Academic Honors Requirements

Honor Roll

To be eligible for Honor Roll, students must have at least earned a weighted semester GPA of a 3.5 or above and must have at least 25 hours of GRADED (receiving a letter grade, not S) course work per semester. Students who receive an INC, U, or F in any class that semester are not eligible.

Honor Roll is broken down into four distinctions that are determined by the student’s weighted semester GPA. These Honor Roll distinctions will be reflected on all one-page transcripts.

The distinctions are as follows:
Honor Roll: Students with a weighted semester GPA of 3.5 to 3.749
Honor Roll with Distinction: Students with a weighted semester GPA of 3.750 to 3.999
Honor Roll with High Distinction: Students with a weighted semester GPA of 4.000 to 4.249
Honor Roll with Highest Distinction: Students with a weighted semester GPA of 4.250 and above

Academic Letters

Students receive an academic letter by earning a weighted GPA of 4.0 for two consecutive semesters at North Star High School. Students must be enrolled in 25 credits of graded classes per semester to be eligible. First time (year one) recipients receive an academic letter at one of the Honors Convocations.

Academic Pin

Students receive an academic pin by earning a weighted GPA of 4.0 for four consecutive semester at North Star High School.

National Honor Society

Membership in National Honor Society is a mark of student achievement. Students are eligible for membership if they have achieved at least a 3.5 GPA for five semesters of high school work and complete an activity form showing evidence of service, leadership and character. A committee of faculty members will make selections based on the student’s overall record.

Graduation Honors

Effective for the class of 2021, the Laude Latin model will be used to recognize academic excellence at the conclusion of a student’s high school career. Students will work to compete against the criterion for academic honors – rather than other students. A student’s cumulative weighted GPA at the end of the first semester of their senior year will be used to determine the level of honor on a student’s high school transcript, diploma, and for academic recognition at commencement exercises. The following three levels of academic honors will be used:

  1. SUMMA CUM LAUDE “with highest distinction”: Students with cumulative GPA of 4.250 and above on a 4.00 weighted scale. These students will receive a gold cord.
  2. MAGNA CUM LAUDE “with great distinction”: Students with cumulative GPA of 4.000 to 4.249 on a 4.00 weighted scale. These students will receive a silver cord.
  3. CUM LAUDE “with distinction”: Students with cumulative GPA of 3.750 to 3.999 on a 4.000 weighted scale. These students will receive a white cord.