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.