Attendance
State law says you cannot get credit for a class if you have too many absences, even if you made a 100%!
How many absences is "too many?"
more than 10% of instructional days in the semester (i.e. current year = 10+ unexcused absences) = 0.0 credit - NO exceptions!
Grades/Credits
You have to pass your classes in order to receive credit. Students receive 0.5 credits per semester they pass so long as they maintain acceptable attendance.
Averaging
If you fail the first semester (A) of a year-long class, you can recover the credit by earning a high enough grade in the second semester (B) of the course to equal a year-long average of a 70%.
Ex: Algebra 1A = 65%
Algebra 1B = 75%
70% average for the year, so 1.0 credit for Algebra 1
If you fail the first semester (A) of a year-long class, but do not earn a high enough grade in the second semester (B) of the course to equal a year-long average of a 70%, then you will have to retake the failing semester(s) to earn credit.
Ex: Algebra 1A = 65%
Algebra 1B = 70%
67.5% average for the year, so 0.5 credit for Algebra 1B only and have to retake Algebra 1A
If you pass the first semester (A) of a year-long class, but fail it the second semester (B), then you have to retake the second semester to earn credit even if the year-long average is a 70%.
Ex: Algebra 1A = 75%
Algebra 1B = 65%
only 0.5 credit for Algebra 1A, have to retake Algebra 1B
Final exams are worth 10% of your semester grade, 25% for honor-level courses.
Teachers do not need to give a minimum grade. If you earn a 40% in the class, you will receive a 40% on your report card/transcript.
There is no "automatic promotion." If you do not earn enough credits to get promoted to the next grade level, you will not be promoted (6.0 = 10th, 12.0 = 11th, 19.0 = 12th, 26.0 = graduate).
EOCs
You are required to pass 5 STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) exams. These include:
English 1
English 2
Biology
Algebra 1
US History
If you do not pass all 5 EOCs, you cannot graduate, even if you have all of your credits.