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Academics

Whether you need additional help to pass courses or are ready to jump up to higher-level opportunities, Apalachee offers a wealth of academic opportunities. View the Program of Study and Career Planning Guide, which details Barrow County pathways and Apalachee's core academic sequences. See the forms below for graduation requirements and planning.

Graduation Requirements

Students are given the opportunity to earn 32 credits, but may graduate with 24 credits.

  • 4 units of English: 9th Literature, 10th Literature, American Literature/AP Language, Advanced Composition/AP Literature
  • 4 units Math: Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, 4th Math
  • 4 units of Science: Biology, Physics, Chemistry/Environmental Science/Earth Systems, 4th Science
  • 4 units of Social Studies: Geography, World History, US History, American Government/Economics
  • 1 unit of PE/Health (3 units of JROTC can meet this requirement)
  • 1 Pathway: 3 consecutive courses in the areas of CTAE, Fine Arts, or Foreign Language
  • At Least 4 Electives, but students take 12 over the course of 4 school years
  • *Foreign Language is not required to graduate, but 2 units of the same foreign language is required for admission to most 4-year colleges.
Graduation Planning

Click to Download Planning PDF

PATHWAY REQUIREMENT

In order to graduate, a student must:

  • Complete a pathway of study
  • Successfully complete required high school coursework

A Pathway consists of three elective units of credit in a coherent sequence that provides a path for students to meet future career and/or post-secondary education goals.

Pathway choices are:

  • Career, Technical and Agricultural (CTAE)
  • Modern (Foreign) Language
  • Fine Arts
  • Journalism

An Accelerated Pathway in core academic areas may be earned in addition to, not in lieu of, the required CTAE, Modern (Foreign) Language, Fine Arts or Journalism Pathway. Students should choose a pathway by the sophomore year; students should have the opportunity to complete requirements for several pathways.

Promotion Requirements

Promotion shall be based upon the units accumulated as follows:

  • 6 units for promotion to 10th grade
  • 13 units for promotion to 11th grade
    • Units required for promotion to 11th grade, but include:
      • 2 units in English
      • 1 unit in Math
      • 1 unit in Science
      • 1 unit in Social Studies
  • 18 units for promotion to the 12th grade

Class rank

A student’s rank in class is determined by two factors: the actual grade a student makes in the class and the weight factor (quality points) for that particular course. A student can receive more quality points for the same class by taking the course at a higher difficulty level. Barrow County Schools weight those courses taught at the honors and Advanced Placement levels. Postsecondary courses taken in the required core area are also weighted. Average level classes receive no additional weight.

Weighted scores are determined in the following way:

  • Average courses: Raw score x 1.00
  • Honors courses: Raw score x 1.075
  • Adv. Placement courses: Raw score x 1.10
  • Joint Enrollment/Postsecondary Options: Raw score x 1.10

Both the raw score GPA and the weighted GPA will be reported at the end of each semester. Students do not receive any weight if a grade below 70 is received for a course. The weighted GPA is calculated by totaling the weighted score (see above table) for all courses the student has taken and dividing by the total number of courses the student has taken. The weighted GPAs for each graduating class are then ranked from the highest average to the lowest average. Final class ranking is determined at the end of first semester of the school year.

GPA’s for Valedictorian and Salutatorian are calculated at the end of the seventh semester. For a student to be eligible for valedictorian and/or salutatorian for his/her graduating class, he/she must have attended AHS for four consecutive semesters during the junior and senior years.

See Barrow County BOE Policy ICH "Rank in Class."

Honor Graduates

To qualify as an Honor Graduate, a senior must have a cumulative weighted average of 89.5 or better representing the graduate’s total high school experience after seven semesters.

**Note: This Barrow County Schools GPA calculation includes all courses taken by the student and is a numerical GPA. The HOPE GPA is calculated by the Georgia Student Finance Commission on a 4.0 scale and includes only academic and academic elective courses.

GEORGIA SCHOLAR

These guidelines are provided as a reference and are subject to change by the governing agency. For current guidelines please visit the counseling department. Students nominated for Georgia Scholar must meet the following criteria:

  • A minimum combined score of 1360 on the SAT at one sitting or a composite score of 31 at one sitting on the ACT
  • Earned 22 Carnegie units of credit for graduation including:
    • 3 units in science, including one unit in chemistry or physics
    • 4 units in mathematics, including one unit in Algebra II
    • 3 units in social studies, including economics and citizenship, world history and U.S. studies
    • 4 units in English language arts
    • 2 units of a single foreign language
    • 1 unit in fine arts
  • A non-weighted, cumulative GPA of at least 3.75 on a 4.0 scale
  • Participated in a minimum of 3 different competitive interscholastic activities during grades 9 – 12
  • Been appointed by school official or elected to positions of leadership in a minimum of two different activities sponsored by the school
  • Shown evidence of leadership in a minimum of two different youth activities outside the school, including being appointed by an organization sponsor or elected to a position of leadership or role of responsibility in a minimum of one of these activities
  • Registered to vote (U.S. citizens) and 18 years old on or before March 1
  • Shown evidence of self-esteem and concern for others in day-to-day activities

Academic Support

  • Teachers: The first step to getting academic help should always be talking directly to your teacher. Teachers offer tutoring before and/or after school; just talk with them after class for their schedule.
  • Advisement: Advisement is a time for advisors to check the progress of their advisees and reach out to teachers/counselors if there are concerns. If you need extra academic help it's an excellent time to get tutoring or academic interventions.
  • Parent Conferences: Sometimes the best course of action is sitting down with parents, students, and teachers to come up with strategies for success. Teachers can set up one-on-one conferences with parents, and if all teachers need to meet with a parent, counselors are happy to coordinate.
  • MTSS (formerly RTI): Sometimes we need to go a little more in-depth with our approach to helping a student reach academic success. MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) is a way to plan academic interventions and monitor student progress. See your child's counselor for more information.
  • Special Education: Students who have IEP's have access to many academic resources. Your child's caseload manager is a great point of contact to discuss academic support.

Academic Opportunities

  • Honors Courses: Do you feel bored in standard-level courses? Honors courses are a great way to access higher-level work. Challenging yourself leads to better critical thinking skills, and these courses receive slightly higher weighting in your GPA.
  • Advanced Placement Courses: AP Courses are the highest-rigor courses we offer in our buildings. They are taught at a college-level and are the best preparation we can provide for college success within our walls. AP courses have substantial weight added when your GPA is calculated. Large colleges and universities such as UGA, Georgia State, and Georgia Tech want to see these courses on your transcript to consider you for admission. Our AP teachers are all-stars and go out of their way to make sure that while you take these difficult courses you are provided with extensive support.
  • Dual Enrollment: Interested in earning college credit that also takes care of graduation requirements? Dual enrollment through the state of Georgia's Dual Enrollment program may be perfect for you. Most of our Dual Enrollment students attend Lanier Tech, University of North Georgia, or Georgia Gwinnett College. See Ms. Damron to begin the process. Please note the following re: EOC's and DE courses:
    • ALL students taking American Literature through Dual Enrollment (2130, 2131, 2132) who have not previously completed an American Literature class, or the equivalent (AP Language & Comp), must take the End of Course Test.  There are no waivers or opt outs for this rule.
    • Accelerated Career Pathway students taking American Literature through Dual Enrollment are not exempt from this requirement.
    • The End of Course Test must count as 20% of the student's final grade. For DE students, the grade earned from the college will count as 80% of the total grade, and the EOC will make up the remaining 20%.
    • All students taking AP English Language & Comp (23.0530024), or a regular high school course number are required to take the American Literature End of Course test. The test will count as 20% of the overall grade. There are no waivers or opt outs for this rule.
    • Dual Enrollment students are still exempt from the US History EOC.
  • Career, Technical, Agriculture Education: The Barrow County School System is committed to offering extensive CTAE opportunities. Check out the Career Planning Guide to see which pathways we offer and their location.

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