Transcripting AP classes: extra unit, extra grade point?

[daijobu]

If your students earns a grade in an AP class, do you add some amount to the grade point (0.3? 1.0?) or do you add an extra fraction of a unit or credit?  

 

Also, can someone explain the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?  

[wapiti]

I think you just described the difference yourself :).  A weighted GPA may have an extra point (usually 1.0 on a 4-pt scale, I think?) for an AP grade.  My understanding is that there's a wide variety in weighting systems among high schools and that many college admissions offices unweight and/or apply their own system of weighting for uniform comparisons.

[quark]

I usually see the grade weighted vs adding a fraction of a unit to credits. And yes, wapiti is right. You described the difference between weighted and unweighted! :laugh:

 

DS's transcript is only going to show unweighted. Partly because I am too confused/ lazy to count his weighted GPA (with AP, CC, uni classes in the mix) and partly because his top choice school is going to recalculate it anyway.

[Dmmetler]

Also, usually an extra credit hour or part of a credit hour isn't going to help. That 4x4 plus some extras is pretty standard, and even if some of those are 1.3 or 1.5 vs 1.0, I think a transcript without the 4x4 classes is going to put the student at a detriment-and if you have the 4x4 with an AP or two, that will stand by itself.

 

[Luckymama]

D's transcript shows both weighted (1.0 bump for AP and uni DE) and unweighted GPAs. At least one school she will apply to uses weighted GPAs in cut-offs for scholarships and special programs.

[Julie of KY]

I only use unweighted. Some schools have said that they take everyone's grades and weight them to the college's standards rather than the high school's standard.

[MarkT]

Almost all the high schools around me use (including DS'  charter school)

  5.0  for  A in AP class

  4.5  for  A in honors class

  4.0  for A in regular classes

this is the weighted GPA mostly for class rank

most colleges also want the unweighted GPA which uses 4.0 as the highest point

[Sebastian (a lady)]

The senior counselor who handled homeschoolers at one of our college visits (public ivy) recommended weighting. They haven't it aid based on scores and gpa in "rigorous coursework."

I have weighted and unweighted gpa on my transcript. I also have a page where I show my calculations and justification for weighting each course.

[mirabillis]

Also, usually an extra credit hour or part of a credit hour isn't going to help. That 4x4 plus some extras is pretty standard, and even if some of those are 1.3 or 1.5 vs 1.0, I think a transcript without the 4x4 classes is going to put the student at a detriment-and if you have the 4x4 with an AP or two, that will stand by itself.

 

 

May I bump up an old thread?

 

I don't understand what this means. What is 4x4  - what does this mean? Either the poster or anyone else in the know... Thanks!!

[eternalsummer]

4 math, 4 english, 4 science, 4 history/social studies (but generally history)

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Sometimes it's 4x5. That means all the credits listed above, plus 4 credits of a foreign language. 

[Mom22ns]

D's transcript shows both weighted (1.0 bump for AP and uni DE) and unweighted GPAs. At least one school she will apply to uses weighted GPAs in cut-offs for scholarships and special programs.

 

This was our experience too.

 

I hadn't planned to weight grade, but the college ds attends specifically told me to be sure and do it. They don't do it for you and they do use weighted grades for scholarships. They warned me that many homeschoolers often miss out on scholarship opportunities because they don't weight grades.

 

Dd applied only to State U's and weighted grades wouldn't have done anything for her there, so I didn't bother.

[Gratia271]

When DD reached out to several prospective uni's on her list, she was advised to provide a weighted gpa.  I also delineated how we arrived at course designations and grading on my homeschool profile.  We followed the norm in our state with weighting, which is 4.0 regular, 4.5 honors, 5.0 AP /post-AP/ DE.

[Arcadia]

Also, can someone explain the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA?

Link is for UC/CSU but you can use the same calculations but include every class instead of a-g approved classes only.

http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/documents/cat_113-128/Calculating_GPA.pdf

 

And the current weighted GPA debate for Palo Alto High and Gunn High. Gunn reports weighted but Paly does not. So Paly parents are trying to get the weighted gpa in their kids transcripts.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/10/24/palo-alto-schools-weigh-adding-weighted-gpa-to-transcripts/

Edited October 28, 2016 by Arcadia

[MarkT]

 

And the current weighted GPA debate for Palo Alto High and Gunn High. Gunn reports weighted but Paly does not. So Paly parents are trying to get the weighted gpa in their kids transcripts.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/10/24/palo-alto-schools-weigh-adding-weighted-gpa-to-transcripts/

"Would weighted GPAs create unhealthy focus in high schools?"

Yes AP and honor classes are harder and should be weighted - everyone does not get a trophy - welcome to the real world

 

A scam is when a person graduates as the valedictorian without challenging themselves - happened at my nephew's school a few years back - non weighted GPAs

[eternalsummer]

When I was in HS the only problem with weighted courses was that you couldn't take fine arts classes (which weren't weighted, regardless of the level of the class) because they'd drag down your GPA.  I was not the valedictorian because I was committed to band and orchestra; the top 4 people in our class (of 600+) did not take any fine arts or other non-weighted electives.  They took the same courses as me, but while I took band they took a study hall.  Study hall doesn't get a grade :)  I did quit art after 10th grade because there was no weighted option in 11th and I was tired of losing GPA for it.

 

I think they definitely have to weight grades, but I wish there were a way to keep from discouraging high achievers to drop everything except academics just to get the GPA.  For a while they were letting us (people with high GPAs) take band and orchestra as TAs- we had to do the stapling and the attendance records, but we got to keep the grade out of our GPA that way.  Then someone whose kid didn't take music classes was pissed, so they stopped allowing that.

[dirty ethel rackham]

D's transcript shows both weighted (1.0 bump for AP and uni DE) and unweighted GPAs. At least one school she will apply to uses weighted GPAs in cut-offs for scholarships and special programs.

We did the same.  I asked an admissions counselor about it and she recommended weighting because that is the GPA that they use for entry to special programs and some scholarships.  We did 5 points for an A for all AP and DE classes as well as honors classes because that is what our local public high school does.

 

When I was in HS the only problem with weighted courses was that you couldn't take fine arts classes (which weren't weighted, regardless of the level of the class) because they'd drag down your GPA.  I was not the valedictorian because I was committed to band and orchestra; the top 4 people in our class (of 600+) did not take any fine arts or other non-weighted electives.  They took the same courses as me, but while I took band they took a study hall.  Study hall doesn't get a grade :)  I did quit art after 10th grade because there was no weighted option in 11th and I was tired of losing GPA for it.

 

I think they definitely have to weight grades, but I wish there were a way to keep from discouraging high achievers to drop everything except academics just to get the GPA.  For a while they were letting us (people with high GPAs) take band and orchestra as TAs- we had to do the stapling and the attendance records, but we got to keep the grade out of our GPA that way.  Then someone whose kid didn't take music classes was pissed, so they stopped allowing that.

Wow.  That sounds like a total bummer.  Our high school, a high performing school, did away with ranking because there were students with higher than a 4.0 who didn't make the top 25%.  I don't think they do valedictorian either.  Also, this high school requires plenty of classes that are not honors or AP (must have fine arts credit, technology, pe, etc.)  By not ranking, they were finding that there was less pressure to take all weighed classes and students were seeking a more rounded and less pressured education.  There are still students who try to take as many APs as possible, but that often is family culture about expectations of getting into uber-selective schools. 

[Arcadia]

Paly is going for weighted GPA for their seniors too so their senior can qualify for the U of Oregon scholarship.

 

"Before next semester starts, Palo Alto high schools will produce transcripts for current seniors that include weighted grade-point averages, the school board unanimously decided late Tuesday night.

...

The board took on the issue with urgency after Paly senior Maya Katz asked for her weighted GPA to be included in her transcript so she meets the threshold, 3.8 or higher, for a scholarship to the University of Oregon.

 

Though both Paly and Gunn provide official letters and make phone calls for students who need to share weighted GPAs, the University of Oregon only accepts the GPA listed in a student’s transcript and not letters from the school.

 

Paly officials strongly advocated on behalf of Katz and said Tuesday they are hopeful they’ve resolved her specific case."

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/02/palo-alto-weighted-gpas-will-be-in-transcripts-later-this-year/