The board rejected both recommendations and approved a plus-minus scale, with grades 98-100 being worth a 4.3 GPA and the failing grade at 63 percent. Teachers will continue using the current grading scale for this school year, and GPAs for students in grades nine through 12 will be recalculated at the end of the school year using the new scale.
“I think the board really listened to what we had to say,” Martin said. “The grading scale that was adopted just had minor tweaks. ... Overall, I think it was a great decision, and I look forward to working with the new scale.”
“You’re going to see these kids stop taking AP classes so they can boost their GPA,” said Christy Barr, a parent of a senior. “You have to do something to make it fair for these kids — for the kids who are putting in the extra work.”
GPA for AP classes is weighted differently than classes on the regular scale. If a student receives a C or better in an AP class, a .03 is added to their overall GPA, rather than to the individual grade earned in that class.
Zack McKinney, an AP student and a senior at Fairfield, said he is in the running for valedictorian and is currently in the Top 3 in his class. With a 4.27 GPA, he said his rank would be compromised with the new scale.
“It hurts the AP kids and it makes them lose incentive to take AP classes,” he said.
His father, Dan McKinney, said he e-mailed board members and the superintendent after his son was “handcuffed” by the new GPA.
In response, the district has said the new scale will not be used to determine class rank, and GPAs will be recalculated once seniors have graduated.
Students may be driven by GPA to get into colleges and to earn a high class ranking, but AP classes should not be overlooked, according to a college admissions counselor.
“If you have the opportunity to do AP or honors work, do that,” said Dr. Tom Kinapa, vice president for undergraduate admissions at the University of Cincinnati. “If a student gets a B in an AP course versus an A in a regular course, it’s better to have the B in the AP course.”
UC also looks at an applicant’s GPA scale and recalculates it on a 4.0 scale, he said.
With districts across the state having different scales, students may fail in one district, where they would receive their diploma in another.
“There are some parameters they (districts) must look at, but the diversity from district to district has been an issue at times,” said Patrick Gallaway, associate director of communications with the Ohio Department of Education. “As far as scoring and GPA, it’s up to them.”
In both recommendations from the committee, the failing grade was 60 percent — under the new scale, a 63 is failing, and under the current, a 67 is failing.
Options Academy Principal Bob Polson called the new scale “a compromise,” as he would have preferred a 10-point scale. Regardless, he said the new scale will help many students.
“I feel our grading scale has always been extremely challenging for many students. While most schools have a 60 (percent) for a D, that’s a very low F for us,” he said. “I see a lot of students with a 67, which would be a failing grade. This will help our students.”
With the potential to have more students graduate, and with students achieving higher GPAs under the new scale, committee member Tracy Ruberg said “the scale will be a positive impact to the vast majority of our students.”
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