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<p>I thought weighting was intended to introduce fairness into the rankings, so that kids taking harder classes wouldn’t be penalized as much for lower grades. Weighting seems to have no point if there is no ranking.</p>
<p>I’m thankful that my son’s school neither weights nor ranks. The transcript just speaks for itself.</p>
<p>^The exact same thing happened to my sister in law and 30 years later she’s still grumbling about it. Personally I think the school should see there is a flaw in their system and at least have co-valedictorians.</p>
<p>I would not get too worked up over class rank, unless you are in a State like Texas where admission is determined by unweighted class rank or you are applying for a scholarship where unweighted class rank is a factor. My son had an unweighted GPA of 4.0, but based on weighted GPA (the offical one) he was not even in the top 5%. That was with taking the most difficult schedule possible while taking mandatory unweighted classes (like PE) and unweighted classes that he wanted to take (all possible choir classes). He was accepted at one of the top universities in the country (and nobody else who applied was accepted). If your student is not aiming for one of the Top Tier schools, then working to get the highest GPA may make more sense. My son could have taken some of his mandatory classes Pass/Fail (and his GPA would have been higher), but he felt that it would give a poor impression to the top schools that he was applying to.</p>
<p>You got an A in gym? Who cares, you grade-grubbing little snit? <strong><em>HARD KICK</em></strong></p>
<p>[EDIT: I don’t mean you, Hat. I just realized my comment could appear to be a reply to your post, but it’s not.]</p>
<p>All non-academic classes should be pass/fail. I should start a movement. But it’s Friday.</p>
<p>Weighted or unweighted, whatever the system, people will find a way to game it. At my son’s high school, which doesn’t weight and counts all classes equally including relatively work-free “independent study” options, the most academically inclined student is often the Sal – taking second place to a student who is smart but took a less challenging curriculum.</p>
<p>In a school as small as his, Val vs Sal is a significant difference in percentage ranking, enough to make a significant difference in scholarship eligibility.</p>
<p>For my son, that difference could have made a difference of $10k/year or more. I’m glad he made the choice he made – he took a full load of the classes he found most interesting and a no-credit TA position with faculty he wanted to learn from, knowing that he’d take a GPA hit while his competition was not doing the same. Endless angst (about $40k worth) on my end of the house, but there was never a question that it was the right choice for him. His year was rough but satisfying. His competitor took courses she didn’t want to, strictly for the sake of the Val title, and complained through much of the year.</p>
<p>He finished second, but got the scholarship because he’d been first when the admission decision was made. And apparently the terms of that particular scholarship are now under review because there are many cases like his.</p>
<p>Both students came out well and are happily attending their top choice colleges with merit aid. The colleges are very different, but so are the students. Both are good kids who will no doubt enjoy plenty of success in life, and their friendship is intact.</p>
<p>I guess my point is, I think it usually works out. People will always game the system, but imho there are <em>so</em> many good choices for kids at that level that it’s not really a zero-sum game. Most of the stress we go through over this stuff is pointless.</p>
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<p>Weighting can make a difference for admissions.</p>
<p>Weighting can make a difference for merit $$</p>
<p>" get straight As with most rigorous schedule -
LOL, how “CC” of you to assume that is possible for all of our children. The gaming comes for those students who are not perfect." - </p>
<p>D. (college junior) observed by living with other girls that kids who have low GPA just do not study enough. They spend more time complaining about being busy, instead of just use the time for studying. Gimmicks will not work in college. Some kids get very frustrated, dissapointed and even depressed, because their expectations do not meet reality. They fall out, they did not learn in HS how to attain their goal, which is much more important than all this class ranking gimmicks game. Hard work always pays off, much more than brilliance / talents. Cannot be talented in everything. Some classes are easier, other are harder and need additional effort. Kids who learn this in HS, will be much more prepared for college and future career.</p>
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<p>I agree, to a point. According to the author of Outliers, the answer to the question “Why do Asians do better in school?” is “They work harder.”</p>
<p>But you can’t deny that there are differences in IQ - by definition, half the people are above average and half are below average. You can say everyone should just get the highest grades in the hardest classes, but of course, that really isn’t possible for everyone.</p>
<p>The “just study more” method works for grading that is done objectively, like multiple choice tests. But many high school classes include work that is graded much more subjectively. It takes a bit of luck to not be the quiet girl in the class where the teacher gives the highest grades to the cute boys who flirt with her.</p>
<p>Here’s a story from my kids’ HS. Students in pre-AP bio have to build a model of a cell. Twins did their projects together - turned in idential projects to two different teachers. One got a 100, the other got a 70 (lowest passing grade.) Bad luck won’t keep a great student from being near the top of her class - but it could mean the difference between Val or Sal and a bit lower.</p>
<p>“just study more” - is not always study longer hours. D. is a paid tutor at college (oficial position - “Supplemental Instructor”. Kids love her sessions and some improved their grade which was noticed by Chem. prof who she works for. D said that some kids spend much more time then needed because of incorrect approach. They try to memorize more instead of reaching complete understanding of concept. Some of them get even surprized that material is much easier then it appears when they actually understand it instead of working very hard and long hours trying to memorize it. It applies to classes like Math, Chem, Physics, Econ… By spending less in some classes, they can have more time available for others where pure grind is unavoidable, like Orgo, Bio. Yes, there are few geniuies out there, but I am not talking about them. Most kids are just average, but some have work ethic to get those straight As, and some do not. Thinking otherwise is not helpful because it makes person to fill out of control of their destiny, and nobody should feel that way, it might lead to depression and very negative concequences.<br>
I told D when she was 5 years old that doing her homework her very best will result in all As and it should be her priority. She has followed this strategy with success, graduating #1 in her HS class and continues with the same GPA in college. Some of her classes reguired enourmous effort from her, other were easy.</p>