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Hopkins board hears research on weighted grades; proposal would weight AP at 5.0, honors at 4.5
Summary
District presenters recommended weighting AP and honors courses and showing both weighted and unweighted GPAs on transcripts, while excluding PSEO/CIS under current state rules; the board pressed administrators on equity, retroactivity, and a proposed review committee.
District officials presented research March 17 on how a weighted-grade system could affect student opportunity and scholarship eligibility, recommending AP courses be reported on a 5.0 scale and honors courses on a 4.5 scale while keeping all other courses on a 4.0 scale.
Dr. Kuehl, the district's college-and-career specialist, said many colleges and scholarship programs favor the higher GPA when provided and that Hopkins students have lost merit aid where other high schools weight advanced courses. "We have students this year who are going to lose out on $16,000 a year — $64,000 across four years — because she got an A-minus," Dr. Kuehl said, arguing weighted grades can affect affordability.
Principal Gene Ward outlined the draft policy mechanics: students must earn at least a C-minus in AP or honors to receive a weight; both weighted and unweighted GPAs would appear on transcripts; Hopkins would continue not to publish class rank; PSEO and CIS courses would not be weighted under current Minnesota statute guidance. Ward also recommended forming a review committee to consider classes that demonstrate AP- or honors-level rigor despite lacking the title.
Board members pressed administrators on possible downsides and equity concerns. Director Johanna Hyman asked how a weighted system could hurt students; administrators replied that the main risks are creating competitiveness or inequitable outcomes if safeguards like not publishing class rank are removed. Board members also asked whether the district could selectively weight certain PSEO courses; presenters said a 2024 law limits local cherry-picking of concurrent-enrollment courses, so the policy must either treat all PSEO/CIS classes the same or not weight them at all.
Administrators offered implementation options — do nothing, phase in for incoming freshmen, implement for all students next academic year, or apply retroactively — and recommended implementation for all students moving forward with the caveat that retroactive application was not recommended because it would change the "rules in the middle of the game." Ward said a phased or staggered roll-out remains possible based on community feedback and policy-committee review.
The board did not take action at the workshop; presenters said the policy would go next to the policy monitoring committee for more detailed drafting and community engagement before returning to the full board.
