Academic Policies

Honors Courses

NRCA offers a variety of honors courses to challenge more academically oriented students. Most honors courses carry specific prerequisites which are outlined in this course guide as well as in PowerSchool during registration. Honors courses require additional work, including but not limited to more reading and writing.

Advanced Placement courses

Advanced Placement (AP) courses not only present challenging assignments but also provide an opportunity to earn college credit while in high school. Students may take AP classes not offered at NRCA through NRCAplus (see page 8) within certain guidelines. Most AP classes carry prerequisites which are outlined in this course guide as well as in PowerSchool during registration.

College Board AP Exams incur an additional fee and are administered in May. Registration and payment information is sent via email and is open from mid-September through midOctober. Many major colleges and universities accept AP exam scores as evidence of competency and will grant college credit. Accepted exam scores vary by college.

Graduation Requirements

NRCA has three graduation tracks—general, college prep, and honors.

General (23 units):

4 English, 4 History, 2-3 Math, 2-3 Science, 1 Computer Applications, 9 Electives

Please note that graduating on the general track does not guarantee a student will be admissible to a four-year college or university.

College Prep (24 units):

4 English, 4 History, 4 Math, 4 Science, 3 Foreign Language, 5 Electives

Honors (25 units):

4 English (3 honors or AP), 4 History (3 honors or AP),

4 Science (3 honors or AP), 4 Math (3 honors or AP), 3 Foreign Language, 6 Electives

*Algebra I, Biology, World History, US History are required courses for all three tracks.

Additional graduation requirements:

• 25 hours of community service per year of attendance (beginning with the class of 2025). 12 hours of community service per year of attendance (class of 2024).

• one mission trip

• ACT composite, reading, or math score of 16 or above.

Transcripts, Credit, and GPAs

All high school courses are yearlong, including electives, and most earn one full credit. GPAs/transcripts are updated each semester. After each semester, students can view their updated GPA after grades have been finalized (typically about two weeks after the semester ends) in their SCOIR account. Only the final year average for each class shows on the student’s transcript at the end of the year. In addition, the transcript reflects both the student’s unweighted and weighted GPA as well as total community service hours.

GPA can be calculated by dividing the total number grade points earned by the number of credits for each course completed throughout high school. The number of grade points awarded for each class depends on the type of course in which the grade was received. The following chart outlines how grade points are assigned.

Dual Enrollment

North Raleigh Christian Academy has a dual enrollment agreement with the fully accredited College at Southeastern in which several classes offered at NRCA and instructed by NRCA teachers are eligible for college credit through dual enrollment. Once a student is enrolled in an eligible course, he or she will be given an option to register with the college to receive dual enrollment credit. Additional work is required for some of the classes. A list of eligible courses and additional details are available on the dual enrollment flyer found on the NRCA website under Academics/ College Guidance.

Drop/Add

After final grades have been posted in June, parents may email Mrs. Etheridge to request the student to move up or down a level (CP to Honors, Honors to AP, etc.) in a core subject if the final grade qualifies. Students may request class changes during the two-week drop/ add period after start of school by filling out the Drop/Add form, having it signed by a parent, and submitting it in the tray on the front lobby desk. Students are encouraged to remain in elective classes for several days before requesting to drop. Often, they find that they enjoy the class even if it was not their first choice. The two week drop/add period is strictly enforced.