Students working toward an Alabama high school diploma who earn a cumulative grade point average of 90% or higher will be recognized as Honor Graduates. Averages will not be rounded for the purpose of determining honor status. For example, a cumulative average of 89.9999% will not qualify for Honor Graduate recognition.

Honor Graduate status is determined using grades earned in core academic courses only, including mathematics, english, science, and history. Eligible courses may include standard, Advanced Placement (AP), or dual enrollment classes, provided the course is taken during the regular school semester in place of a traditional academic class. AP and dual enrollment classes are weighted by taking the final grade for the course and multiplying it by a factor of 1.1. This will add an additional 10% to the GPA calculation for the course. It will be required that the student complete the course to receive the added weight. With the exceptions of Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment courses, all other courses cannot receive an overall final grade of greater than 100.

Honor Graduate status and Top 10 rankings are determined and announced during the spring semester of a student’s senior year. Once a student has earned Honor Graduate recognition, that status and the established Top 10 rankings will remain unchanged. However, students who raise their cumulative average to 90% or higher during their final semester may still earn Honor Graduate recognition prior to graduation.

Because final grades must be verified and approved at the board level, students achieving Honor Graduate status during the final semester will not be recognized at earlier events, such as Awards Day or social media announcements. Official recognition will occur the day of graduation once grades have been finalized.