Why All Schools Should Have Weighted GPAs

Students are constantly told that if they just work hard and do their best they will succeed. But it's much more complicated than that. A common goal for a student to work towards is getting into a good college. It would make sense that the smartest people would have the easiest time getting to college. But this may not be the case.

If a student is at a higher level of learning they might participate in advanced classes. Advanced classes are good because they get the students involved and challenge them more than a regular class. What isn't good is that because of the challenge, the students get lower grades.

Think about a third grader learning in a fifth grade class. Would they do better in the higher level class? They may be smart enough to participate in the class, but they will still get worse grades than if they were in their third grade class. Advanced classes are like that, with a less drastic change. If a student could be taking a regular class and get perfect grades, why would they want to take an advanced class, get much worse grades, and bring their GPA down?

This Review of Literature Related to Weighted Grade Point Average and Rank in Class stated that "The majority of college admissions staff at highly selective schools concluded that weighing GPA does give high achieving applicants an advantage in the college admission process" So, having a good GPA is an important factor in applying for college and weighing GPAs would give the students a better chance of getting into a good college.

Weighting GPA to Assist in Improving Student Achievement says that there is still no standard weighting system. If there were a standard system it would be easier to compare your standing to other students, the grades would all be weighted the same way.

An article called Weighted Grades: A Conundrum for Secondary Schools describes a system of weighted grades where the more challenging the class is, the more weighted that class is. Getting an A in a normal class is not equal to getting an A in an advanced class. The basic classes are the least weighted and the Advanced Placement classes are the most weighted.

Schools want students to challenge themselves and get more out of their education. But by taking advanced classes, students could be losing points from their GPA. That class is doing more harm than good. Students that take advanced classes should be rewarded not punished. If taking a high level class does nothing but lower your GPA and chances of college acceptance, what's the point? Schools need to adjust to weighted grading and recognise that it could be very important in determining their students futures.

Logical Fallacies

Have you ever argued with someone, who could never make a good point? I hate when someones only reasoning is "Well you're annoying so..." or "Wow you are so stupid to think that." You know that it's not fair or right, but there is nothing you can really say back to that. Well, there is a word for this kind of reasoning. A logical fallacy. (In this case the fallacy is personal attack)



A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning. Fallacies are almost like reasoning cheats, sometimes they work but they aren't quite right. Fallacies are usually used in arguments or to convince someone to do something. These are used all the time in everyday life. You have probably used one yourself, whether you tried to or not. If you know what fallacies are and how they work, you will start to notice them in your life.

Fallacies are often used in advertising. Many times ads aren't really selling you their product. They might be selling you friends, appearance, or happiness. An ad will show someone using their product and smiling, and having fun with lots of friends. They are selling you more than just the product. This is the Appeal to Popularity Fallacy, showing you that popularity is associated with whatever they want you to buy.

This ad uses the  Hasty Generalization Fallacy by saying that 9/10 dentists recommend it. This is not a good estimate, they are showing you only 10 dentists of their choosing.

I think we use fallacies to help get around problems. If you don't have a good argument or answer it is easy to use these fallacies, even if they aren't legitimate reasons. They often work because not many people can spot them or know when they are being used.

Fallacies helped me realize that there are actually reasonings that "don't count". Fallacies are not real points. But, even if they don't always make sense, they are easy to use and usually pretty effective. Keep your eye out for tricky fallacies and you will have an advantage in your next battle of reason.


The Appeal to Flattery Fallacy.