Will we have EOGs, EOCs, or final exams?
No, there will be no end-of-course nor end-of-grade comprehensive tests for the 2019-2020 school year. There will be no state tests nor comprehensive teacher-designed tests.
The one exception to this is the AP Exams. If you are in an Advanced Placement class, the College Board will be administering your exam online. To learn more about these exams, please contact your AP teacher and visit https://apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org/students/taking-ap-exams/ap-exam-schedule
What kinds of grades will we receive?
This varies by which grade level you are in.
Graduating Seniors
If you are a graduating senior, you will receive two grades for all of your senior courses. DPI is now requiring all senior courses be semester-long for the 2019-2020 school year. Since Hawbridge has year-long courses, this means that each course will have a “Part 1” and a “Part 2.”
The grade you had at the end of the first semester (average of first and second quarter) is the grade you receive for “Part 1” of the course. This grade will be included in your final high school GPA. If you had a failing grade for the first semester, you have been offered classwork to bring “Part 1” up to passing.
All seniors will either receive a PC-19 (Pass Covid-19) or a WC-19 (Withdraw Covid-19) for Part 2 (third and fourth quarters) of your course. If you were passing on March 13, you will pass for Part 2. If you were failing the second semester as of March 13, you have been offered a project to bring your grade up to passing.
NCVPS and Community College courses are also following this guidance from the state for your high school transcript. Therefore, all courses for your senior year (including those taken through NCVPS and the Community College system) will have a grade for the first semester and a PC-19 (or WC-19) for the second semester. However, your Community College transcript (not your official high school transcript) may include grades for the spring semester. It is our understanding that they are providing you with the choice of either a pass/fail or a grade for your Community College transcript. Please contact your Community College instructor for more details.
Elementary and Middle School
If you are in elementary school (K-5), you will not receive a final grade for 2019-2020. Instead, your teacher will provide feedback to you and your family/guardian about your progress through the year. All K-5 students in North Carolina will receive a NG19 for the final grade on their report card for each course.
If you are in middle school (6-8), your final course grades for 2nd semester electives and year-long classes will either be PC-19 (Pass Covid-19) or WC-19 (Withdraw Covid-19). The WC-19 in middle school does not mean you are required to repeat the course. The WC-19 grade demonstrates that you did not master the subject material. Middle schoolers in high school classes (e.g., Math 1, Physics 1st) may choose the numeric grade or PC/WC-19 as outlined in the Grades 9-11 information below.
Please see the chart below for more details.
Grades 9-11
Students enrolled in year-long classes will receive split credits; on the transcript, there will be two entries for each year-long course that award half a credit each. The Semester 1 grade will count towards GPA proportionally and award half a credit.
- Semester 1 grades have already been saved. If you were passing your course at the end of the first semester, that grade will not change.
- If a student is receiving a failing grade for the first half of a year-long course but is passing the content through May 22nd, we can use this improved grade for Semester 1. If you are still failing as of May 22nd, we will discuss options with you.
For the Semester 2 grade, students will choose for each course to keep their numeric grades or receive a PC-19/WC-19. A PC-19/WC-19 does not count toward GPA. A PC-19 will award half a credit while a WC-19 will award no credit.
- We strongly encourage students to use the numeric grade option for the 2nd semester grade.
- If you receive a WC-19 for a high school course, you are required to repeat the course in order to receive high school credit for that course.
NCVPS and Community College courses are also following this guidance from the state for your high school transcript. Therefore, you will have the choice of PC-19, WC-19 or a numerical grade for these courses as well.
How does this affect my GPA and college applications?
We encourage all students to choose the numerical option for their courses.
- Choosing the numeric grade will mean that your GPA is recalculated at the end of the school year to reflect the work you put into each class. Choosing the PC-19/WC-19 will have no impact on GPA; you will not earn any GPA points for the second part of the year.
- For students who have not had the chance to take/re-take college entrance exams (the SAT and ACT), GPA and numeric grades may be the only true indicator of college-readiness. This is one reason that we recommend you use the numeric grade option, especially if you plan to go to college after graduating from Hawbridge.
- The Department of Public Instruction shared that in soliciting feedback about grades for the 2019-2020 school year, “UNC System administrators expressed a slight preference for grades, especially those C or better…”
If I have a choice between PC-19, WC-19 and a numerical grade, when and how do I express my choice?
The week of May 18, each of your teachers will post a form in their Google Classroom that asks if you prefer a numerical grade or the PC-19/WC-19 option for their course. The deadline to make your choice will be May 22. You will complete this form for each of your courses. If you do not make a choice, students will automatically receive a PC-19 or WC-19. Students will have 45 days from the first day of the 2020-2021 school year (August 20, 2020) to switch to the numeric grade.
Again, we encourage all students to choose the numerical option. (See “How does this affect my GPA and college applications?” above.)
For more detailed information, please refer to the chart below (click to enlarge) and consult the linked grading guidance memo.
