OPINION

The opinions published by The Match are solely those of the author, and not of the entire publication, its staff, or Collegiate School. The Match welcomes thoughtful commentary and response to our content. You can respond in the comments below, but please do so respectfully. Letters to the Editors will be published, but they are subject to revision based on content or length. Letters can be sent to match@collegiate-va.org.

By George Simonton

The repetitive question that looms at the forefront of seemingly every conversation during college application season: “Well, what’s your GPA?” This three-digit number is extremely influential and often changes the way people evaluate their chances at college, and even how they value their intellectual ability. It is always an awkward experience when someone from another school asks this question, since they probably don’t take into account the difference in grading scales. 

Collegiate’s Upper School grading scale is shown below. The middle column is what percentage the student scored for each class, next to what letter grade that percentage earns the student. The rightmost column is the grade point average (GPA) score received, based on which grade distinction the student has earned. As shown at the bottom, both Honors and AP Courses add the same GPA value of .5. This type of scale varies from school to school, but this is how Collegiate opts to calculate its own students’ grade point averages.

Collegiate’s grading scale. Image credit: Collegiate School.

One of the most interesting, and conflicting, characteristics about Collegiate’s grading scale is the fact that Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors classes are weighted the same in calculating GPA, with a 0.5 GPA boost. It is common for schools to have a different system that incentivizes taking AP classes. Henrico County’s Douglas S. Freeman High School, for example, uses a weighted GPA system: regular classes get no GPA boost, an Honors class gets a 0.5 point GPA boost, and AP classes receive a 1 point GPA boost. These classes typically have a higher GPA weight because of their rigor and challenging material, and that rigor is reflected in the GPA calculation. Schools often use a student’s GPA to rank each of the students against all of their peers, and colleges take both GPA and class rank into consideration when selecting students during the college admissions process. 

Luckily enough for some students, colleges and universities are smart enough to take a deeper dive into these numbers and do not just believe whatever GPA pops up on the transcript. Because of the variety of scales used throughout different high schools across the country, some college admissions offices will take the transcript from the students and apply it to their own scale, so it is representative of what they are searching for. This can help people like students at Collegiate who opt to take a more AP-heavy course load. 

Collegiate’s current system does an inadequate job rewarding students who elect to take these strenuous and difficult courses. There are people who choose to take tougher AP classes, while others opt to take Honors courses. Because students are preparing for the AP exam, AP classes tend to be more rigorous and involve more course content, and the GPA boost should reflect that. Some high level AP science and math classes take more time, effort, and dedication than some other Honors classes that may be more niche and focused on a specific topic. A class like AP Physics or AP US History has to cover such a broad range of topics by May, when AP exams take place, while some specialized Honors classes can take the time to slow down and dive deeply into a topic without worrying about covering all of the needed content before the May deadline. Unfortunately for the students in these AP classes, they are rewarded the same as students in these Honors classes. Senior Eva Siminiceanu (‘24) said, “The same GPA boosts are given to a lot of classes that aren’t equally as hard, which isn’t exactly all that fair.”

However, an argument could be made that this system helps students take the class they are best suited for. This is better because they can take the class that would suit them the best, rather than the class that would look best for them on their transcript. This system encourages students to not feel pressured to struggle all year long, just so they can receive a GPA boost. If they decide to take a challenging course, it should be because they want to push themselves and are genuinely motivated and interested in the subject, not because they desire a higher class rank. 

An argument could be made that there should be an incentive for these students to challenge themselves, and this GPA boost could act as a cushion to protect them from a potentially worse grade. If a student wants to push themselves and try to take a risk, they should be able to without the worry of ruining their class rank and GPA. 

This current semester, I am taking Honors Linear Algebra instead of another AP class, and I do not have to worry about any disparities between the classes, as far as GPA is concerned. However, students should consider what is best for developing their education when selecting courses, and not just what looks the best on paper. Regardless of which system is implemented, there will always be winners and losers. As Upper School Mathematics teacher Kristine Chiodo said when asked about this subject, “It is impossible to create a scale that everyone thinks is fair.”

Nonetheless, if there is anywhere to improve Collegiate’s grading and GPA system, it would be to reward the students who elect to take these challenging AP courses. These classes regularly require more dedicated time than Honors classes, and this change would bring even more distinction and separation between the students who are able to take on the challenge and those who do not. The majority of high schools who use a weighted scale across the country give a whole point boost towards one’s GPA for an AP class. After all, AP classes are worth college credit for a reason.

Featured image credit: Openclipart.com User j4p4n.