GPA additional points from courses

[Anonymous]

Hello, my daughter is new to public high school. She notices that some students are mentioning they have a 4.5 or 4.8 GPA. Can someone please explain how these additional points are added to the GPA? We are new to Fairfax and the public school system.

[Anonymous]

AP courses give a full 1 point GPA bump. Honors courses give 0.5. So kids taking both and getting As should have GPAs in the 4.5-5.0 range. 5.0 is not really possible because they have mandatory courses that are only offered as non-Honors/AP (such as world language).

[Anonymous]

There are many threads on this already. The student gets a boost for taking Honors and AP courses. That puts them over a 4.0. But the system is changing to a 100 point system this year. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1158464.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are many threads on this already. The student gets a boost for taking Honors and AP courses. That puts them over a 4.0. But the system is changing to a 100 point system this year. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1158464.page

OP here. I'm sorry but have you really read that thread? If not, you should. It's gobblygook for a new parent to FCPS to try and figure out what that thread is even saying. I don't think the system is changing to a 100-point system next year. From what I understand from my kid and the counselor is that GPA is on a 4.0 scale and there are opportunities to go much higher than a 4.0 based on GPA bumps associated with classes that a kid takes. My question had to do with understanding how the grade bumps happens specifically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many threads on this already. The student gets a boost for taking Honors and AP courses. That puts them over a 4.0. But the system is changing to a 100 point system this year. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1158464.page

OP here. I'm sorry but have you really read that thread? If not, you should. It's gobblygook for a new parent to FCPS to try and figure out what that thread is even saying. I don't think the system is changing to a 100-point system next year. From what I understand from my kid and the counselor is that GPA is on a 4.0 scale and there are opportunities to go much higher than a 4.0 based on GPA bumps associated with classes that a kid takes. My question had to do with understanding how the grade bumps happens specifically.

The grade bumps happen if your child takes an Honors/AP/IB course. As an example, three students take English during junior year and all earn a grade of A. One is in English 11 and gets 4 points added to the GPA calculation. The second student was in English 11 Honors and gets 4.5 points, while the third took AP Lang and gets 5 points.

Standard level classes get no grade bump. Things like PE, fine arts (outside of AP or some higher level classes that have been designated as Honors), etc. Honors gets .5 and AP gets 1. I believe there’s a bump for IB but sine my kid is at an AP school I’m not exactly sure how that works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many threads on this already. The student gets a boost for taking Honors and AP courses. That puts them over a 4.0. But the system is changing to a 100 point system this year. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1158464.page

OP here. I'm sorry but have you really read that thread? If not, you should. It's gobblygook for a new parent to FCPS to try and figure out what that thread is even saying. I don't think the system is changing to a 100-point system next year. From what I understand from my kid and the counselor is that GPA is on a 4.0 scale and there are opportunities to go much higher than a 4.0 based on GPA bumps associated with classes that a kid takes. My question had to do with understanding how the grade bumps happens specifically.

The grade bumps happen if your child takes an Honors/AP/IB course. As an example, three students take English during junior year and all earn a grade of A. One is in English 11 and gets 4 points added to the GPA calculation. The second student was in English 11 Honors and gets 4.5 points, while the third took AP Lang and gets 5 points.

Standard level classes get no grade bump. Things like PE, fine arts (outside of AP or some higher level classes that have been designated as Honors), etc. Honors gets .5 and AP gets 1. I believe there’s a bump for IB but sine my kid is at an AP school I’m not exactly sure how that works.

Do you only get the bump if you get an A in the class, or is it just for attempting to take a Honors class or AP class? I'm assuming it's the former but just want to confirm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many threads on this already. The student gets a boost for taking Honors and AP courses. That puts them over a 4.0. But the system is changing to a 100 point system this year. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1158464.page

OP here. I'm sorry but have you really read that thread? If not, you should. It's gobblygook for a new parent to FCPS to try and figure out what that thread is even saying. I don't think the system is changing to a 100-point system next year. From what I understand from my kid and the counselor is that GPA is on a 4.0 scale and there are opportunities to go much higher than a 4.0 based on GPA bumps associated with classes that a kid takes. My question had to do with understanding how the grade bumps happens specifically.

The grade bumps happen if your child takes an Honors/AP/IB course. As an example, three students take English during junior year and all earn a grade of A. One is in English 11 and gets 4 points added to the GPA calculation. The second student was in English 11 Honors and gets 4.5 points, while the third took AP Lang and gets 5 points.

Standard level classes get no grade bump. Things like PE, fine arts (outside of AP or some higher level classes that have been designated as Honors), etc. Honors gets .5 and AP gets 1. I believe there’s a bump for IB but sine my kid is at an AP school I’m not exactly sure how that works.

Do you only get the bump if you get an A in the class, or is it just for attempting to take a Honors class or AP class? I'm assuming it's the former but just want to confirm.

You get the bump for attempting the class. So an A in AP is worth 5, an A- is 4.7 (vs. 3.7 in standard), a B is 4 instead of 3, and so on.

[Anonymous]

I think the highest reasonably attainable GPA is around a 4.7. Assuming 3 years worth of languages at 4-point (then APs), and 2 years worth of 4-point for Health & PE in 9th/10th, and then a bunch of 4.5-point Honors classes... even if you max out as many 5-point AP classes as you can, you can't really get much past 4.7 with all those required courses counting at lower point-levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many threads on this already. The student gets a boost for taking Honors and AP courses. That puts them over a 4.0. But the system is changing to a 100 point system this year. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1158464.page

OP here. I'm sorry but have you really read that thread? If not, you should. It's gobblygook for a new parent to FCPS to try and figure out what that thread is even saying. I don't think the system is changing to a 100-point system next year. From what I understand from my kid and the counselor is that GPA is on a 4.0 scale and there are opportunities to go much higher than a 4.0 based on GPA bumps associated with classes that a kid takes. My question had to do with understanding how the grade bumps happens specifically.

The grade bumps happen if your child takes an Honors/AP/IB course. As an example, three students take English during junior year and all earn a grade of A. One is in English 11 and gets 4 points added to the GPA calculation. The second student was in English 11 Honors and gets 4.5 points, while the third took AP Lang and gets 5 points.

Standard level classes get no grade bump. Things like PE, fine arts (outside of AP or some higher level classes that have been designated as Honors), etc. Honors gets .5 and AP gets 1. I believe there’s a bump for IB but sine my kid is at an AP school I’m not exactly sure how that works.

Yes, IB classes get the 1.0 bump. FYI, IB classes can be taken as SL (standard level) or HL (higher level.). There is no difference in bump between the SL and HL but the HL class does have more work associated it with.

[Anonymous]

Another parent with rising 9th grader here. If a kid takes PE in summer in order to free up an elective spot, how does that work for GPA calculation? Does the extra elective course add up more points to the GPA? I see on this forum that some kids also take extra courses from community colleges, so how does all that work for GPA? Are these extra courses only for getting college credit and to bump up the resume and don't count towards GPA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another parent with rising 9th grader here. If a kid takes PE in summer in order to free up an elective spot, how does that work for GPA calculation? Does the extra elective course add up more points to the GPA? I see on this forum that some kids also take extra courses from community colleges, so how does all that work for GPA? Are these extra courses only for getting college credit and to bump up the resume and don't count towards GPA?

PE in the summer can be taken pass/fail. My DC did HPE10 that way b/c the 4.0 would lower his GPA. They just wanted to get the credit for taking the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another parent with rising 9th grader here. If a kid takes PE in summer in order to free up an elective spot, how does that work for GPA calculation? Does the extra elective course add up more points to the GPA? I see on this forum that some kids also take extra courses from community colleges, so how does all that work for GPA? Are these extra courses only for getting college credit and to bump up the resume and don't count towards GPA?

It would lower your GPA if it is currently over 4.0, raise it if under 4.0. Every class is averaged together at the end, so adding one more class just increases the numerator and denominator of the calculation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent with rising 9th grader here. If a kid takes PE in summer in order to free up an elective spot, how does that work for GPA calculation? Does the extra elective course add up more points to the GPA? I see on this forum that some kids also take extra courses from community colleges, so how does all that work for GPA? Are these extra courses only for getting college credit and to bump up the resume and don't count towards GPA?

PE in the summer can be taken pass/fail. My DC did HPE10 that way b/c the 4.0 would lower his GPA. They just wanted to get the credit for taking the class.

1 elective per year can be taken this way too, if you really want to play the GPA game. Core classes must be taken on a standard A/B/C/D/F scale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent with rising 9th grader here. If a kid takes PE in summer in order to free up an elective spot, how does that work for GPA calculation? Does the extra elective course add up more points to the GPA? I see on this forum that some kids also take extra courses from community colleges, so how does all that work for GPA? Are these extra courses only for getting college credit and to bump up the resume and don't count towards GPA?

It would lower your GPA if it is currently over 4.0, raise it if under 4.0. Every class is averaged together at the end, so adding one more class just increases the numerator and denominator of the calculation.

Right and you’d have no idea when electing to take it pass fail if you’ll need that A later. Additionally, most colleges unweight the gpa when evaluating students, so taking it as a graded class is fine (more than fine).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent with rising 9th grader here. If a kid takes PE in summer in order to free up an elective spot, how does that work for GPA calculation? Does the extra elective course add up more points to the GPA? I see on this forum that some kids also take extra courses from community colleges, so how does all that work for GPA? Are these extra courses only for getting college credit and to bump up the resume and don't count towards GPA?

It would lower your GPA if it is currently over 4.0, raise it if under 4.0. Every class is averaged together at the end, so adding one more class just increases the numerator and denominator of the calculation.

Right and you’d have no idea when electing to take it pass fail if you’ll need that A later. Additionally, most colleges unweight the gpa when evaluating students, so taking it as a graded class is fine (more than fine).

Is this true that colleges "unweight" the gpa? Do they care that you took honors in the first place? Like, would a B in an Honors class look the same as an A in a standard course to a college? Or does the B look better because you attempted Honors?