Weighted Grading System Essay

Enrolling in a college level Composition class as a high school junior has been a challenge, but provides me with rewards such as free college credits and the preparation for post-secondary education. However, taking the difficult class does not benefit my GPA or class rank. Many times, I have considered joining a high school english class instead, as it is less challenging, and there is a higher probability of receiving a better grade. These downfalls often deprive me and other students from registering in rigorous courses, especially with an unweighted grading system. An unweighted grading system is a standard concept where the average of all class grades is based on a 4.0 scale (“Weighted”). No matter the difficulty of courses one takes, he cannot exceed a 4.0 GPA; all A’s are worth 4.0 points, and each letter grade decreases by one point to an F amounting to zero. The unweighted system focuses more on grades and not the difficulty or effort of students work (Lindsay). A weighted system is generally based on a 5.0 scale. However, not every class is worth 5.0 points; only college, honors, and advanced placement (AP) courses are eligible for additional GPA, adding one point to every grade received for the more complex material (Grove). All standard high school classes remain on a 4.0 scale, taking both difficulty and grades into account when calculating a student 's GPA (Lindsay). One factor to take …show more content…
By taking Composition, a class that should reward me for my strenuous work, I have dropped below others who are not taking the higher level course. Schools should adopt the weighted grading system due to the fact that it rewards students, eliminates the risk of a lower GPA, and is more realistic when calculating class rank. Without it, many students are not receiving the recognition they deserve for pushing themselves through the rigorous high school