GPA/Academic Honors

Students at Colquitt County High School have access to Advanced Placement (AP) classes in every core subject area. Highly selective colleges and universities seek students who take advantage of all of their academic options and challenge themselves with rigorous coursework. Students who want to apply for admission to a highly selective college or university should consider the most rigorous coursework that is prioritized by their preferred college or university, AP courses will have ten (10) points added to the students’ final weighted course average (See table below).

Students at Colquitt County High School have access to DE and Honors level courses. These courses provide students with an accelerated curriculum. At CCHS, Dual Enrollment and Honors Level courses will have five (5) points added to the students' final weighted course average (see table below).  Only DE courses that are also academic core courses will have quality points added. Academic core courses include Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Sciences, and World Languages.

Rank in class is determined by the cumulative, weighted numerical grade point average (GPA) of all academic core courses. Academic core courses include Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Sciences, and World Languages. Non-academic electives are not used in the calculation of this weighted GPA.

A non-weighted GPA will be calculated for HOPE eligibility by the Georgia Student Finance Commission. This non-weighted GPA will not be used to establish class rank, merit graduate status, honor graduate status, or valedictorian and salutatorian.

Note: Colquitt County High School does not recognize D’s (60-69). While this may differ from the practices of other high schools and Dual Enrollment programs, the following procedure below will be applied to Dual Enrollment and transfer students.

At Colquitt County High School, the grading system is as follows:

• A = 90-100
• B = 80-89
• C = 70-79
• F = 69 and below

Colquitt County High School does not assign the letter grade "D." Only numeric grades are recorded and maintained. Report card grades cannot exceed 100; however, the school calculates a weighted GPA to recognize students who pursue the most rigorous academic paths. This weighted GPA is used to determine valedictorian and salutatorian honors, class rank, and honor and merit graduate distinctions.

For the Classes of 2026 through 2028, Advanced Placement (AP) and AP-equivalent Dual Enrollment courses receive 10 additional points, while Honors courses receive five additional points added to the final numeric grade. Beginning with the Class of 2029 and beyond, AP courses will continue to receive 10 additional points, and Dual Enrollment courses taken at the Honors level will receive five additional points. These quality points are only applied to academic core courses, which include English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, and World Languages.

Letter grades received for DE courses will be recorded in Infinite Campus as follows:

• A = 95
• B = 85
• C = 75
• D = 65

If a student has a higher grade in a DE class, it is the student’s responsibility to bring the final numeric grade to the registrar. Once confirmed, the grade will change to reflect the earned grade on the student’s transcript. 

For concurrent dual enrollment courses taught at CCHS, the final grade entered in Infinite Campus will reflect the student’s actual, mathematically calculated numerical average in the course.

Potential merit graduate candidates will be notified at the end of the first semester of their senior year. In accordance with Colquitt County High School graduation procedures, a cumulative weighted GPA of 90.000% or higher is required to qualify as a merit graduate. The weighted GPA will be rounded to the nearest thousandth, or three decimal places. Official status will be awarded after the 13.5-week grades from the spring semester of the student’s senior year have been calculated. Merit graduates will wear a gold cord at graduation.

To be eligible for Merit or Honor Graduate status, students must be enrolled as full-time students at Colquitt County High School meeting all applicable graduation and academic requirements.

Note: Midterm grades from Dual Enrollment colleges and universities will be used to determine Merit and Honor Graduate status for seniors in their spring semester.

Potential honor graduates with a cumulative weighted GPA of 95.000% or higher will be declared Honor Graduates at this same time. The weighted GPA will be rounded to the nearest thousandth, or three decimal places. Honor graduates will be distinguished by wearing a gold stole at graduation.

Note: Colquitt County High School does not round up cumulative weighted GPAs for classification purposes. For example, a student with a GPA of 89.999 will not qualify as a merit graduate, and a student with a GPA of 94.999 will not qualify as an honor graduate.

Graduation honor and merit status will be awarded to those seniors who achieve specified cumulative grade point averages with no rounding. The grade point average will be calculated at the 13.5 week mark of the student’s second semester of their senior year for all grades in all courses.

Honor Graduate with Distinction - Class of 2027 & 2028

1. Students must take a minimum of nine Honors, Dual Enrollment (from four core content areas), and/or AP courses during their high school career.
2. Students must be full-time students.
3. Students must score four on at least two EOC Assessments.
4. Students must earn a cumulative GPA of 93.00 or higher with no rounding.

Honor Graduate Requirements

1. Students must take a minimum of nine Honors, DE (from four core content areas), and/or AP courses during their high school career.
2. Students must be full-time students.
3. Salutatorian and valedictorian will come from this group or from the previous group.
4. Students must earn a cumulative GPA of 93.00 or higher with no rounding.

Note: Students’ GPAs begin when they receive high school credit for completed course work, and this cumulative GPA is calculated for valedictorian, salutatorian, honor, and merit graduate status.

Merit Graduates

The status of Merit graduate will be awarded to those seniors who achieve a cumulative grade point average of 90.00 or above with no rounding. 

Merit Graduate Requirements

1. Students must be full-time enrolled students.
2. Students must complete college prep course work. 

The official valedictorian and salutatorian will be identified and announced at Colquitt County High School's Honors Night for the graduating class. The valedictorian will be the senior with the highest weighted GPA, rounded to the nearest thousandth (round three decimal places).

In case of a tie for valedictorian, co-valedictorians will be named with no salutatorian. The recipient of the Governor’s Scholarship will be the valedictorian with the highest SAT score achieved in one sitting. In the event of a tied SAT score, ACT scores will be used to determine the recipient of the Governor’s Scholarship.

The salutatorian signifies the senior with the second-highest weighted GPA to the nearest thousandth (round three decimal places). In case of a tie for salutatorian, there will be two salutatorians. The recipient of the Governor’s Scholarship will be the salutatorian with the highest SAT score achieved in one sitting. In the event of a tied SAT score, ACT scores will be used to determine the recipient of the Governor’s Scholarship.

Students must be in attendance at Colquitt County High School for their final four semesters (excluding summer school) to be eligible as candidates for valedictorian or salutatorian. The Colquitt County High School valedictorian and salutatorian will be recognized at the graduation ceremony.

The Colquitt County High School Valedictorian will be the senior with the highest cumulative GPA. The Colquitt County High School Salutatorian will be the senior with the second highest cumulative GPA. The GPA will be calculated at the 13th week of the student’s eighth semester, using all grades in all courses. Grades earned prior to ninth grade will be included in the calculation only if Carnegie unit credit was awarded for the course. A senior with DE credit is eligible for valedictorian or salutatorian honors unless the student transfers into the Colquitt County School System after the sophomore year and has not taken any courses on-site at Colquitt County High School. To be eligible for valedictorian or salutatorian, a senior must be enrolled at Colquitt County High School for a minimum of four consecutive semesters immediately prior to graduation.