Unlike many schools in the area, Mount Vernon High School students do not have weighted GPAs. The GPAs are on a 4.0 scale and do not reflect the level of classes that some students take. This means that an A in an AP class has the same weight as an A in a regular, entry level class. For example, taking a class like AP Chemistry is counted the same as taking  culinary arts. 

In a weighted GPA system, it is on a 5.0 scale. This allows for an A in advanced classes to count more than an A in a regular class, reflecting the class’s course load and difficulty. 

The current system is not fair to students taking advanced classes because it requires them to put in a lot more effort just to have the same GPA as someone who is not taking an advanced class and has a much lighter workload. It can also cause a student who is in an advanced class to have a lower GPA than someone who is taking regular classes due to the difference in difficulty between the classes that they take. 

Weighted grades also encourage students to take harder classes, providing an incentive to choose the more challenging option. It gives students a reason to take the harder classes instead of only taking a class because it is an “easy A” because they will have different results regarding their GPA, instead of being the same with unweighted GPAs. 

For example 83% of freshmen, 77% of sophomores, 79% of juniors, and 86% of seniors are on honor roll for last semester, meaning they have a 3.5 gpa or higher. This large grouping  of students doesn’t allow students to stand out in their grade, despite some taking  much more difficult course loads than others. Showing that Mount Vernon High School should shift to having weighted GPAs. 

It is time that Mount Vernon High School makes the switch to having weighted GPAs as it more accurately reflects the classes that students are taking.