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Accelerated Courses & Course Weights

Please Note: This information is only applicable to high school students.  There are no accelerated courses or weighted grades at the middle school level.

Accelerated Courses

All core subjects (English, Science, Math, Social Studies), as well as many elective subjects, offer Honors, Advanced Placement (AP) and/or College in the High School (CHS) courses.

Honors courses provide students the opportunity to delve deeper and/or go farther into course content.  These courses are usually instructed at a faster pace and require more work on the part of the student.  

Advanced Placement (AP) courses are an option for students who have a love and aptitude for the content.  It affords them the opportunity to take advanced placement examinations offered by the College Board. Satisfactory Advanced Placement Test scores may result in college credit or placement.  

College in the High School (CHS) is an academically rigorous program option for motivated students seeking an intellectual challenge within a supportive high school environment. The courses are taught by Central Dauphin School District teachers who have been approved and trained by the partnering college or university and offer students the opportunity to earn both high school and college credit. The fee for this course is set by the partnering college or university.  

Please contact your school counselor for further information on these course options.

Course Weights

All courses will carry a weight of at least 1.0.  Certain college preparatory, honors, advanced placement and College in the High School courses in the senior high school program require more specialization, preparation and skill than others.  Because of these factors and the degree of difficulty for certain subjects, weighted point value for class ranking has been assigned to selected subjects.

The weight assigned to individual subjects on each student's schedule will be indicated on the report card.  Also, the current year weighted grade point average and the accumulated weighted grade point average will appear on the student's report card.

General Breakdown:

  • 1.08 - Advanced Placement & College in the High School courses
  • 1.04 - Selected advanced/honors level courses
  • 1.0 - All other courses