Do Tennessee private high schools have to use the state's 4.0 grading scale for their students to qualify for HOPE scholarship eligibility?

Subject

Opinion No. 15-58, Uniform Grading Policy and HOPE Scholarship Eligibility, July 14, 2015

Plain-English summary

The Tennessee HOPE scholarship program requires an entering freshman to have either a final overall weighted high school GPA of at least 3.0 or an ACT/SAT score above a threshold. The statute defines "weighted grade point average" as a GPA "on a 4.0 scale," calculated using the uniform grading system adopted by the State Board of Education. Most Tennessee public schools use that uniform 4.0 system. Many private schools (and some out-of-state and overseas schools whose graduates qualify as eligible) use different grading scales.

The Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation asked: are private school graduates automatically ineligible for HOPE if their school doesn't use the 4.0 scale? The AG said no. Reading the HOPE eligibility statutes as a whole, the General Assembly clearly meant to include graduates of private high schools, GED holders, students from military-family out-of-state schools, students from missionary-family schools abroad, and other non-traditional students. There is no statutory or regulatory requirement that private schools use the 4.0 scale. The legislature even explicitly anticipates conversion: Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-3111(a) allows gifted students to enroll in college credit courses if they have a GPA "equivalent to" 3.2 on a 4.0 maximum basis. The AG concluded HOPE eligibility can be established either through the uniform 4.0 scale or through any grading method that permits mathematical conversion to a 4.0 equivalent.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Why would a private school not use the 4.0 scale?

Different reasons. Some schools use a 100-point numerical scale, some use letter grades without conversion to GPA, some use a different weighting system for advanced courses. Tennessee does not impose a uniform grading system on private schools, only on public schools (under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-302(a)(17)).

How does the conversion work in practice?

The opinion does not prescribe a conversion formula. The Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, which administers HOPE, is responsible for accepting transcripts and applying a consistent conversion approach. Most commonly, percentage grades or letter grades on a non-4.0 scale are translated to a 4.0 equivalent using a standard conversion table.

Which private schools count as "eligible high schools"?

Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(10)(B), a private secondary school in Tennessee that has State Board of Education approval as a Category 1, 2, or 3 secondary school is an eligible high school. Categories 1 to 3 involve direct State Department of Education approval, membership in a State-approved accrediting agency, or regional accreditation respectively.

Are home-schooled students eligible?

Yes, under separate provisions (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-4-905(b), 908). The opinion notes that HOPE eligibility extends beyond traditional Tennessee public school graduates to a wide range of non-traditional students.

Background and statutory framework

The HOPE scholarship eligibility statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-907) requires entering freshmen to either achieve a final overall weighted high school GPA of at least 3.0 or attain a composite ACT score of at least 21 or a combined SAT score of at least 980. "Eligible high school" is defined at Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(10) to include Tennessee public secondary schools, Category 1-3 private secondary schools, US Department of Defense schools on military bases, and accredited out-of-state boarding schools attended by Tennessee residents. "Weighted grade point average" is defined at Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(41) as a GPA on a 4.0 scale calculated with extra points for AP and honors courses according to the uniform system adopted by the State Board of Education under § 49-1-302(a)(17).

State Board of Education Rule Chapter 0520-07-02 governs non-public school approval (six categories enumerated in 0520-07-02-.01). Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-6-3111(a) extends college-credit eligibility to gifted students with a GPA "equivalent to" 3.2 on a 4.0 basis, recognizing that grades can be converted between scales.

The AG applied the in pari materia canon (Cronin v. Howe, 906 S.W.2d 910, 912 (Tenn. 1995); Wilson v. Johnson Cnty., 879 S.W.2d 807, 809 (Tenn. 1994)) to harmonize the multiple HOPE eligibility provisions with the underlying definition of weighted GPA. The result: equivalence to the 4.0 scale is sufficient.

Citations

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-907 (HOPE eligibility criteria)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(10) (definition of eligible high school)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(41) (definition of weighted GPA)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-302(a)(17) (uniform grading system for public schools)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-3111(a) (gifted student college credit eligibility)
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-4-905(b), 908 (GED holders, home-schooled students)
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-4-926, 928, 931, 934, 935, 942 (other non-traditional eligibility)
• Sharp v. Richardson, 937 S.W.2d 846 (Tenn. 1996)
• Hawkins v. Case Management Incorporated, 165 S.W.3d 296 (Tenn. 2004)
• Cronin v. Howe, 906 S.W.2d 910 (Tenn. 1995)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2015/op15-058.pdf

Original opinion text

Opinion No. 15-58
Uniform Grading Policy and HOPE Scholarship Eligibility

Question

Are private secondary schools as defined in Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-4-902(10)(B) required to use the state Uniform Grading Policy as set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(41) for purposes of establishing student eligibility for the HOPE scholarship?

Opinion

No. It appears that the Legislature intended that HOPE scholarship eligibility may be determined either through the use of the State uniform grading scale or another grading method that permits a determination of the mathematical equivalence to grades on the uniform scale.

ANALYSIS

This question arises from an apparent inconsistency between the language of Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(10)(B) and Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(41) regarding the use of grades on a 4.0 scale to determine eligibility for HOPE scholarships.

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-4-907 addresses general eligibility requirements for HOPE scholarships as follows:

To be eligible for a Tennessee HOPE scholarship as an entering freshman, a student who graduated from an eligible high school after December 1, 2003, upon having completed curriculum requirements of the high school for graduation, shall:

(1) Meet the requirements of §§ 49-4-904 and 49-4-905;
(2) Be admitted to and enroll in an eligible postsecondary institution no later than sixteen (16) months after graduation from high school; and
(3)(A) Achieve a final overall weighted high school grade point average of at least 3.0; or
(B) Attain a composite ACT score of at least 21 on any single ACT test date or a combined SAT score of at least 980 on any single SAT test date.

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-4-902(10) defines "eligible high school" to mean:

(A) A Tennessee public secondary school;
(B) A private secondary school that is located in this state and is approved by the state board of education as a Category 1, 2 or 3 secondary school in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations;
(C) A secondary school operated by the United States department of defense on a military base that is located in whole or in part in this state;
(D) An out-of-state boarding school attended by a bona fide Tennessee resident that is accredited by:
(i) A regional accrediting association; or
(ii) A member of the National Association of Independent Schools Commission on Accreditation; . . .

Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(41) defines "weighted grade point average" to mean a . . . grade point average on a 4.0 scale calculated with additional points awarded for advanced placement, honors or other similar courses, according to the uniform system of weighting of courses adopted by the state board of education, under § 49-1-302(a)(17); . . .

While private secondary schools are "eligible high schools" for purposes of HOPE scholarship eligibility, many private secondary schools employ a grading scale other than a 4.0 grading scale. In light of the statutory language quoted above, this leads to the question of whether graduates of private high schools that employ a different grading scale than a 4.0 scale are eligible for HOPE scholarships.

Chapter 0520-07-02 of the Rules of the State Board of Education govern the "Non-Public School Approval Process." These rules set forth numerous requirements and conditions that must be met by the various types of private schools¹ before they gain State approval to operate, but there is no requirement under current Tennessee statutes, rules, or regulations that private schools employ a 4.0 grading scale, or any particular grading scale.² Nevertheless, the statutes that govern eligibility for HOPE scholarships broadly encompass graduates from non-public high schools as well as home-schooled students,³ graduates of Tennessee high schools that are not "eligible high schools,"⁴ and students who have obtained a GED,⁵ students who graduate from out-of-state schools while their parents are serving in the military,⁶ students who graduate from high school in a foreign nation while their parents are serving as religious workers, and other "non-traditional" students.

Additionally, the General Assembly has established that gifted students in public or private high schools are eligible to enroll in college credit courses and receive college credit if they have "a grade point average equivalent to three point two (3.2) on a four point zero (4.0) maximum basis[.]" Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-3111(a) (emphasis added). This language recognizes that (1) there may be differences in grading systems employed by public and private high schools, and (2) grades can be mathematically converted to their equivalents on a 4.0 scale.

When interpreting statutes, the role of the interpreting court is "to ascertain and give effect to the legislative intent." Sharp v. Richardson, 937 S.W.2d 846, 850 (Tenn. 1996). In construing statutes relating to the same subject matter, a court has a duty to avoid a construction that will place statutes in conflict and to resolve such conflicts, whenever possible, so as to provide a harmonious interpretation of the laws. Id. In the absence of ambiguity, legislative intent is derived from the face of a statute, and the interpreting court should not depart from the "natural and ordinary" meaning of the statute's language. Hawkins v. Case Management Incorporated, 165 S.W.3d 296, 300 (Tenn. 2004). Statutes relating to the same subject should be interpreted in pari materia, i.e., construed together and in such a way that they are in harmony rather than in conflict. See Cronin v. Howe, 906 S.W.2d 910, 912 (Tenn. 1995); Wilson v. Johnson Cnty., 879 S.W.2d 807, 809 (Tenn. 1994).

Applying these principles of statutory construction, it appears that the General Assembly, in defining such a broad spectrum of students eligible for HOPE scholarships, did not intend that Tennessee private school students be rendered ineligible based upon their schools' use of grading scales other than the 4.0 scale. For example, in extending eligibility to students who are Tennessee citizens but are not graduates from "eligible high schools," the General Assembly did not base the criteria on the school's use of a uniform grading scale but rather on its operation by the United States government or its accreditation by a recognized accrediting association, both regional and foreign.⁷ The approved regional accrediting associations do not include use of a uniform 4.0 grading scale as a criterion in their standards of accreditation.⁸ By extending eligibility to schools recognized by accrediting associations, uniformity in academic standards can be obtained without rendering students ineligible simply because the institution they attend uses a system of grading other than a 4.0 scale.

Of the four types of eligible high schools, only Tennessee public secondary schools are certain to employ the uniform grading system as set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-1-302(a)(17) and 49-6-407. But HOPE scholarships are available to students from a wide variety of non-eligible high schools, and there is no requirement that Tennessee private schools use the uniform grading system in order for their students to be eligible for HOPE scholarships. Moreover, weighted grade point averages under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(41) may be obtained by determining the mathematical equivalence of grades from another system to those on the uniform scale. Thus, it appears that the General Assembly did not intend for Tennessee private school students to be rendered ineligible for HOPE scholarships based upon their schools' use of grading scales other than the 4.0 scale; rather the General Assembly intended that HOPE scholarship eligibility may be determined either through the use of the State uniform grading scale or another grading method that permits a determination of the mathematical equivalence to grades on the uniform scale.

HERBERT H. SLATERY III
Attorney General and Reporter

ANDRÉE SOPHIA BLUMSTEIN
Solicitor General

KEVIN STEILING
Deputy Attorney General

Requested by:
The Honorable Russ Deaton
Interim Executive Director
Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation
Suite 1510, Parkway Towers
404 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243-0820

¹ The six categories of non-public schools are: I - schools approved individually by the State Department of Education; II - schools that belong to an agency whose accreditation process is approved by the State Board of Education; III - schools which are regionally accredited; IV - schools which are "church related" and exempt from regulations according to Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-50-801; V - all other schools, except home schools; and VI - international schools affiliated with a Tennessee public university acting as an agency whose accreditation process is approved by the State Board of Education. Tenn. Comp. R & Regs. 0520-07-02-.01

² Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-302(a)(17) provides that a uniform grading system should be adopted and implemented by all Tennessee public schools. There is no such requirement applicable to private schools, however.

³ Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-4-905(b), 908.

⁴ Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-4-926, 928.

⁵ Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-934.

⁶ Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-931. See also Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-4-935; 942.

⁷ Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-4-926, 934; see also Tenn. Comp. R. & Reg. 1640-01-19-.05(5)-(6) (2010).

⁸ Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-902(29). See, e.g., New England Assoc. of Schools and Colleges, Standards & Indicators (Feb. 2014), https://cis.neasc.org/standards-policies/standards-indicators; Middle States Assoc. of Colleges and Schools, Standards of Accreditation (2014), http://www.msa-cess.org/Customized/Uploads/ByDate/2015/April_2015/April_23rd_2015/Standards%20for%20Accreditation%20for%20Schools%20(2014)69218.pdf.