Grading system is a point system. Students can easily track their own grades. Grammar and vocabulary are taught year round. Most Fridays students either have a vocabulary lesson due or a vocabulary test. For college prep students, there is extra credit possible on every vocabulary test. Grammar is taught with a focus on student writing problems as they appear in essays. Independent reading books are usually given out the first week of each quarter and due in three to four weeks. On the due date, there is class discussion or seminar; the test is the next day. Titles are The Natural, Fahrenheit 451, Of Mice and Men, The Bean Trees, and The Chosen. Both semester exams are based on the five-paragraph essay.

Honors sophomores are assigned an additional independent reading book every quarter, usually given out the fourth week of the quarter. Titles are Picture of Dorian Gray, Snow Falling on Cedars, The Good Earth, Anthem, and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. In addition, they write a comparison/contrast research paper in the third quarter.