Nine whole percentage points.
The difference between an 80 and an 89 is huge. The distance between the amount of effort put into each grade is immense. Yet our current GPA system does not reflect this at all.
Many feel there is nothing to be done to change the fact that it is very difficult to move up a point, i.e. from a 3.0 to 4.0, on the traditional GPA scale.
Many students feel that our current GPA system is unjust.
“I think it’d be much more fair if we took pluses and minuses into consideration. A person who just made it by with an 80 shouldn’t be treated at the same level as someone who was trying for an A but just fell short. They have very different effort levels required,” senior Kimaya Joshi said.
“It’s always so frustrating when you have an A the entire semester but you do poorly on the final and get a B when another student who didn’t work as hard as you gets the same GPA with less effort,” junior Jillian Campbell said.
The problem is evident, yet few high schools seem to be looking for alternatives to the traditional system. The majority of high schools still utilize the traditional 4 point system. If a system is flawed, then it is our duty to fix the system.
Some schools find that the use of different points on the GPA scale for a grade of a plus (+) or a minus (-) helps to lessen the potential misrepresentation of the potential of a student. This misrepresentation can occur because of the lack of differentiation between an 80 and an 89 on the traditional GPA system. Oftent
imes, this system consists of three parts for every point on the traditional system. This system is beginning to gain popularity in many colleges.
|
A+ |
A |
A- |
B+ |
B |
B- |
C+ |
C |
C- |
D+ |
D |
D- |
F |
|
4.3 |
4.0 |
3.7 |
3.3 |
3.0 |
2.7 |
2.3 |
2.0 |
1.7 |
1.3 |
1.0 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
In our current system, if a student received an 89, they would receive a 3.0 in the. In a three part system, this same student would gain a 3.3.
This is a huge difference. In this system, in contrast to the traditional system, the student’s achievement would differ greatly from his classmate who got an 80. This classmate would have a 2.7 in the class and would be clearly set apart from the 89 student.
In our current system, the student with the 89 may feel less apt to study for finals and keep his grade because he has nine points to fall back on. The new system would encourage students to work harder because the lines between the GPA points are so slim.
Currently, on official LHS transcripts that are sent to colleges, one simple letter would be ascribed to both an 89 and an 80: B. Colleges would get a more accurate depiction of students as a direct result of this new system. They would learn which students really tried and came very close to an A and which students skated by to barely receive a B.
It may be a tough transition for some to grow accustomed to this new system. But that is a poor excuse to use against changing something that doesn’t work. Many administrators say that the main reason we use our current system is because it is deeply embedded in LHS history. Faulty traditions need revamping.
Though this may not happen in the near future - administrators say it takes about three years to change grading policy matters - this is a system for LHS to consider.
A school should strive to represent its students’ abilities in the most accurate way possible, and our current system fails to do so.
graphic illustration by Erica Morozin
Comments