In January 2015, the North Carolina State Board of Education approved a standard 10-point grading scale to begin with the 2015-16 school year for all students in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12.  This scale will be applied for coursework beginning with the 2015-16 school year; grades from prior years will not be altered to fit the new scale.

Local school districts are required to follow the new scale at the high school level (grades 9-12), and they may use it in lower grades, if desired. WCPSS will also apply the 10-point scale for all students in grades 6, 7, and 8.  Under the new scale, grades and grade point average calculations (high school only) will be applied as follows:

A: 90-100 = 4.0

B: 80-89   = 3.0

C: 70-79   = 2.0

D: 60-69   = 1.0

F: < 59      = 0.0

These grades will be reported on the transcript as numeric grades, rather than letter grades as have been reported in prior years.

In addition to the grade scale change, new standards for quality points will take effect for students entering high school for the first time in the 2015-16 school year and thereafter.  This change will not affect students who entered high school prior to the 2015-16 school year.

The new quality points standard will provide an additional .5 quality point to Honors courses and a 1.0 additional quality point to Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate courses, community colleges courses, or four year university or college courses taken in high school. This new standard provides the same additional quality point to all college-level coursework.