THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 22, 1996 TAG: 9603220517
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
The School Board unanimously approved a plan Thursday to honor a broader group of graduating seniors by identifying top students as summa cum laude, magna cum laude or cum laude - in addition to valedictorian and salutatorian distinctions.
The policy - which also included a revised grading scale for the entire district - will take effect in the 1996-97 school year in all three high schools.
The two graduates with the highest and second-highest grade-point averages traditionally are named valedictorian and salutatorian. In the past, seniors with a GPA of 3.0 or above also graduated with ``honor status.''
Highlights of the new policy:
The student with the highest GPA still will be named valedictorian; the second-highest, salutatorian.
Students graduating with a GPA above 4.00 will be named summa cum laude; 3.75 to 4.00, magna cum laude; 3.50 to 3.749, cum laude; 3.0 to 3.49, ``honor'' graduate. Students can earn above a perfect 4.0 because they may get extra credit points for taking some advanced courses.
Students will continue to be ranked according to their GPA. MEMO: For more details, Portsmouth residents may refer to Sunday's edition of
the Portsmouth Currents.
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH SCHOOLS by CNB