<p>The schools in our use a numerical grading system, but I guess that is not the norm. I always see grades presented and discussed in these forums on a 4.0 scale.</p>
<p>A 4.0 GPA, perfection that is, seems to be the benchmark for competitive students applying to top colleges. Even with today's grade inflation, students cannot obtain a 100% GPA. I have to wonder if a student presenting a GPA in the high 90's seems less "perfect" to adcoms in comparison to those with 4.0 averages? Perhaps even subconsciously? Also, what numerical average would be considered a benchmark for top schools? Of course I realize that class rank puts the GPA into perspective, but still, in general what GPA would be expected?</p>
<p>If anyone has any insight on the topic I would appreciate your comments. At the end of 10th grade my child's GPA is at 97.67, and the lowest year end grade he has had is a 95. To those accustomed to a 4.0 scale, what is your reaction to those grades? And more importantly, does anyone know how it is perceived by adcoms?</p>
<p>The nice thing about 100-point scales is that there is rarely a four-way tie for valedictorian! </p>
<p>I do not think the scale matters at all and for most students, the 100-point scale is an advantage. Most admissions reps have an idea about schools and know how the scale works. If you look at a 90 average as a 4.0, a student with half 95s and half 85s could have a 4.0 average. Obviously this does not help a student whose average is 97.</p>
<p>This, IMO, is part of where standardized tests are important. They help point out whether a school’s grading scale is good or inflated if the grades match up with the scores.</p>
<p>Both of my kids’ schools had 100-point scales, and my son’s was a pretty screwy scale with 74 starting the D range and 69 failing. </p>
<p>The scales are explained in the school profiles. It all works out.</p>
<p>I would not use 90 as a 4.0 it is generally a 3.7. The OP’s 97 would translate to 4.0. Here is a fairly common scale where 69 is not failing…but a D+ or a 1.3</p>
<p>There are variants, but this one takes into consideration schools that assign A+ and equalizes it to schools that do not, etc. etc. Our high school was pretty close to this but in our school a 92 netting a B+ but we’re fairly deflationary.</p>
<p>I think adcoms would have to look at any GPA in the context of the school. Our HS uses a numerical system all year, but converts to letters on the transcript and in GPA calculations. (90-100 is an A, 80-89 is a B) I think your school’s scale would help the top performers, separating them from the lower A’s. At our school you could have a 90 average or a 98 average and be a 4.0.</p>
<p>And that’s unfortunate because that is grade inflation as is a 90 being the equivalent of a 4.0. This is why kids are generally measured against their own school as mamabear1234 points out.</p>
<p>You can’t equate a number score during the semester becoming a final letter grade to a final number for a semester grade. It usually means having a certain percentage of the material correct for exams and or homework. I remember a long time ago that son’s school may have had different criteria for an A- 93 for most but 90 for math at one time (they also had no + or -). A teacher can make a test/assignment/grading as easy or difficult as s/he wants to. I also remember being one of the top students who got an A on an Honors Chemistry exam in college with something like a 67%, including essay problems. The course was great (at a top ten Chemistry dept) and you really learned how much there was to know by being stretched on exams. Not grade inflation.</p>
<p>I personally like the more ambiguous A, B, C than a precise numerical course grade. Students shouldn’t feel as though their small point differences matter. </p>
<p>Crossposted my edit. Son’s school only gave unweighted A,B, C… and per semester for gpa. Quarter grades were just fyi- they could go down or up by the end of the final grading period. Some courses were only a semester so year long grades would not work.</p>
A NACAC survey found that most 4-year colleges recalculate GPA, which helps to standardize different grading scales at different highschools. For example, it’s my understanding that the UC schools recalculate with all grades 90/A- or higher treated as an A. So any student who had all grades 90/A- or better has at least a 4.0 GPA (“at least” because AP and UC approved honors are weighted). They also do not include freshman year in their recalculation. </p>
<p>Also note that many students are accepted to highly selective colleges without a UW 4.0 . The majority of the admitted freshman class had a less than perfect GPA in HS at the few colleges I’ve seen that publish this data.</p>
<p>Our school is on a trimester system. Classes are either one trimester or two trimester or three trimesters. The AP classes and a few other rigorous classes are scheduled for three trimesters.Three trimester classes are divided into A and B and C so grades are given each trimester and GPA is calculated each trimester. My son took an AP language but only took 2 trimesters (e.g. Spanish A and Spanish B) but did not sign up for third trimester. The 3 trimester classes are generally the most rigorous and sometimes you need or want all 3. 60 classes that are just over an hour long , 60 grades calculated culminating in a final unweighted GPA just before graduation.</p>
<p>Yet another reason why GPA is so difficult to compare. Our school calculates GPA using every quarter grade for every class from 9th grade through graduation. Depending on electives, that’s about 112 to 128 grades. No weighting for honors, AP, etc. To further complicate things, 9th grade is junior high so kids that graduate together in 12th often were not even in the same schools in 9th.</p>
<p>And yet another reason why so many schools still use the student’s SAT or ACT scores in admissions decisions, imperfect though those tests might be!</p>
<p>I can’t imagine a 97 GPA being a problem by any measure. I’d also never equate 89.6 as an average with having a 4.0 GPA. I know a lot of schools use a 10 point scale but in terms of GPA, with no weighting a 4.0 means no B’s. If all your grades are averaged using the percentage system, it seems quite unlikely that you had 89.6 (lowest A) in every single class so you would almost surely have some B’s on your transcript. </p>
<p>My kids’ school uses a 4 point system with weighting so some classes are worth 5. On the 100-point scale used to get the grades, 93 is the lowest A. No +/- grades given, and semester grades are used in calculating GPA (they don’t even get quarter report cards–just 2 6-week progress reports each semester.</p>
<p>I have had my share of problems with how GPAs in percentage translated to the 4.0 scale while chancing; I had to ask for the home state multiple times when faced with that request. </p>
<p>I knew that 90s from Maryland were not worth the same as 90s from New York (and Ontario), much less 90s from Alberta or Quebec (although a request from Quebec appeared only once since I started chancing here); as pointed out earlier, a 90 in Maryland is worth a 4.0, while a 90 would be worth ~3.5 in New York. And, as far as Quebec is concerned, a 85 average would qualify for a 4.0.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, GPAs cannot even be generalized by state. My kids attended three different high schools: two private, one public. Each used a different scale and weighted differently.</p>
<p>Only semester grades go into GPA (or reported on transcript) and those are made up of 40% 1st quarter grade, 40% second quarter and 20% final exam.</p>
<p>Each quarter grade is determined by a 100 scale grade that is computed throughout the quarter with assignments, projects, tests being graded as they go. For example a paper might be graded 20 out of a possible 30 points, a test 35 out of 40, a small homework assignment or quiz worth 5 out of 10 points. The 100 scale grade is computed as those assignments happen, with appropriate weight computed as it goes along. Seems complex to me but we have an internet grade viewer we can look at anytime and that’s how it goes.</p>
<p>To get an A I believe we need a 94, with 90-93 being an A-.</p>
<p>Once that 100 scale grade is converted to the letter grade for the quarter, it doesn’t matter anymore if it was on the high or low end of that grade range, it’s gone and only the letter grade is used going forward. My D always has a little hustle at the end of a quarter if she has a 93.9, for instance, to make sure she gets over 94 for that A.</p>
<p>Thanks for the comments. It seems that GPA systems vary even more than I had originally thought. So it makes sense that GPA is only viewed in admissions as a reference point in conjunction with rank, SAT I and II scores, and AP scores.</p>
<p>Last night I was watching some videos by a former Stanford adcom and when she was looking at a student with a 3.85 GPA she showed some disdain commenting, “he apparently had a B…or TWO.” It just got me thinking about how GPA is perceived because certainly for her, 4.0 was the benchmark she had in mind. I could just envision her saying, “oh…a 97% GPA, wow, that is like 3% of his high school work WRONG!” LOL</p>
<p>And if you’re in a large (4000+) HS with a sizable overachiever population and an equally sizable wealthy population who hire their kid’s own teachers or those next classroom over to tutor their kids may the force be with you, literally and figuratively.</p>
<p>Hopefully I’m not hijacking, but…My school does percentage, without ranking. Will they be relying primarily on my test scores then? (Intl too, if that helps)</p>