This document provides guidance to students on understanding and utilizing their transcripts. It explains what key information transcripts contain such as courses taken, grades received, GPA, and credit summaries. It also discusses who can access transcripts and how transcripts can help students determine graduation progress and college eligibility. The document advises students to set SMART goals to improve their academic performance and create a positive impression for colleges and scholarships.

1. Transcript Toss Up
1. Get into teams of 4-5
2. As a team, look at the 5 different Valley
Transcripts
3. Pretend that you are a College Admissions
Board. As a team, put them in order of
Most Likely to Least Likely to get accepted!
4. Be prepared to share your reasons!

2. Transcript Toss Up
• Things to think about when deciding:
– What did the candidates get on their ACT?
– What are the candidates GPA?
– What kinds of grades did the candidates get?
– Did the candidates show improvement from 9th
to 12th grade?

3. Can you guess who?
• One of the Transcripts belongs to a High
School Drop-out
• One of the Transcripts belongs to a Teen Mom
Your Transcript isn’t a true reflection of who you
are as a person, but it does give an impression
of who you are as a student!
What can you do to make a good
First Impression?

4. How to read my transcript

5. What does my transcript tell me?
• What courses you’ve taken
• What courses you’ve passed and failed
• How many credits you have earned
• Your GPA for each Term
• Your Cumulative GPA
• Your Credit Summary

6. What can my transcript help me figure
out?
• What courses you still need to take (or retake)
• If you are on track to advance to the next
grade level
• How close you are to meeting graduation
requirements

7. Who gets to see my transcript?
• Colleges and Universities!
– When you apply to college, you have to send them an
official transcript
• Scholarship Programs
– If you apply for scholarships, you might need to send them
an official transcript if the scholarship is grade or GPA
based
• Counselors and Teachers
– To help you stay on track to graduation!
– To help you determine the best college or post-high school
plan for you!
• You and your parents/guardians
– Your transcript is a record of your successes! Make sure
you know what it says!

8. So, what am I looking at?
You are looking at a version of your
UNOFFICIAL Transcript!

9. • The Course tells you the Course Number and
the Course Name
• These are the classes you have taken and
received a grade for.

10. • The Course numbers tell you if it is Part A or Part B of a
class
• Numbers ending in 4 = Part A
• Numbers ending in 5 = Part B
• Numbers ending in 6 = Part C (for Year Long Courses)

11. • The Mark is the letter grade you received for
each class.

12. • The Weight is how many credits each course is
worth.
• At Valley, each trimester class is worth ½ credit.

13. • Credit is how many credits you earned for each
class you took.
• So if you passed, you get 0.5 credits.
• If you failed you get 0.0 credits.

14. • Term tells you during what grading period you
took those classes and earned those marks.
Term 2 = 1st Tri Term 4 = 2nd Tri Term 6 = 3rd Tri
Term 7 = Summer School and/or ESS

15. • Credit (at the bottom) tells you how many
credits you earned for just that Term.

16. • GPA tells you your Grade Point Average for just
that Term
• Your GPA is an average of your Marks:
A=4 B=3 C=2 D=1 U=0

17. • The section called GPA Summary shows your
Cumulative GPA – which is your total GPA for all
of your classes during high school
• Weighted just means that if you are in AP,
Advanced, or Honors classes, you have been
given GPA “Bonus Points”

18. • The section called Credit Summary tells you how many
Credits you have earned in the different category of
classes towards Graduation Requirements
• It is a general guide, not an official count!

19. Graduation Requirement = 22 credits
• English = 4 credits
• Math = 3 credits (but you have to pass a Senior Math
class)
• Science = 3 credits
• Social Studies = 3 credits
• Health = ½ credit
• PE = ½ credit
• Computer Apps. = 1 credit
• Humanities (HAVPA) = 1 credit
• Electives = 6 credits
– Honors students must have 2 credits of the same World
Language
Remember – each “part” of a class = ½ credit!
You have to pass both parts A and B to get 1 credit!

20. What grade am I in?
• Your grade level is based on how many credits you
have earned:
10th = 5 credits
11th = 11 credits
12th = 16 credits
Graduate = 22
It is possible to get more than 22 credits.
It is possible to change grade levels mid-year
– although it will only be done at the
1st Trimester Report Card!

21. Filling out your Lack Card

22. What is a Working Lack Card
• A Lack Card is something the counselors use
to keep track of what classes you have already
passed, and which ones you need to take.
• It’s like a Graduation Requirement Check List
• We call it “Working” because you add on to it
all year long

23. A Note on Class Names:
• As long as the name of the course has the
Required Course name in it, it counts!
• Ex) – AP U.S. History COUNTS as US History
• Ex) – AP English Language and Composition
COUNTS as English 3

24. Abbreviation Key
• SS/Ex Civ = Survey of Social Studies OR Exploring Civics
• WC = World Civilization
• Gov = Government
• Literacy Lab = Eng Lab / Reading
• Eng Sp. Topics = ACT Prep OR Eng Intern Sr Sem
• US = U.S. History
• Bio-INT = Biology Intervention
• Humanities = History Arts HAVPA
• HNR = Honors
• AP = Advanced Placement
• ADV = Advanced Program

25. How do I fill it out?
• Looking at your
Unofficial Transcript:
– Shade in the box for the
Core Curriculum Classes
you have earned credit
for (no U’s)
This box is NOT filled
in because the
student earned a U!

26. How do I fill it out?
• Looking at your
Unofficial Transcript:
– Shade in the box for the
Required Elective Classes
you have earned credit
for (no U’s)

27. How do I fill it out?
• Looking at your Unofficial Transcript:
– Write in any other Elective classes on the lines
provided
– If it doesn’t have its own box, it’s an Elective!

28. How do I fill it out?
• Thinking about your schedule for this
trimester:
– Mark boxes with an X for courses you are
currently taking (Core Curriculum AND Elective)

29. How do I fill it out?
• Thinking about your schedule for this trimester:
– Write in any Elective classes you are currently taking
– Circle its number.

30. What’s the point of this, again?
• The point is to give you a visual representation
of what classes you need to take and pass in
order to graduate – especially if you are a
Senior!
• Unless you are a Senior, you will use this Lack
Card when you do Schedule Requests for next
year!
• Take responsibility for your own education!
Know what you need to do and do it!

31. You only get one chance to make
a good first impression!

32. The BIG Questions
• What does your transcript say about you?
• Is it an accurate reflection of how you are as a
student? As a person?
• What does it NOT say about who you are?
• What accomplishments does it NOT reflect?
• What can you do to create a better picture of
who you really are?

33. Set a SMART Goal!
• S= Specific: focused, not vague or general
• M= Measurable: you will know for sure when
you have reached your goal
• A= Appropriate: related to your grades or
academic achievement
• R= Realistic: the goal is doable, but still
ambitious
• T= Timebound: you have a date picked out for
when you want to have achieved your goal