Academic Program
Academic Program
The following is a clarification of the Mountainview grading method:
A Excellent, outstanding achievement.
B Above average, Good Achievement
C Average, Satisfactory Achievement
D Below Average, Minimal achievement
F Failure to meet requirements of the subjects
P Passing grade, receive credit for coursework, does not impact GPA.
I Incomplete, coursework must be completed by required date.
A student who is experiencing serious difficulty in achieving acceptable grades may be placed on academic probation. In this event, the administration will contact the parents and notify them of the problem, specifying a date by which the student must be able to achieve satisfactory work if he/she is to remain at Mountainview.
Awarded based on completed semester courses for our core classes (Ethics, English, Math, Science, and Social Studies) and foreign language. If a student does not complete both quarters and the semester exam, the grade will be calculated with zeroes for the uncompleted work. Credit for PE and Fine Arts is based on completed quarter courses. Only courses with passing grades receive credit toward graduation. Courses that meet during one of the 90-minute blocks are awarded based on the number of sessions per week. The most widely used credit systems in U.S. secondary education are based on the Carnegie Unit system. A class that meets 5 times per week for one period (40-50 min) for 15-16 weeks (80 “hours”) would earn 5 credits. A course that meets every other day for a double period (80-100 min) would also earn 5 credits. A course that meets for only one quarter would earn 2.5 credits. Courses that meet during Instructor Access offer varying credit amounts due to course requirement.
Based on semester grades only and uses a four-point scale [A=4; B=3; C=2; D=1; F=0]. If a student repeats a class, only the higher grade will be calculated in the GPA. We do not give extra quality points for A.P. classes. Classes are only weighted based on the number of credits per class. Here is an example of how we figure GPA for a student's semester grade:
English (5 credits) A = 4 (quality points) X 5 (credits) = 20 quality points
Math (5 credits) B = 3 X 5 = 15 quality points
Science (5 credits) A = 4 X 5 = 20 quality points
History (5 credits) C = 2 X 5 = 10 quality points
Ethics* (3 credits) A = 4 X 3 = 12 quality points
PE (quarter) (2.5 credits) A = 4 X 2.5 = 10 quality points
Music (quarter) (2.5 credits) B = 3 X 2.5 = 7.5 quality points
That's a total of 94.5 quality points, divided by 28 credits, which equals a GPA of 3.375.
Mountainview awards two types of diplomas to students who spend their entire senior year at the school. The first is the Standard Diploma, which qualifies the graduated student to apply for admission to a college or technical school in the United States. The second, which includes more challenging course requirements, is the Merit Diploma and is considered the college or university preparatory course of study. Students working toward the Merit Diploma must earn a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher in grades 9-12, and must not earn any F’s on their report cards in grades 11 or 12. Students with documented learning difficulties may make special arrangements with the school to earn a modified diploma.
Standard Diploma
Ethics¹ 40 credits English 40 credits
Social Studies² 30 credits Science 20 credits
Math 20 credits Foreign Language³ 10 credits
Physical Education 20 credits Fine Arts 30 credits
Minimum⁴ Credits 210 credits Minimum G.P.A. Not applicable
Merit Diploma
Ethics¹ 40 credits English 40 credits
Social Studies² 40 credits Science 40 credits
Math 40 credits Foreign Language³ 20 credits
Physical Education 20 credits Fine Arts 30 credits
Minimum⁴ Credits 270 credits Minimum G.P.A. 3.0 (no F's)
¹ Transfer students may request an exemption from meeting the full requirement.
² Includes a required Contemporary Issues course.
³ Colleges generally require at least two consecutive years of a language.
⁴ Electives and other classes will be needed to meet minimum credit requirements.
Only students who have attended Mountainview for at least two of the four high school years and who are earning a Merit Diploma are eligible. The valedictorian will have the highest G.P.A. among eligible students, and the salutatorian will have the second highest. In the case of a tie (at the third decimal point), more than one student may hold the position of valedictorian and/or salutatorian. If several students earn the title valedictorian, the administration may select one to give the valedictory speech at graduation. Criteria for selection would include, but not necessarily be limited to, consideration of the numerical GPA and the difficulty of courses taken.
The school reserves the right to administer any educational testing deemed appropriate by the classroom teachers and principal. A special learning program (including an individualized educational program) may be required if indicated by testing. Additional fees may be required for individualized instruction. Each year in grades 2-10 the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) will be given at least 2 times per year. Results will be sent home to parents.
A student wishing to drop a course must submit a Schedule Change Request Form and obtain the permission of the teacher and the principal. Permission to drop a class or to switch status to “audit” is not usually granted for core academic subjects and is never granted for classes required for graduation.
With the principal’s approval, a course may be added or dropped within 10 class days of the start of each semester. Courses dropped after this time but before the end of the first quarter of the semester will be noted on the permanent record as “Withdrawal Passing” or “Withdrawal Failing.” When adding a course, the student is responsible for making up all work assigned prior to enrollment.
With the principal’s and teacher’s approval, any student may switch his status to “audit” within the first 10 class days of a semester. A student who is earning a “C” or better may, with the principal’s and teacher’s approval, switch his status to “audit” at any time before the end of the first quarter of the semester.
No course may be dropped or switched to audit status after the first quarter of the semester ends.
Guidelines for auditing a class:
● Students may not do any other homework during the class time.
● Students must take all quizzes and tests and do all homework done during class
● Students need not do any take-home work.
● Students who do not actively participate/cooperate will have their transcript marked “withdrawal failing.”
Disciplinary Withdrawal:
Any student who, after repeated warnings and parent consultation, continues to disrupt a non-core class will be dismissed from the class. During the first quarter of a semester, the student will have “withdrawal-failing” noted on their transcript and no credit. [Even if the student had been earning a good grade in the class, a disciplinary withdrawal would result in no further credit, hence a failing grade.] During the second quarter of a semester, the student will be removed from the class and will receive a failing grade.
In order to develop good study habits as well as to reinforce what is learned in the classroom, students will usually be given homework assignments daily. This will vary according to the teacher, academic grade level, and individual needs, with the upper grades usually having more homework than lower grades.
We encourage parents to express an interest in the homework assignments, but we ask that they not take responsibility for the accuracy or neatness of their child’s homework. By communicating their interest in daily work and helping the student verbalize what is being learned, parents can greatly enhance the learning process. The student will also grow in self-discipline as the teacher and parents encourage him to complete the assignments.
Parents may stay alerted to their child's homework and upcoming assignments via Parent's Web, Mountainview's online portal.
When it is possible, we believe in the superior benefits of face-to-face instruction from teachers and interaction with peers; that is one reason why we do not normally allow Mountainview students to take online or correspondence classes in lieu of an available Mountainview class. However, we also recognize that some needs can best be met with more flexible solutions like online courses.
Since all our high school students must be moving towards earning a Mountainview diploma, we have a responsibility to guarantee the quality and Christian worldview of the education received. See the registrar or the online course coordinator for a list of available courses.
Registration for online courses is done by the family but the school office can assist if needed. Students must fill out an Online Course Approval form (see the registrar) and receive authorization from the online course coordinator and the principal before enrolling in the course. If advance approval is not given, we will not grant credit for the course or include it on our transcripts. Students taking online courses must report to the online course coordinator during their assigned study time and work diligently on their online course. Failure to complete a mandatory online course will be noted on the student transcript.
Following are some situations in which we would normally give approval:
- Credit recovery: students who fail a Mountainview course may wish to make up the credit via an online course so that they do not fall behind their classmates. This would also apply to students who earn a “D” and wish to improve their understanding of the material and their GPA. Online credit recovery must be completed within one year of the previous course completion date.
- A.P. courses: advanced students may wish to take an A.P. course that we do not offer.
- Home country studies: non-US citizens may request permission to replace our eleventh grade US history course, for example, with a history course from their own country or with another social studies course.
- Program enrichment: students may desire to take a course we don’t offer.
- Learning difficulties: students with documented learning difficulties may request permission to take an online course that better accommodates for their learning difficulty.
- Furlough/Travel/Health: students who cannot attend Mountainview for a semester or more but wish to take Christian classes which will move them toward a Mountainview diploma may enroll in the online program full-time. In this case, the online tuition would be the only fees paid for the semester(s) in question.
- Early graduation: in rare cases and because of extenuating circumstances, high school students may apply for early graduation. If approved, they would need to take a number of courses online before they are permitted to move up a grade level. (See the Early Graduation policy below.)
Several other guidelines apply in situations where approval might be granted to take an online course:
- No full-time Mountainview student may take more than two correspondence courses at any given time. Extra study hall time will not likely be granted for course work.
- Students are expected to enroll in Mountainview’s online program unless they receive written, special permission to take a course from another accredited online high school.
- All fees are in addition to Mountainview tuition.
- Students may not go on to the next level of a subject if they have not completed the prerequisite. For example, a student may not begin English 12 before completing English 11.
- In unusual circumstances such as serious and long-term illness of a student, individual permissions may be granted beyond what these guidelines generally allow.
- When high school level courses are offered to eighth graders or exceptional seventh graders for high school credit, these courses should have the same expectations as all MCS high school courses and be taught by MCS teachers or an approved online provider.
- Students wishing to take classes in advance of their grade level for high school credit must meet the attached MAP score guidelines for that class. In addition, they must pass a final exam for the class they are passing over and score at least 92% on that final exam. Additional requirements may be required based on the input of the relevant teacher.
- Prospective students will sign a form indicating their willingness to engage in a class that is rigorous. Parents and teachers must give their written approval as well. Payment for online registration will be the parent’s responsibility.
- Once enrolled in an advanced course, middle school students must maintain an overall average of a B to stay in the course, and parents and students should sign a letter of agreement to that effect. If a student cannot maintain a low B average, he or she will not be allowed to continue in the class. Teachers and principals must be willing to work closely with the parents to keep them updated on students’ progress so that there are no surprises.
- Students, who maintain the 85 percent average in the advanced course and pass the final exam, will receive credit for the course and will be placed in the next appropriate course as scheduling permits. Advanced courses in the middle school are not for everyone. Concerned individuals should not push students who are not ready, but provide an opportunity for those who are.
Mountainview affirms the importance of a full secondary school program for our students—both for academic and developmental/social reasons. However, we recognize that, because of unusual circumstances, some students might benefit from accelerating their pace by taking some courses online. Because of the importance of the senior year (for classes like contemporary issues and senior activities and graduation), the latest time that we would permit a student to skip a grade by completing some courses online would be at the end of the sophomore year. Students wishing to consider this alternative must…
- seek administrative approval due to extenuating and unusual circumstances,
- follow the proper procedures in applying and receiving permission for early graduation (see below).
- meet all graduation requirements,
- have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA at the time of the request,
- complete required online courses which have been scheduled for the June-July break before the beginning of the next school year.
Procedures for Requesting Early Graduation
Students wishing to apply for early graduation must…
- Obtain a Request for Early Graduation from the registrar.
- Schedule a conference with parents and the counselor and/or principal to…
- discuss reasons and goals for early graduation,
- determine if graduation requirements can be met,
- develop an educational plan to meet graduation requirements.
- Submit a completed Request for Early Graduation to the principal.
- Wait for the administration’s decision.
Evaluating a Request for Early Graduation
The school’s decision will be made by a committee composed of (but not necessarily limited to) the principal(s), the counselor, and the superintendent, and the decision will be based on criteria including…
- Consideration of the extenuating circumstances
- Fulfillment of the academic requirements listed above (credits, GPA, etc.),
- Recommendation of the guidance counselor (who will interview teachers before making a recommendation),
- Emotional and social maturity of the student, and
- Evidence of planning for continuing education or immediate vocational goals.
Students transferring into Mountainview will receive credit for classes from their previous school or home school, and the grades on their transcript will be entered into our system. However, the quality points awarded any transfer credits will be based on our own system. For example, since we base quality points on a four-point scale, without weighting for A.P. or honors levels, then a transfer student will only receive a 4.0 for an A in an A.P. class, regardless of their previous school’s weighting system. Additionally, the maximum number of credits that we would grant for a transfer student is 36 credits per semester, which is the maximum that one of our students could earn. While grades earned at any previous school would be shown on our transcript, the credits may be adjusted down to meet our 36-credit maximum. Additionally, the following classes are not considered in calculating our G.P.A. or class rank (although grades are recorded on transcripts):
- home-schooling classes
- classes taken at schools other than U.S. schools or international schools
For the academic success and smooth social transition of the students, it is very important for families to arrive at the beginning of a semester. We recognize the impossibility of that in some situations, however, and so we have created a policy to help us balance the need to offer a valid and complete semester of education with the desire to avoid unnecessary burdens on the students. This policy is our best attempt to develop a plan that will ensure the best academic success and the smoothest transition possible in the circumstances. As always, we are willing to work with families to help meet their individual needs. Contact the principal for details of the policy if your child(ren) must miss more than a few days of the semester.
Newly admitted students are on probationary status for one year. Their re-enrollment at Mountainview for a second school year will depend on their academic success and their adjustment to school culture and policies. New ELL students, especially, must demonstrate the ability to succeed in an all-English environment. This determination will be made during or at the end of their first year, depending on testing, grades, and consultation with teachers. Failure to meet standards may necessitate a student’s being placed in a lower grade, repeating the current grade, or even withdrawing from Mountainview. Of course, no student is guaranteed a continuing place at Mountainview—even after the probationary period—if school policies are not respected.
Parents or guardians who would like to review their child’s file should contact the principal to set up a viewing. Files may not be removed from the office.