Academics

Tupelo High School’s Program of Studies has been prepared for students, parents, teachers, and school counselors. Please review this information carefully. Students will receive individual advisement from school counselors to help them make appropriate course selections. In some cases, academic recommendations are necessary from the student’s teachers prior to his/her guidance conference.

THS Program of Studies

 

Students in grades 9, 10, and 11 will be encumbered for four block periods. A student classified as a graduating senior may opt for two blocks with one or two blocks of senior leave. If a student is scheduled for senior leave they must exit campus at the time of their senior leave begins. If the student does not have appropriate or consistent transportation for either block and is scheduled for senior leave, the student’s senior leave will be replaced by a credit bearing a class.

Any change to a student’s schedule will be made in accordance with the following:

• An error occurred during the scheduling process

• Completion of a course during the summer term, or by correspondence

• Teacher recommendation. As an example, a teacher may initiate a schedule change if the level of the course is inappropriate for the
  student; the request will require administrator and/or counselor approval.

• Counselor review. As an example, upon review of a student's academic record, a counselor may initiate a schedule change in order
  to satisfy graduation requirements. Advancement. As an example, a student may advance to an accelerated or AP course with
  approval from a counselor.

 

Correspondence Courses

A student may earn a maximum of one (1) Carnegie unit through completion of an approved correspondence course. Permission to enroll in a correspondence course must be granted by the principal, and a student may not enroll in a correspondence course without a minimum of twelve (12) Carnegie units.

 A student must receive permission and order the correspondence course no later than two weeks after the beginning of each semester. All correspondence lessons and tests will be completed before April 1. No correspondence test will be administered after April 1. If the correspondence credit is necessary to meet graduation requirements, the final grade must be received by the principal’s designee one week (seven calendar days) prior to graduation. A half-unit of a full-unit course will not be accepted for credit.

An application to enroll in a correspondence course during the summer months will receive favorable consideration if the course is not a part of the THS summer school schedule and if the student has earned the minimum number of Carnegie units.

 

Online Courses: Plato

Plato Learning System credit recovery incorporates a standards-based and self-paced approach to learning. Students are provided with assessment tests, which prescribe lesson plans to fit each student’s needs. Students have a higher level of autonomy through the Plato labs, but can always ask for assistance from the supervising teacher. The program is designed to help recover credits that were previously failed. Not all classes are offered through the Plato program. Plato is rigorous and students completing courses in Plato must work hard, take notes, read, and prove competency. It is important to note that all students are not eligible. Students must consult with their school counselor to determine if they are eligible for the program and how to enroll. Once work is completed, students would earn a 65 and receive credit for the previously failed class.

 

Dual Enrollment

Dual Credit is a program that allows high school students to earn college credit toward a post-secondary diploma while enrolled in high school. Tupelo High School students may enroll at a state institution of higher learning or community or junior college provided certain requirements have been met: Any junior or senior student who is participating in designated courses and has a cumulative high school GPA of a 3.0 and a minimum of 16 on ACT. In addition, students receiving dual credit for English courses from Delta State must meet the following sub score criteria of 16 in English on the ACT. Math courses require a 19 in math. Dual Credit applications are available online by the college provider (ICC or DSU). Cost is $100 per course (ICC students) or $72 per course plus one-time $25 application fee (Delta State students) and is the responsibility of the student. Some courses may require fees to be paid that are also the responsibility of the student.

 

Advanced Placement Courses (AP)

Any student enrolled in an AP course(s) may take the AP test for that subject(s). Students who take an AP class will automatically receive the multiplier for that course, regardless if they take the test or not. Students who choose to take the AP test for that subject will be required to pay $50.00 per test, unless the student qualifies for Free/reduced lunch, in which case the cost would be $25.00 per test.

Mississippi Subject Area Testing Program (MSATP)

The MSTAP consists of four academic, end-of-course tests. Since the 2001-2002 school year, students have been required to pass the subject area test(s) as a requirement for graduation. Students are assessed on the content at the completion of the course in Algebra I, Biology I, English II, and U.S. History from 1877. The English II test consists of both a multiple-choice component and a writing component. Students must pass both components to acquire a passing score on the English II Subject Area Test. Under the direction of the Mississippi Department of Education, advisory committees of Mississippi educators used the Mississippi Curriculum Frameworks to determine the content to be assessed and the types of questions to be included. Once the frameworks were evaluated, Mississippi teachers of the subject areas were asked to participate in a survey to determine the emphasis to be placed on each of the content areas being measured.

 

After the content was determined, a blueprint was developed showing the areas to be assessed, the number of items in each area, and the types of items to be used to test the strands or competencies. Test items are in the form of multiple-choice questions. The English II Writing Assessment (the writing component of the English II Subject Area Test) requires students to respond to a writing prompt. Advisory committees of Mississippi teachers participated in all parts of the test-development process. As part of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Title I requirements, all students who are enrolled in Algebra I and English II (Multiple-Choice only) for the first time must be tested. The scores of all these first-time test takers must be included in the annual report cards and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculations to comply with the federal law.

 

Specific Information about the Subject Area Tests:

Algebra I Subject Area Test

The Algebra I Subject Area Test measures a student’s knowledge of and skill level in applied algebra. The test consists of 65 multiple- choice items. Many multiple-choice items contain charts, graphs, or diagrams that the student will use to determine the correct answer. Questions from the following five competencies are distributed throughout the test: Number and Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, and Data Analysis and Probability.

 

Biology I Subject Area Test

The Biology I Subject Area Test measures a student’s knowledge of basic biological concepts, the use of science skills, and the application of biology to real-world problem solving and decision making. Students will interpret data, apply concepts, and draw conclusions in answering the questions. The test consists of 89 multiple-choice items, which may include charts, diagrams, or graphs. Questions from the following assessment strands are distributed throughout the test: Chemical Basis of Life, The Cell, Genetics and the Molecular Basis

of Heredity, Natural Selection and Diversity, Ecology, and Nature of Science.

 

English II Subject Area Test

The English II Subject Area Test measures knowledge of language arts, reading comprehension, and effective writing skills according to competencies found in the 2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework, Revised for Tenth Grade. The English II Subject Area Test consists of both a multiple-choice component and a writing component. Students must pass both components to acquire a passing score on the English II Subject Area Test. The multiple-choice component of the English II Subject Area Test contains items that measure the four competencies addressing vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, and grammar.

 

U.S. History from 1877 Subject Area Test

The U.S. History from 1877 Subject Area Test measures not only important historical knowledge but also real-world skills by having students read and interpret statistical data, maps, charts, and tables. The test consists of 89 multiple-choice questions. Some of the multiple-choice questions include a chart, map, or other stimulus that must be interpreted accurately in order to answer the questions correctly. Questions from the following assessment strands are distributed throughout the test: International Relations, Domestic Affairs, Geography, Economics, and Civics.

6th-12 Curriculum

 

GRADING SCALE

RANGE	Letter Grade	Points
93-100	A	4.0
90-92	A-	3.7
87-89	B+	3.3
83-86	B	3
80-82	B-	2.7
77-79	C+	2.3
73-76	C	2
70-72	C-	1.7
67-69	D+	1.3
65-66	D	1
Below 65	F	0

 

GRADING REPORT DATES

PROGRESS REPORTS                                    REPORT CARDS

September 5, 2023                                        October 19, 2023
November 14, 2023                                       January 11, 2024
February 6, 2024                                            March 21,2024
April 16, 2024                                                 May 24,2024

 

Report Cards
Reports are sent home with the student every nine weeks. Parental signatures are requested on report cards; this signifies parents have seen the card but does not signify approval of grades. Please be sure you see your child’s report card. At the end of the 4th week of each grading period, a progress report will be sent home. Please contact the school guidance office if you have any questions concerning your child’s progress.

Honor Roll
Superintendent’s “A” Honor Roll - This designation is for students who earn an “A” in each class during the grading period. Any “B” or “I” grade would disqualify eligibility.

Principal’s “A-B” Honor Roll - This designation is for students who earn a “B” or higher grade in each class during the grading period. Any “C” or “I” grade would disqualify eligibility.

Rotary Scholars
*Please refer to TPSD Board Policy JN. : The Rotary Club may unilaterally change guidelines as deemed necessary.

Academic Integrity

Cheating is a form of academic dishonesty in which a student attempts to give the appearance of a level of knowledge or skill that the student has not obtained. Cheating is defined as participation in any activity in which a student knowingly misrepresents or assists another student to misrepresent his or her actual achievement in any form of academics. Students caught in the act of cheating before or after the act has been completed will be determined to have been cheating. Continuous acts of cheating are dealt with according to Board policy.

Examples of cheating include but are not limited to the following:

• Copying from work that is not one’s own while completing an assignment or during a quiz, test, paper, or exam.

• Allowing someone to copy one’s work while completing an assignment or during a quiz test, or exam.

• Collaborating on any assignment before acquiring the stated and/or written authorization of the teacher.

• Using unauthorized materials such as calculators or similar electronic devices not approved by the teacher during a quiz, test, paper, or exam or while completing any other assignment.

• Completing an assignment for another person.

• Altering graded work after it has already been returned, then submitting the modified assignment for evaluation and/or credit in another class. It would also be considered cheating if the assignment remains unaltered.

• Stealing, reproducing, circulating, or receiving by any means, or otherwise gaining access to a quiz, test, or exam prior to the time authorized by the teacher.

• Retaining, possessing, using, circulating, or conversing with others about an assignment or a previously given quiz, a test, or exam materials without approval from the teacher.

• Providing false information in connection with any inquiry regarding academic integrity.

• Copying data or calculations from another group during a classroom lab experiment.

Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty in which a student purposefully takes and/or uses as his/her own work another’s published or unpublished thoughts, ideas, and/or writings. Plagiarism is defined as the verbatim repetition or paraphrasing, without
attribution or citation, of another person’s writing, work, or research.

Violations include but are not limited to the following:

• Copying another student’s work and submitting it as one’s own work.

• Using any other person or organization to prepare work which one then submits as his/her own.

• Paraphrasing the thoughts of another source without printed citation or verbal citation in the case of an oral presentation.

• Citing a source that does not exist or citing an online source for which a student has not obtained a date and web address at the time of access (such as a website that no longer is available).

In any case of academic dishonesty, the following basic consequences may occur: receive a zero grade, in school detention, an alternate assignment, and notification to the student’s parents or legal guardians. Additional offenses may result in the following: steps 2 – 8 of Board policy JDE4; the ineligibility for any and all academic recognition; removal of the student from any leadership positions in the school or in extracurricular activities.

Parent conference with the administrator may be scheduled, if requested.

Individual progress of students in grades 7 and 8 will be based on each student’s academic achievement and progress on the TPSD Learning Continuum and on the curriculum adopted by TPSD for various courses which make up the content requirements for grades 7and 8.

Information used by teachers, principals, and other staff members in making promotion and retention decisions relative to students in grade 7 and 8 will be as follows:

Academic achievement and progress on the curriculum as adopted by the TPSD for students in grade 7 and 8 shall be reflected by a minimum grade average of 65 in each of the four major subject areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.

TPSD Board Policy IHE

For further information regarding the promotion, retention, and acceleration policy, please
refer to the District website @ www.tupeloschools.com