<p>DRab, I wasn't asking if people could only take honors or AP classes, I was asking if those classes were graded on a 5.0 scale (as they were at my local public HS) as opposed to a 4.0 scale, which I think leads to people de-valuing a 4.0.</p>
<p>Mhmm. Well, at my high school, in most honors and all AP classes, a c got a 3.0, a b a 4.0, and an A a 5.0, so yes, it does devalue that 4.0, although sometimes that is the top available. This is why many schools keep in mind "unweighted" GPA from high school.</p>
<p>
Admissions to graduate schools, thing for resume and thus employment, or that whole reason for grades namely feedback about your performance.</p>
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Cornell gives out 4.3's for A+'s, though A+ is hard to come by.
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That was true in my day also ... and I knew a guy who graduated with about a 4.2 average (when the average was about 3.0) ... he was a tad smarter and a better work than I.</p>
<p>UVa does A+s but they count as a 4.0 just like a regular A....A-s are 3.7, B+s 3.3, and so on</p>
<p>okrogius, we were talking about high school GPAs.</p>
<p>there is no a+ because there is no point. you cant get higher than a 4.0 and thats what an a is.</p>
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Alright, don't fool yourself. People are grading your tests. If you are required to show work, whether or not you showed enough is a subjective decision. How many points you should be given is a subjective decision. What percentage of points count as what grade is subjective. What the curve or step scale will be is subjective. Whether or not one has a good argument is subjective, too. Yes, the sciences seems more "objective," but it is not immune to subjectivity (although nothing is, really, seeing that humnas are all subjects perceiving things.)
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<p>I do realize that nothing is completely objective. However, in math and, to a lesser extent, science there is a "right answer". You either evaluated an integral correctly or you didn't. You either remembered the reaction of an alkyne and Lindlar catalyst correctly or you didn't. Partial credit still means you were wrong, just not entirely. Whereas you can interpret the meaning of a poem or a sculpture anyway you want; there's not "right answer". The same with the motives of an agent in an important historical event or a congressional candidate in the '78 midterms. That's what I meant when I made my rather large blanket statement that the humanities are subjective whereas the sciences are not.</p>
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there is no a+ because there is no point. you cant get higher than a 4.0 and thats what an a is.
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<p>That's incorrect; there is a point. Because at schools where they allow A+'s you get 4.33 points per hour, it always raises your GPA. There is no point only if you already have a 4.0, which isn't easy either since A-'s bring your GPA down.</p>
<p>feenotype, I agree with much of what you say, but it is far more fair to say it as you did in that last post.</p>
<p>Also, as to subjectivity, you can interpret the meaning of something anyway you want, but your grader will most assuredly be kinder to a well made and supported argument than one without any basis. If I write something well supported well, the grade will be better than something written poorly with an argument that has no support whatsoever.</p>
<p>As to packrbackr, there are A+s. Is your post about places where there are not A+s?</p>
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equine, my school had AP and Honors classes, but it wasn't possible to take ONLY these, and I don't know of anywhere where it is.
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<p>I took all preIB and IB except for PE and band... does that count?</p>
<p>If your school doesn't give A+s, then they don't give it, and they aren't going to change it. Honestly, if it's a 4.0 scale, they shouldn't give you grades that can put you off the scale. If they are giving pluses the scale should be out of 4.3.</p>
<p>The entire point of the +/- system is ensure that an 81 and an 89 doesn't receive equal grade point weighting. What is the difference between a 81 and a 89 and a 91 and 99 that the former pair should be converted to letter grades as a B-and B+ but the latter shouldn't be converted into a A- and a A+?</p>
<p>well, soccerguy315, that's pretty close. Is it possible to get a 5.0 at that high school?</p>
<p>As to my school and similar schools A+ policy, I really wonder about it. I also doubt it will change anytime soon, and perhaps this is because some people don't understand or are not aware of the effects of the policy.</p>
<p>feenotype,</p>
<p>I agree with that analysis, however I still think if you can get a 4.3, then the scale should be out of 4.3, not 4.</p>
<p>I also think that if you are legitimately scoring 100% in a class, it's probably not hard enough / you shouldn't be in that class. How many people get a perfect score on every test during the semester?</p>
<p>DRab,</p>
<p>preIB classes weren't weighted, and the IB classes that were (not all) were given .5 extra. The highest GPA in my graduating class was a 4.23 or something (slightly less than 4.25) and the kid got an A in every class he took, and took more IB classes than anyone else. I believe 11 kids in my class of ~350-375 graduated with a 4.0 or higher. And to get an A, you had to get a 94% or higher, a 93% got you a B+ = 3.5.</p>
<p>So the 5.0 still isn't possible. As to </p>
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I also think that if you are legitimately scoring 100% in a class, it's probably not hard enough / you shouldn't be in that class. How many people get a perfect score on every test during the semester?
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</p>
<p>Are you going to kick the students who just happen to be amazing out of those intro logic courses, or whatever else, making them take higher levels just because they happen to be that good? I don't think that's fair. There might be some things they need to know in those courses for the next level. Should those fluent in languages start at the first level in college? Well, if they have no idea how to write/spell, then maybe some special class should be worked out, but you can't really do that for every case when a student is that great in something and wants to take it. If you happen to be that good, perhaps you deserve the grade. If you want to major in something, and you're required to take a certain class that is too easy for you, you still have to take it.</p>
<p>At most prestigious ous colleges like MIT, they award A+ and above 4.0 gpa's.</p>
<p>Um, no they don't. At least not in the way you're thinking.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You can get an A+, or A-, or anything else with a +/- modifier, but it doesn't count in your GPA and it's not recorded on your official transcript, because those modifiers are internal only. A+ = A = A- at MIT.</p></li>
<li><p>MIT's GPA is on a 5-point scale (no one knows why), but when you apply for grad school etc, you have to convert your GPA to a 4-point scale. My MIT transcript says that my GPA is a 4.5, but I have to write 3.5 on my grad school apps. It's not weighted, it's just on a different scale (A = 5.0, B = 4.0, C = 3.0, D = 1.0, F = 0.0).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>There are only two fair ways to do GPA - either an A+ = A = A-, or an A- is 3.7 (or 3.66667 or whatever) and an A+ is a 4.3 (or 4.3333333 or whatever). Anything else isn't really balanced.</p>
<p>A+ should be 4.0. It seems like if an A+ should be the highest you can get.</p>
<p>And not using a modifying system would be unfair to those on the higher end of the range.</p>
<p>Ah, but for most of us at MIT, the system works pretty well -- there are, for example, a lot more B-'s given out than B+'s.</p>
<p>Sure, it sucks to get a B+, since it gets recorded as a B, but it's an awesome system when you get a B-!</p>
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I agree with that analysis, however I still think if you can get a 4.3, then the scale should be out of 4.3, not 4.</p>
<p>I also think that if you are legitimately scoring 100% in a class, it's probably not hard enough / you shouldn't be in that class. How many people get a perfect score on every test during the semester?
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<p>I dont think you should punish someone just because they are particular good at a subject. And while it may be highly improbable, it's possible to earn very high more on objective exams and thus earn an A+. But I think it's rare. I, for example, have been in school for 3 years at two different schools and I have gotten an A+ exactly twice. Once for a class I had to take again because the credit wouldn't transfer and once for a 1-hour seminar. Since earning an A+ is so rare, this is even more reason to reward those who genuinely earn them.</p>