Staff Editorial
On June 3, the MBUSD School Board voted to award a boost in grade point average (GPA) for all honors classes at Costa. This measure is effective in providing a more accurate sense of one’s GPA and encourages students to take more rigorous classes, contributing to better college preparation.
Since 2015, Costa students’ GPAs have been weighted on a five-point scale if they take AP courses. This means that students have both a weighted average, out of five points, and an unweighted average, out of four points, depending on the classes they take. A 4.0 unweighted GPA indicates that a student has received As throughout their entire time in high school. However, as students take more AP and honors courses, their weighted GPA increases, potentially surpassing the four-point limit. The MBUSD Board voted to change Costa’s GPA policy to more accurately represent the academic rigor of honors classes, making more students eligible for the Honor Roll and Scholar Athlete recognition.
Costa’s new GPA policy is an effective measure by which to gauge the level of difficulty of a student’s coursework. In previous years, students who took an honors course would be credited with the same number of points as another student who took the same subject at the CP level, creating a disparity between the work completed and the perceived benefit received at the end of the class. Because honors classes are given the same weight as AP courses, students are encouraged to take more challenging classes, as honors courses do not come with the expectation of taking an AP exam at the end of the year.
Furthermore, if more students are motivated to take honors-level classes to boost their GPA, they will likely be better-equipped to rise to the academic challenges they will face in college. According to a study by the College Board, students who take advanced classes in high school receive better grades in college, have higher college graduation rates, and are more likely to obtain advanced degrees. If potential AP students are held back by fears of doing poorly in class or on the AP exam but want to achieve a higher GPA, honors classes now provide a less-daunting alternative, equipping more students with the tools to succeed in college. Thus, Costa’s new honors GPA boost poses both immediate and far-reaching benefits to Costa students.
While Costa may use a different GPA policy in the new school year, each college a student applies to has a different method of calculating GPA. For example, the University of California (UC) system’s GPA requirements take into account only UC-certified honors courses and AP or IB courses, while the California State Universities (CSUs) provide a GPA boost for each honors course on a student’s transcript, regardless of the student’s caliber by the college’s standards. Even though the GPA boost Costa now offers for honors classes has little to no practical effect on a student’s college admission chances, its possibility to encourage more students to take more advanced courses will ultimately benefit Costa’s student body because it mimics college rigor.
The MBUSD Board’s decision to award a GPA boost to students who take honors classes is beneficial as it will give students a more accurate idea of their GPA based on the rigor of their course load.
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