Students who have a course grade of "A" or "B" in the 1st quarter and a provisional course grade of “A” or “B” in the first seven weeks of the 2nd quarter are not required to take the final exam in that course. Except for second semester seniors, this provision shall apply to no more than three courses each semester. The student must maintain the “A” or “B” grade through the remainder of the 2nd quarter.

The Guidance Office will distribute Exam Exemption Forms. Students will need to gather provisional grades and signatures from teachers. Student grades will be checked for eligibility. Teachers will be provided a list of students who have applied and are eligible.

Please see the Final Exam Eligibility Flowchart below for additional information.

The following are reasons why a student will NOT be able to exempt exams:

• The student is enrolled in the same course during two (2) semesters of the same school year (a year-long course). In such cases, the student is required to take at least one (1) final exam in that course, for semester 1 or semester 2. In other words, if a student exempts the exam in a class in semester 1, they cannot exempt the same class in semester 2.

• The student has been enrolled in a District public high school for less than the entire term. In such cases, the student is required to take all exams. Students who transfer in after the first day of the semester cannot exempt exams.

• The student has five (5) or more absences per semester in any class. If so, the student is required to take the final exam in all classes. Regardless of the number of minutes in a class period, an absence from the class is only counted as one (1) absence in the class for purposes of this policy. For purposes of this policy, a student who is not present in class at least one half of the class period shall be counted absent. Preapproved absences for school-sponsored activities, religious holidays, and college/post-secondary visitation shall not be counted in calculating the five (5) or more absences specified above. Absences for college/post-secondary visitation are limited to three (3) days per year for seniors and one day per year for juniors.

• The final exam is a State-required End of Course (EOC) assessment, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) exam. Students are required to take the first semester exam for these courses, as well as the final.