How are middle school grades incorporated into the GPA?

[Anonymous]

DC has 5 credits from middle school from math and foreign language classes. Some are listed in the transcript and some aren’t, but I don’t really see any rhyme or reason. For instance, 7th grade algebra is unweighted but 8th grade geometry is “honors” and weighted. 2 foreign language classes are unweighted but one is weighted. None of those are considered honors.

I’m just confused about why some are weighted or not and how all these middle school grades fit into the overall weighted and unweighted GPAs.

[Anonymous]

If they are high school credit classes taken in middle school, they are included on the transcript. The grades for those classes are only included in the GPA if they improve the average, otherwise they're excluded.

[Anonymous]

HS classes are weighted if they are designated as Honors, Advanced Level, AP, or IB. You can check the MCPS course bulletin to see the designations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they are high school credit classes taken in middle school, they are included on the transcript. The grades for those classes are only included in the GPA if they improve the average, otherwise they're excluded.

So would anything besides an A be excluded?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HS classes are weighted if they are designated as Honors, Advanced Level, AP, or IB. You can check the MCPS course bulletin to see the designations.

So an A in non-weighted class could pull down a GPA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they are high school credit classes taken in middle school, they are included on the transcript. The grades for those classes are only included in the GPA if they improve the average, otherwise they're excluded.

So would anything besides an A be excluded?

Depends on the gpa. If it’s low enough that a B or C wouldn’t pull it down, then the grade would be included.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they are high school credit classes taken in middle school, they are included on the transcript. The grades for those classes are only included in the GPA if they improve the average, otherwise they're excluded.

So would anything besides an A be excluded?

That would depend on the grades earned during high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HS classes are weighted if they are designated as Honors, Advanced Level, AP, or IB. You can check the MCPS course bulletin to see the designations.

So an A in non-weighted class could pull down a GPA?

The weighted GPA, yes.

[Anonymous]

https://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/Home/Introduction

This page has a lot of the details.

[Anonymous]

Can colleges tell if a student retook a class for a higher grade?

[Anonymous]

Parents can usually get that admin to pressure teachers to raise grades. It's a trick that screws over the kids that work hard without questions and don't fight their teachers tooth and nail. I used to hate that as aa teaacherbbut in the end teacher don't fight it bc it's extra unwanted stress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents can usually get that admin to pressure teachers to raise grades. It's a trick that screws over the kids that work hard without questions and don't fight their teachers tooth and nail. I used to hate that as aa teaacherbbut in the end teacher don't fight it bc it's extra unwanted stress.

Not my experience at all. I do think grades are inflated in general, but DC is repeating a class where the teacher was extremely harsh on grading and wouldn’t budge on things that seemed unfair. Also not a single retake allowed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they are high school credit classes taken in middle school, they are included on the transcript. The grades for those classes are only included in the GPA if they improve the average, otherwise they're excluded.

What if it increases unweighted GPA but decreases weighted?

[Anonymous]

There was a change in policy a few years ago so I’m pretty sure that the class of 2023 and 2024 are under a different set of rules.

[Anonymous]

After each semester of high school, the school will issue a Student Grades and Graduation Credit Report (I think that’s what it’s called? SGGCR?), which is kind of a shorthand version of their current transcript. It usually shows up in the Documents area of ParentVue a few weeks after semester report cards are issued.

This document shows the current GPA (both weighted and unweighted) including the most recent semester, lists all the HS courses they’ve taken so far, and indicates which ones are weighted. It also shows the standardized tests required for graduation and notes which ones they’ve taken/still need to take, and also their progress on SSL hours.

The HS-level courses from middle school will be listed under the relevant subject area, and there’s a set of symbols that will indicate which ones are included in/excluded from that student’s GPA. It will also indicate whether the course is weighted. So (assuming they passed the class) the credit for those courses will always count toward graduation requirements, but each semester’s grade will only be included in the cumulative GPA if it doesn’t bring it down.

So my kid, for instance, had an A in algebra one semester, so that one counts for four points toward their GPA (MS Algebra 1 is unweighted). They had a B the second semester, which is not counted in their GPA because it would bring it down. If their HS grades had been lower, that B might be included in the GPA because it could help maintain or raise it.

Honors Geometry taken in 8th grade would be weighted (assuming the grade is included in a student’s GPA). My kid’s language classes from MS weren’t weighted, but you’d need to check your own kid’s SGGCR to find out about their particular HS-level courses.