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Centennial SD will study GPA calculations after high school student's question; no immediate change recommended
Summary
A William Tennant High School student question prompted an ad hoc committee review of Centennial's precision-based GPA scale; staff recommended no immediate changes, citing fairness to current students and technological and external implications, and will add the matter to a standing agenda item.
A student's question about how Centennial School District calculates grade point average prompted staff to form a small committee and present findings to the Education Student Services Committee on Jan.14.
Doctor Zakat said the student's concern led district staff to convene teachers, AP instructors and counselors to examine how GPA is calculated at William Tennant High School and how that calculation affects student opportunities. "That was, we we formed an impromptu committee that was put out to all the staff at William Tennant High School," he said.
Mr. Tomlinson, who described Centennial's system as a precision-based GPA (assigning quality points for each percentage point rather than broad buckets), explained how the district issues a school profile with course lists and GPA scales that colleges use to contextualize transcripts. "We give quality points for every percent that a student earns," he said, adding that the system rewards incremental gains.
Staff reported one notable external effect: three Pennsylvania institutions (including Bloomsburg and Lock Haven) use unweighted-GPA buckets for certain scholarships, which in a staff example produced roughly a $1,000-per-year difference between bucket thresholds. Staff characterized that result as an anomaly limited to a small set of institutions and said they will follow up with partner colleges.
For now, staff recommended against changing the district's GPA calculation midstream to avoid disadvantaging current students and because of technical and policy implications across systems. Doctor Zakat said the district will assess current students and graduates, survey perspectives through Naviance and add GPA calculation to an academic council standing agenda to determine whether any future recommendation is warranted.
Quotes: "We are not recommending or making any decisions about any type of change to our GPA for a number of reasons," Doctor Zakat said. Mr. Tomlinson added that the district will "assess our graduates, our current students, and what is their perspective of our GPA and our GPA system."
Next steps: staff will follow up with the named institutions regarding scholarship treatment, incorporate graduate/current-student feedback (via Naviance and the academic council), and return to the committee if substantive changes are recommended.
