Kentucky GPA system

[cooperstown]

I would assume this topic has been covered in the past, but I couldn't find a thread.

 

I was recently very surprised when we received my son's (sophomore turning junior) report card. He completed both his freshman and sophomore years with straight A's. I logically assumed he had a 4.0 GPA and was rather stunned to see it was listed as a 3.9 (and change). I've learned that in Kentucky every "A" is not awarded a 4.0. You apparently only receive a 4.0 if your final class grade is a high "A" and receive something less than 4.0 if your final grade nears the lower end of the "A" grading scale.

 

Here's my concern: As long as he's competing against other Kentucky students for scholarships, he's on an equal playing field. I have no problem with that. But what about students from other states that do not use such a system. If another state awards a 4.0 to every "A" - be it a 94 or a 100 - than some kid in another state could theoretically have the exact same report card as my son and have a 4.0 GPA. If this is true, then I have a problem with this system, as it would appear to put Kentucky students at a competitive disadvantage.

 

School's out, so I can't really discuss this with a counselor. Anyone have any thoughts or insight into this situation?

[Clyde]

Colleges deal with this every day and every year. I remember a few years ago reading about Highlands kids graduating with a GPA over 5.0 due to AP classes. The article said then and I assume its true now that admissions offices equal out grades.

[Wireman]

My wife's an elementary teacher and she says she hasn't heard of anyting like this at her school system. It must be a county-by-county thing or something. She says you need to contact the director of pupil personnel in your county and they will assist you or tell you who can assist you. The board of education works year round, by the way. Good luck. That has to be frustrating to make all A's and not have a 4.0!

[Clyde]

My wife's an elementary teacher and she says she hasn't heard of anyting like this at her school system. It must be a county-by-county thing or something. She says you need to contact the director of pupil personnel in your county and they will assist you or tell you who can assist you. The board of education works year round, by the way. Good luck. That has to be frustrating to make all A's and not have a 4.0!

 

Its a school decision.

 

I personally like this system. I don't think a kid who gets a 93 should have the same GPA as a kid who gets a 99 or 100.

 

I would not talk to the counselor. I'd call an admissions rep at any university your child is interested in in order to answer your question as to how universities equal it out.

[MJAlltheWay24]

There was talk two years ago about placing this system here at Northern Kentucky University. They called it the "Plus/Minus Grading System". It was never implemented, but I think it still may be in the works. I am not a huge fan of it, but will be out before it affects me.

 

I definitely see your concern cooperstown.

[sweet16]

 

I personally like this system. I don't think a kid who gets a 93 should have the same GPA as a kid who gets a 99 or 100.

 

 

I don't like the system. It seemed like in college my grades were always A- or B- and it hurt my GPA in the long run. To me an A is A and B is a B and so on.

 

You could also argue grading scales. Not all schools have the same grading scales.

 

In some high schools an A is 93-100 and others it is 90-100.

[Clyde]

I don't like the system. It seemed like in college my grades were always A- or B- and it hurt my GPA in the long run. To me an A is A and B is a B and so on.

 

You could also argue grading scales. Not all schools have the same grading scales.

 

In some high schools an A is 93-100 and others it is 90-100.

 

The purpose of any evaluation is to evaluate one as compared to others.

 

A person scoring 93% is not at the same level as a person scoring 99% or 100%.

 

The scales used by one school vs another are immaterial. Heck, most colleges re-adust GPAs that are bumped by AP classes.

 

Colleges have the game figured out. Everyone is working off of the same scale.

[the mathemagician]

As a teacher, I like the plus-minus system of evaluation. There is a great deal of difference between a student who scores an average of 80 and one who has an average of 89. I like being able to differentiate those scores with a plus or minus. EKU experimented with +/- for a couple of semesters. Teachers liked it; students didn't because they felt teachers used it to keep from assigning so many "A's". Eastern, who rarely does much of anything right, dropped the plus-minus system. Other colleges have used the +/- for a long time, with good results.

[cooperstown]

The purpose of any evaluation is to evaluate one as compared to others.

A person scoring 93% is not at the same level as a person scoring 99% or 100%.

 

The scales used by one school vs another are immaterial. Heck, most colleges re-adust GPAs that are bumped by AP classes.

 

Colleges have the game figured out. Everyone is working off of the same scale.

 

Which is my point exactly. For instance, my son received a 96 in Geometry (his weakest subject). This obviously equates to something less than 4.0 for that subject. So another student in a different county in Kentucky can get the exact same grade and be given a 4.0? And this is fair? If you're going to be evaluated against your peers, you should be evaluated/compared on the same system.

 

If this is indeed a county by county decision in Kentucky, then I have a real big problem with Boone County's decision to do this. I've been told by several well-informed people that most colleges simply look at a student's ACT/SAT scores and GPA. They simply don't have the time to look closely at the individual classes and final grade averages of each student. So if my son has a 3.92 in Boone County that would be a 4.0 in a county just a few miles away, then it's extremely unfair. Someone would have to come up with a real solid argument to make me believe this does anything other than hurt the kids being scored so in this manner. Is a 94 the same "A" as a 100? Of course not. I fully support differentiating between the two - as long as all other school systems and most certainly all the school systems in Kentucky score it the same way. Clearly everyone is NOT working off the same scale.

Edited June 29, 2008 by cooperstown

[cooperstown]

There was talk two years ago about placing this system here at Northern Kentucky University. They called it the "Plus/Minus Grading System". It was never implemented, but I think it still may be in the works. I am not a huge fan of it, but will be out before it affects me.

 

I definitely see your concern cooperstown.

 

Again, I have no problem whatsoever in this "plus/minus grading system." It makes sense to me from the standpoint that all "A's" are not created equal. But I have a serious objection if only a few schools/districts use this system. At an absolute minimum, this should be a statewide decision so we know that all students within Kentucky are being graded equally and can therefore compete on a level playing field for scholarships.

 

I plan to call the Board of Education this week to see what information they can provide. I'll post again when/if I know something.

[sweet16]

The scales used by one school vs another are immaterial. .

 

I disagree with that. If one school has a 90 as a B and another school has a 90 as an A. Two students could have the same average but a 4.0 compared to a 3.0.

[Habib]

I went through the same frustration. I had the same questions, but I can't remember the answers. :lol: I do recall that colleges would sometimes calculate the GPA on their own based on the grades or allow it to be converted.

 

I also hate the scale. 94-100 was an A, 87-93 was a B and so on.

[cooperstown]

I disagree with that. If one school has a 90 as a B and another school has a 90 as an A. Two students could have the same average but a 4.0 compared to a 3.0.

 

I agree with you whole-heartedly. To say that scales from one school are immaterial versus the scales of another is simply off-base and speak to the very core of this issue. I don't believe colleges do near the in-depth analysis of grades as is being claimed. Can you imagine the amount of work and time it would take to decipher each school/district's grading system for every prospective student so that they could all be compared equally? And, even if so, why make it so complicated? Everyone in the state should be on the same scale so we know with certainly that apples are being compared with apples.

[sweet16]

I don't believe colleges do near the in-depth analysis of grades as is being claimed. Can you imagine the amount of work and time it would take to decipher each school/district's grading system for every prospective student so that they could all be compared equally?

 

 

 

Everyone in the state should be on the same scale so we know with certainly that apples are being compared with apples.

 

 

 

I am with you, I don't see colleges going that in-depth to check out everybody's grading scale.

 

I also think all schools should be on the same grading scale.

[Ram]

I am with you, I don't see colleges going that in-depth to check out everybody's grading scale.

 

I also think all schools should be on the same grading scale.

Count me in. In fact, I know they don't, and more specifically, the people granting scholarships do not.

 

Raceland, until this past school year, used the 94-100 - A, 85-93 - B, and so on. This past school year they changed to 90-100 - A, 80-89 - B, and so on. This was done because most of the other schools in the area was using this scale and Raceland students were missing out on academic specific scholarships. Students from other schools who had an "A" in a class with a percentage of 92% was getting the scholarship because the student at Raceland had a "B" for that same 92%.

 

I was told by teachers and counselors that colleges and Scholarship boards were only looking at the letter grade, and not the percentage.