Bedford board weighs limiting VLACS grades on high‑school GPA while keeping credit access

School district staff on Monday proposed that most alternative-credit coursework completed outside Bedford High School be recorded as “credit only” on students’ Bedford High School transcripts, a change intended to protect the high school GPA and reduce incentives for students to overload their schedules.

The proposal, presented by Lisa Jacques, Dean of Student Services, would keep the credit on a student’s record and allow students to send outside transcripts to colleges, but would exclude those outside grades from Bedford High School’s GPA calculation. Jacques said the recommendation responds to a rapid rise in requests and a mismatch between grades earned at the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS) and grades earned in Bedford classrooms.

Why it matters: The board heard data showing rapid growth in requests for outside credit and a wide gap in grade distributions between Bedford courses and VLACS courses that are currently ported into students’ transcripts. Board members said they want to protect the integrity of the Bedford High School (BHS) diploma and to reduce pressure on students who pile on outside courses in addition…