<p>My school uses this system:</p>
<p>4.3- A+
4.0- A
3.7- A-
(etc, same pattern)</p>
<p>One point is added for H/AP classes (5.3 = A+ in an AP class)</p>
<p>I personally like it better, because if we just used a 4.0 = 90-100 scale, I think that our top 10 would have the same exact GPA!</p>
<p>"remember, in general kids in public high schools are all the same - a few winners, a whole lotta losers. you know that people who rank in a certain percentile in 1 school would rank in the same percentile at another school. the only exceptions would be to schools which you have to apply to - other than that its all easily comparable."</p>
<p>I actually don't agree at all with that. My public high school is in a well-to-do community and we have a very competitive top tier of students. If I were at another public school in, say, an inner-city or working-class town, I would easily be valedictorian, rather than falling squarely into the top 5%. There are kids who don't make top 50% at our school who might have a chance at top 10% elsewhere. All public high schools are not created equal. </p>
<p>That said, my school uses a 9-point weighted scale as follows:
Honors/AP:
A = 9
A- = 8.7
B+ = 8.3
B = 8
etc.</p>
<p>Curriculum I (mid-level)
A = 8
A- = 7.7
B+ = 7.3
B = 7
etc.</p>
<p>Curriculum II (low-level)
A = 7
A- = 6.7
B+ = 6.3
B = 6
etc.</p>
<p>So, sophomore year I had Honors: A, A-, B+; Curr. I A, A and Junior year I had Honors A, A, A, and Curr. I A, A (we only count academic classes and some higher-level electives in the scale). This is (9 + 8.7 + 8.3 + 8 + 8 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 8 + 8)/10, or 8.5. I like this scale precisely because it doesn't lend itself to comparison with other schools. It's a measure of how well one student did compared to a classmate.</p>