Demopolis High School made a change in its grading system for this school year that should help students be more successful.

In the past, students’ grades from the first and second semester were rolled into one grade, which, according to DHS principal Tony Speegle, resulted in students not trying as hard the first half of the year.

“Students knew they could pull their grade up to passing in the second semester, so the first didn’t mean as much,” he said. “They could fail the first semester but pass because they worked harder in the second semester.”

Speegle said part of the reason for the change was to match the NCAA standards.

“In a situation where a student fails the first semester but passes the course as a whole, the student would still lose half a credit for failing that one semester according to the NCAA,” Speegle said. “It’s happened here in the past, and we want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Speegle added that if a student falls short one semester, they can apply for credit recovery.

“If they’re approved for credit recovery, they can make up the credit that way,” he said. “We want students to apply themselves year-round, and I think this will help with that.

With the new system in place, students will also be able to exempt first and second semester exams as long as they aren’t AP exams or End of Course Assessments. Students can exempt exams with an “A” average, or a “B” average with two or fewer absences. Three tardies count as an absence.

“I think allowing students to exempt exams adds an incentive for them to be here every day and to be on time,” Speegle said.

For any questions regarding the grading system, call the school at (334) 289-0294.