Students earning Honors recognition during graduation ceremonies will have met college requirements and/or career acceleration goals aligned with the LDOE Thrive component requirements:
- Weighted GPA of 3.0 or higher
- AND
- Nationally Recognized Exam ACT composite score of 20 or higher
- OR
- Career Diploma pathway student with a Nationally Recognized Exam WorkKeys score of Gold or Platinum
- AND
- Career Acceleration through achieving an Advanced IBC OR Basic Bundle credential OR 6 hours dual enrollment
- Students enrolled in either the TOPS University or TOPS Tech Career pathways are eligible for honors graduate recognition if they attain each of the 3 requirements listed above.
Participation in Retirees & Scholars Banquet:
- ACT score of 20
- 3.0 GPA or higher
Class Rank and Valedictorian and Salutatorian
- The honors of Valedictorian and Salutatorian recognize the graduating seniors who have achieved the highest levels of academic excellence. These honors are awarded in accordance with the policies of the Richland Parish School Board.
Class Rank
- Class rank is determined by dividing the total number of quality points earned by a student by the total number of high school credits completed to calculate the student’s cumulative weighted grade point average (GPA).
- Beginning with the graduating Class of 2017 and thereafter, Richland Parish School District Board uses a five-point weighted grading scale for approved Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), gifted and talented, honors, articulated college credit, and dual enrollment courses.
- All other courses are calculated according to the district’s standard grading scale.
Students who choose to repeat a course that has been successfully completed may do so; however:
- The student’s official transcript will reflect only the highest grade earned for the repeated course.
- Both the original grade and the repeated course grade will be included when calculating the student’s cumulative grade point average.
For the purpose of determining GPA and class rank, college-level courses and non-required online courses will not be averaged, as provided by district policy. Foreign exchange students and other non-resident students are not included as members of the graduating class for the purpose of determining class rank.
Selection of Valedictorian and Salutatorian
- The Valedictorian shall be the graduating senior with the highest cumulative weighted grade point average after all final grades have been officially reported.
- The Salutatorian shall be the graduating senior with the second-highest cumulative weighted grade point average after all final grades have been officially reported.
- The principal and school counselor will verify all GPA calculations prior to the official announcement of the Valedictorian and Salutatorian.
- If there is a tie for Valedictorian or Salutatorian, each student will share the honor.