and is embossed with the school seal. An official transcript goes from institution to institution and is never given to a student or a parent as per school policy. GHS will forward an official transcript directly to a college, scholarship program or employer.
Unofficial Transcript – does not have either the principal’s signature or the school seal. It is imprinted “unofficial”, may be given to a student or parent and may be copied by the student.
Most colleges and many scholarship programs require official transcripts which must be mailed or faxed directly to the receiving institution by the Registrar in the Counseling and Advising Office and not delivered by the student or parent.
For GHS Students who need an unofficial transcript:
* Fill out a Records Request Form and return it to the Counseling & Advising Office
* Transcripts are typically ready for pick-up within 24 hours of receipt
For GHS Student who need an official transcript sent to college or scholarship:
* Fill out a Records Request Form and return it to the Counseling & Advising Office
* Request transcript for college in Naviance
* Allow 5-7 business days for processing of request
* Allow several additional days for processing if application or scholarship requires a recommendation or school report from a counselor
Geneva School District has designated certain student record information as “directory information.” In compliance with state law, directory information may be released to the general public without prior written consent unless you as parent/guardian request that any or all such information on your child not be released. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the School District to include this type of information in school publications, including yearbooks, playbills, school newspapers, sports programs, honor rolls, graduation programs, District publications, newsletters, district- sponsored social media and web sites.
The following information has been designated as “directory information:”
Name; local student identifier (Student ID); email address; address; telephone number; date and place of birth; photograph/video; major field of study; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; height and weight (if a member of an athletic team); dates of attendance; grade level, date of graduation; awards received; honor rolls; and scholarships.
Please be aware that federal law requires all high schools to provide students’ names, addresses and telephone listings to military recruiters when requested.
If you do not want Geneva Community Unit School District to disclose directory information concerning your child, in its entirety or in part, please indicate so in a letter to the principal. Upon receipt, school personnel will make reasonable efforts to comply with the request. In the event that a child is photographed and releases his or her own name to a non-school photographer, the district will not be responsible for the subsequent publication of the student’s name.
The State of Illinois requires that student teachers submit video clips of their teaching and samples of student work for assessment by professional evaluators. In fulfilling this requirement, your child may be filmed. The materials gathered are submitted securely to electronic platforms maintained by Pearson, where only scorers may securely access them. No student’s name will appear on any submitted materials, and materials will be kept confidential.
It is the student's responsibility to clear all obligations at the end of each semester. Examples of obligations are to pay all district fees, return all books, backpack passes, elevator keys, pay library fines, turn in athletic equipment, pay for books, detention hours not yet served, etc. Any outstanding obligations may prevent a student from registering and receiving a schedule for the next school year.