<p>I'm pretty sure my school doesn't rank but I wish it would because we don't have as much grade inflation as many of the schools of people on this site. I want to get a better idea of where I stand, and I want colleges too as well because my gpa would be considered bad at many schools nationwide but is actually pretty good at my school. Anyway, how do your schools determine class rank?</p>
<p>We have class rank by GPA, so you have two ranks: Unweighted and Weighted.</p>
<p>simply by gpa? what about difficulty of courseload? shouldn't that be factored in?</p>
<p>Yes, difficulty of course load is factored into the weighted GPA; typically, AP classes and classes taken at a college get a bonus point (an A = 5 pts on a 4-pt scale); some HS also add a point for honors classes. But individual colleges apply their own standards, which might well be different from the HS. An unfortunate result of weighting is that top students are reluctant to take enrichment classes that are not weighted (e.g., choir, jazz band, studio art) because even if they get straight A's, their GPA will be lower than students taking only weighted classes. Thus, the policy discourages talented kids from participating in the arts. One solution is to participate in off-campus activities (youth symphony, private dance studios, etc.) where grades won't be affected. This works well for individuals who can afford it, not so well for others -- yet one more discriminatory practice in public schools.</p>
<p>thanks, that helps explain why my gpa is low for this site. My school only gives half a point for APs that we pass and it doesn't really compensate so some AP students have lower gpas than students who take our ridiculously easy non-honors classes.</p>
<p>quote: "that helps explain why my gpa is low for this site. My school only gives half a point for APs that we pass and it doesn't really compensate so some AP students have lower gpas than students who take our ridiculously easy non-honors classes."</p>
<p>Right. So not to worry. Your HS rank (if your school ranks) might be artificially low, but LACs will look at the bigger picture.</p>
<p>there have been some measures to make it so that you can take art classes and still have a high weighted gpa...they have AP Studio Art, AP Art History, AP Music Theory, etc.</p>
<p>greenday said: "there have been some measures to make it so that you can take art classes and still have a high weighted gpa...they have AP Studio Art, AP Art History, AP Music Theory, etc."</p>
<p>Yes, I've seen some feeble effort to introduce those at local HS; so far, no go. There seems to be an overwhelming bias against artsy classes, as though they were intellectually inferior to math and science and shouldn't be encouraged. I fear we're looking at a bleak future.</p>
<p>well the two AP Art classes are at my school. i dont do either cuz i pretty much suck at art, but o well lol.</p>
<p>The thing is art and music have been looked as fields where you live dirt poor and can be done without actually studying anything, so thats why art and music classes are no longer popular.</p>