Senior tells board grading scale could cost classmates UW-Madison direct-admit slots

A senior student who identified herself during public comment urged the Stoughton Area School District Board to revisit the high school's grading scale after students and council leaders raised concerns about compliance with the Wisconsin direct-admit guarantee (Act 95).

"Hello, my name is Ara Coopro and I will be a senior at SHS next school year," the student said. She told the board she and student-council leaders met with administration to raise concerns that SHS's current grade-to-GPA conversion produces a high number of 4.0 GPAs compared with neighboring schools. "It is not equitable to compare students with A's ranging from 95 to 100 to students with A's ranging from 89.5 to 92," she said, arguing a plus/minus scale could better differentiate top-performing students.

The student told the board the Class of 2027 numbers included about 210 students and roughly 20 students with 4.0 GPAs; she calculated that a 5% threshold could mean about 10 students would be affected in a tiebreaker scenario for direct-admit slots to the University of WisconsinMadison. She said student council proposed changing the grading scale and mentioned that some districts implemented midyear changes or different tiebreakers to comply with state guidance.

She said the student council had brought proposals to Dr. Keyser and advisors but had not received follow-up; according to the transcript, Dr. Keyser told the group that changing the scale would take years and he did not see a reason to change it at this time. The board did not take immediate action during public comment, but the student asked for increased transparency and earlier notice for students who might want to retake tests or raise ACT scores before deadlines.

Board members thanked the student for her presentation. No formal action or vote on grading policy occurred during the meeting.