This booklet is addressed to parents and guardians of incoming high school students, discussing what many researchers consider the most important year of high school, perhaps the most important year of school so far. Freshman year will set the stage for whether a student graduates and whether he or she will be ready for college. Citing years of…

The "NCAA Guide to International Academic Standards for Athletics Eligibility" provides specific criteria to be used as a guide in reviewing the initial eligibility (graduation, core curriculum, grade-point average and ACT/SAT test scores) of students who have completed any portion of their secondary education in a non-United States…

Presents results from a Colorado study of the academic performance of high school student athletes. Results from the study suggest that student athletes' grades do not suffer as a result of participation in sports. The grade point averages of the student athletes in this study were higher than those of nonparticipating students. (MD)

A Virginia high school developed an athletic study hall program as an alternative to establishing a minimum grade point average for athletes. The program has had some success in enhancing the academic progress of the athletes. (MD)

Cricticizes use of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores for college admission decisions. Outlines research showing redundancy of estimating potential success of entering college freshmen by the use of SAT scores, high school grades, and class rank. The statistical difference between estimates without SAT scores is minimal and does not support…

Calling evaluation of student achievement one of the most difficult areas of teaching, the author suggests developing grading procedures to facilitate the accumulation of scores and the conversion to final grades. He presents procedures and examples for combining numerical values and letter grades according to course modules. (MF)

A rationale, goals, and the procedure for instituting a quality point system to assess high school students' academic achievement in Gainesville (Georgia) High School are outlined. Hypothetical examples of converting grade point averages to quality point averages in low, average, and high difficulty courses are provided to show the impact of the…

Presents a new edition (moderately revised in response to survey results) of the guidelines prepared by the National Association of Secondary School Principals' School-College Relations Committee to help secondary schools cope with issues generated by college use of class rankings and grade point averages when evaluating candidates for admission.…

Although both the University of California and the California State University systems have the option to use plus or minus grades in student evaluations, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges (CCC) does not allow the use of such a grading system. Since 1985, the CCC's Academic Senate has lobbied the Board to allow local…

A statistical model is presented for processing quantitative admission data that weights equally two or more quantitative elements to ensure that the N most consistently high scorers qualify for the N available positions. The quantitative elements considered are overall grade point average (GPA), GPA in selected courses, and standardized test…

To answer students' questions about predicting grade averages or projecting grades needed to attain specific grade goals, academic advisors can use computerized grade calculations. Spreadsheet and HyperCard versions of grade calculation software are discussed and illustrated, and suggestions are offered for using them in specific advising…

Under the California Community Colleges' (CCC's) current grading policy, a symbol of W is permitted to designate that a student withdrew from a course before a locally determined drop deadline. There is no allowance for a symbol, however, that accurately denotes that students have ceased to participate at a point in the term beyond which they are…

Grade inflation is defined and the interplay between grading and evaluation are discussed. A solution to the problem of grade inflation is proposed: persuade the faculty members at a number of leading institutions to regard C+/B- as the appropriate median grade. (MLW)

Successful college instruction programs have two features that are associated with increased grade point averages and retention: (1) they are comprehensive and meet student needs, and (2) they are better institutionalized into the academic mainstream of the college or university. Several program characteristics are crucial to learning improvement,…

This paper examines a model used to predict success in a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program that relies more on performance in key first-year courses than the usual high school credentials, thereby, making more accurate predictions of success. The model also suggests strategies for enhancing student success. (GLR)