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BACKGROUNDAn Inherited a Grade Weighting System

• Designed to encourage students to take a rigorous schedule• Honors classes: .5 honor points per semester (A = 4.5)• AP classes: 1.0 honor points per semester (A = 5.0)

• Designed to build an Honors/AP Program

Then One Parent Asked a Question

• Why is my daughter number 2?

• “That’s the way the calculation works.”

Observed a Growing Culture of Misdirected Competition

• Students (and parents) began to play a “GPA Game.”

• Students were pitted against with each other over rank.

CHANGES IMPLEMENTED IN 2010• Surveyed Other Oakland County Schools

(in 2010)• In the spirit of full disclosure, some schools began weighted grades after 2010.

• Talked To Admissions Representatives •Division 1 and Division 2• Every college or university handles this differently

• Designed a New System•Classification and Recognition •More Fair and Serves More Students

CHANGES IMPLEMENTED IN 2010STARTING WITH THE CLASS OF 2015, WE HAVE…• Removed Weight from Honors and AP Classes

• Discontinued Publicizing Rank (Except for Colleges and Scholarships)

• Implemented a New Process for Choosing Commencement Speakers• Valedictorians and Salutatorians are Eligible• Selected by a committee of at least three (3)

• Adjusted High Honors for Seniors• Summa Cum Laude (3.9-4.0)• Magna Cum Laude (3.75-3.899)• Cum Laude (3.5-3.749)• Honor Graduates (3.25-3.499)

CHANGE IMPLEMENTED IN 2014STARTING WITH THE CLASS OF 2015, WE WILL…• Grant high school credit for Dual Enrollment

• State of Michigan Permits Dual Credit • Avondale did not grant dual credit automatically• UM and MSU change in policy• Early College Program

• If grades continued to be weighted, Dual Enrollment would have been eligible

• Remove grades for repeated classes (D’s or E’s) from the GPA calculation

WHAT DO WE VALUE IN STUDENTS?• Students Who Work Hard

• Students Who Get Good Grades (All A’s!)

• Students Who Earn Great Test Scores

• Students Who Are Prepared For a University Education

• Students Who Are Admitted to Elite Schools

• Students Who Can Compete for Scholarships

• Students Who Cooperate and Support Each Other

EXCELLENCE IN ALL AREAS

WHAT DO WE VALUE AS EDUCATORS?• Providing a Rich, Rigorous, and Challenging

Curriculum

• Rewarding Students Who Achieve in Their Areas of Interest

• Policies that are Accurate and Fair

FOR ALL STUDENTS

HERE ARE THE ISSUES• Problem with WEIGHTED GRADES

• We can’t mix a 4.0 scale and a 5.0 scale and have it work. • The math doesn’t work and the results are unfair.

• Problem with Calculating a GPA to FOUR DECIMAL POINTS• The results amount to “false precision.” • The distinctions between students are statistically

insignificant.

• Problem with RANKING STUDENTS• What is the value of rank? • Which criteria should we use?• It is accurate and fair?• Can we really determine who is the “best” student?

A 4.0

A- 3.7

B+ 3.4

B 3.0

B- 2.7

C+ 2.4

C 2.0

C- 1.7

D+ 1.4

D 1.0

D- 0.7

E 0.0

AVONDALE HIGH SCHOOL

GRADING SCALE

WHO IS THE BETTER STUDENT?

S T U D E N T A

A’s 40

B’s 2

Honors 9

AP 11

Dual Enrolled 3

ACT 33

PSAT% 97

S T U D E N T B

A’s 49

B’s 0

Honors 9

AP 11

Dual Enrolled 3

ACT 36

PSAT% 99

WHO WINS THE GAME?S T U D E N T A

# 1 V A L E D I C T O R I A N

Weighted GPA4.3262

A’s 40

B’s 2

Honors 9

AP 11

Dual Enrolled 3

ACT 33

PSAT% 97

S T U D E N T B

# 2 S A L U T A T O R I A N

Weighted GPA4.3041

A’s 49

B’s 0

Honors 11

AP 11

Dual Enrolled 3

ACT 36

PSAT% 99

T h e s t u d e n t w i t h t h e m o s t w e i g h t e d c l a s s e s a n d t h e f e w e s t u n - w e i g h t e d c l a s s e s w i n s .

LET’S DO THE MATH!

S T U D E N T A

A’s 40 (38 A, 2 A-)

B+’s 2

Honors 9

AP 11

(40 x 4.0)+(2 x 3.7)+(2 x 3.0)+(9 x .5)+(11x1.0)

42

= 4.3262

S T U D E N T B

A’s 49 (47 A, 2 A-)

B+’s 0

Honors 9

AP 11

(47 x 4.0) + (2 X 3.7) (9 x .5) + (11 x 1.0)

49

= 4.3041

FALSE PRECISIONFalse precision  occurs when numerical data are presented in a

manner that implies better precision than is actually the case.

Unless a margin of error is explicitly stated, the number of significant figures used in the presentation of data should be limited to what is warranted by the precision of those data.

For example, if grades are awarded in tenths of a point, the results of calculations using data obtained from those grades can only be confidently stated to the tenths place, regardless of what the raw calculation returns.

LET’S DO THE MATH!

S T U D E N T A

A’s 40 (38 A, 2 A-)

B+’s 2

Honors 9

AP 11

(40 x 4.0)+(2 x 3.7)+(2 x 3.0)+(9 x .5)+(11x1.0)

42

= 4.326

S T U D E N T B

A’s 49 (47 A, 2 A-)

B+’s 0

Honors 9

AP 11

(47 x 4.0) + (2 X 3.7) (9 x .5) + (11 x 1.0)

49

= 4.304

LET’S DO THE MATH!

S T U D E N T A

A’s 40 (38 A, 2 A-)

B+’s 2

Honors 9

AP 11

(40 x 4.0)+(2 x 3.7)+(2 x 3.0)+(9 x .5)+(11x1.0)

42

= 4.33

S T U D E N T B

A’s 49 (47 A, 2 A-)

B+’s 0

Honors 9

AP 11

(47 x 4.0) + (2 X 3.7) (9 x .5) + (11 x 1.0)

49

= 4.30

LET’S DO THE MATH!

S T U D E N T A

A’s 40 (38 A, 2 A-)

B+’s 2

Honors 9

AP 11

(40 x 4.0)+(2 x 3.7)+(2 x 3.0)+(9 x .5)+(11x1.0)

42

= 4.3

S T U D E N T B

A’s 49 (47 A, 2 A-)

B+’s 0

Honors 9

AP 11

(47 x 4.0) + (2 X 3.7) (9 x .5) + (11 x 1.0)

49

= 4.3

WHICH CRITERIA SHOULD WE USE?

W E I G H T E D G R A D E S

Rank Student Weighted

1 A 4.3262

2 B 4.3041

3 C 4.2829

4 D 4.2587

5 E 4.2366

6 F 4.2133

7 G 4.2082

8 H 4.2000

9 I 4.1738

10 J 4.1591

11 K 4.1533

12 L 4.1500

U N W E I G H T E D G R A D E S

Rank Student Un-Weighted

1 X 4.00

2 F 3.99

3 B 3.98

3 C 3.98

5 A 3.95

6 H 3.94

7 E 3.93

7 G 3.93

9 D 3.92

10 I 3.90

10 J 3.90

10 L 3.90

WHO IS THE BEST STUDENT?

A C T S C O R E

Rank Student ACT

1 B 36

2 A 33

2 G 33

2 N 33

4 K 32

5 F 31

5 E 31

5 P 31

9 C 30

9 D 30

9 I 30

9 L 30

A P C L A S S E S

Rank Student AP

1 B 11

1 A 11

3 D 10

4 G 8

4 K 8

6 C 7

6 E 7

6 N 7

6 M 7

6 L 7

11 H 6

11 I 6

WHAT DO WE WANT TO REWARD?

W E I G H T E D G R A D E S R O U N D E D T O A T E N T H

Rank Student Round Weighted

1 A 4.3

1 B 4.3

1 C 4.3

1 D 4.3

5 E 4.2

5 F 4.2

5 G 4.2

5 H 4.2

5 I 4.2

5 J 4.2

5 K 4.2

5 L 4.2

U N W E I G H T E D G R A D E S R O U N D E D T O A T E N T H

Rank Student AP

1 A 4.0

1 B 4.0

1 C 4.0

1 F 4.0

1 X 4.0

6 D 3.9

6 E 3.9

6 G 3.9

6 H 3.9

6 I 3.9

6 J 3.9

6 K 3.9

Rank Student

Recalc’d

GPA

ACT Score

Rigor

1 B 4.0 36 Yes

1 C 4.0 30 Yes

1 F 4.0 31 Yes

1 G 4.0 33 Yes

1 L 4.0 30 Yes

1 X 4.0 27 No

7 E 3.9 31 Yes

7 H 3.9 27 Yes

9 A 3.8 33 Yes

9 D 3.8 30 Yes

9 I 3.8 30 Yes

9 J 3.8 26 Yes

WHAT IF WE USE THE U-M FORMULA?

WHO WOULD BE ADMITTED?

1. Recalculated GPA A or A- = 4.0 B+, B, or B- = 3.0 C+, C, or C- = 2.0

2. Rigor of Curriculum

3. Test Scores

4. Essay and Student’s Voice

5. Recommendations

RankStuden

tGPA

5% X 4.00

5% F 3.99

5% B 3.98

5% C 3.98

5% A 3.95

5% H 3.94

5% E 3.93

5% G 3.93

5% D 3.92

5% I 3.90

5% J 3.90

5% L 3.90

5% T 3.90

OR RECOGNIZE THE TOP 5% OR 10%?

RankStuden

tGPA

10% Y 3.90

10% N 3.88

10% K 3.87

10% M 3.86

10% V 3.85

10% Z 3.85

10% W 3.84

10% O 3.83

10% Q 3.79

10% P 3.78

10% S 3.75

10% U 3.75

10% R 3.72

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE

• Admissions and Scholarships• Every college or university handles GPA differently• OU adds points for AP classes • UM uses a strict un-weighted system • Some schools use whichever GPA is on the transcript, which we know seems unfair.

• In some cases, using un-weighted grades affects scholarship offers. •Most often, however, the issue is the ACT score.

SUMMARY It’s good to reward students who

challenge themselves and work hard.

Weighting grades and ranking is unfair, arbitrary, and doesn’t accomplish the goals of the district.