Fairfax County gpa calculation

[Anonymous]

How does Fairfax Co calculate final gpa for MS or HS for end of the year? Do they give out 3 for B, 3.5 for B+, 4 for A etc... for each quarter, add it up and divide by 4? Or do they go back to the actual numerical grade the student got for each quarter (90.5, 82, 97...) add them up and divide by 4? I'm asking because in some cases (although not often), it could end up a different final grade.

[Anonymous]

As far as I am aware it is on the following 4 point scale:

A (93-100) = 4.0
A- (90-92) = 3.7
B+ (87-89) = 3.3
B (83-86) = 3.0
B- (80-82) = 2.7
C+ (77-79) = 2.3
C (73-76) = 2.0
C- (70-72) = 1.7
D+ (67-69) = 1.3
D (64-66) = 1.0
F (below 64) = 0.0

The points (0-4) per grade in each course are added up and divided by number of courses.

AP and honors courses are weighted at the high school level, not sure about honors in middle school.

http://www.fcps.edu/is/news/gradingscale.shtml

[Anonymous]

Only end of year final grades are used (unless it is a semester class, then the final grade for the semester is used). The 4.0 scale PP posted is correct. .5 more for HS Honors classes and 1.0 for AP or post AP classes. Any grades that will be on the HS transcript that were taken in MS are counted (eg language or Algebra or Geometry).

I am not aware of a GPA being calculated for MS.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for posting. I guess I'm trying to find out how the quarter grades are averaged to come out with a final grade for a particular class. So if your quarter grades are 2 A-'s and 2 A's, what is your final grade for the class? Is it automatically a 3.85 (whatever that turns out to be) or does it go back to how high the individual A-'s and A's for each quarter was?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for posting. I guess I'm trying to find out how the quarter grades are averaged to come out with a final grade for a particular class. So if your quarter grades are 2 A-'s and 2 A's, what is your final grade for the class? Is it automatically a 3.85 (whatever that turns out to be) or does it go back to how high the individual A-'s and A's for each quarter was?

It depends on the class. The 'Final' test at the end of the year is 5-20% of the year end grade, depending on the class. In HS, the Honors science classes have an independent project worth 10% of the final grade. Some teachers count each quarter as 2 and the final as 1, so each quarter is 2/9 of the final grade. Some teachers grade on the trend- so if your child goes from a B- to an A over the course of the year, they will get an A. All is explained in the syllabus handed out the first week of school.

The GPA is ONLY based on the final grade for the class. Quarter grades are not used directly in the calculation of GPA.

So, a student that gets all A's every quarter throughout the year will have a 4.0 (assuming no Honors or APs to make it simpler).
A student that doesn't get all A's in any quarter, but gets all A's as a final grade for every class will have a 4.0. No difference.
Only final grades count.

[Anonymous]

My child has A- with 91.85% semester grade including midterm, if the next quarter she get A with average score around 94%, does she have chance to get final grade A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child has A- with 91.85% semester grade including midterm, if the next quarter she get A with average score around 94%, does she have chance to get final grade A.

It depends. Look at the syllabus handed out at the beginning of the year. There are a number of different ways teachers and some classes calculate grades that are not purely mathmatical.

[Anonymous]

Teachers are allowed to use the 4.0 scale OR the straight percentage average of the four quarters (+ final if there is one) for calculating the final grade. Most teachers I know go by the percentage average since that's what the computer program we grade with uses.

It should be laid out in the teacher's syllabus how they will calculate the final grade.

On a slightly related note, as a parent of high school children, I find it annoying that the GPA is not reported on the kids' report cards each quarter. When I was in high school, every interim and every report card had a GPA for that marking period on it as well as a cumulative GPA average. We always knew where we stood so no surprises when college application time came around. I wish they did that in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers are allowed to use the 4.0 scale OR the straight percentage average of the four quarters (+ final if there is one) for calculating the final grade. Most teachers I know go by the percentage average since that's what the computer program we grade with uses.

It should be laid out in the teacher's syllabus how they will calculate the final grade.

On a slightly related note, as a parent of high school children, I find it annoying that the GPA is not reported on the kids' report cards each quarter. When I was in high school, every interim and every report card had a GPA for that marking period on it as well as a cumulative GPA average. We always knew where we stood so no surprises when college application time came around. I wish they did that in FCPS.

You can see the gpa on Naviance. They won't count a year long course until it has been completed and a final grade has been issued. Plus, some teachers (mainly history) grade on the trend- so it may not be using the 4.0 scale or a straight % average. Plus a few curve, although they curve on the quarter.

[Anonymous]

On a slightly related note, as a parent of high school children, I find it annoying that the GPA is not reported on the kids' report cards each quarter. When I was in high school, every interim and every report card had a GPA for that marking period on it as well as a cumulative GPA average. We always knew where we stood so no surprises when college application time came around. I wish they did that in FCPS.

My high school did this, too, and included the quarter grades in the calculation, so you could see a change each quarter. I asked about this and was told it had to do with the fact that FCPS only includes the yearly grades in the GPA, so it would be confusing to people to include it on each report card. I guess a lot of people aren't aware that only yearly grades are included until their kids are nearing college application time.

I would like it if they printed it on each report card, with maybe a short note saying only course end grades are included. I think it helps kids to know their GPA and know what's included in it.

[Anonymous]

How does FCPS calculate end-of-year grades for a course when a student drops down from an honors class? (For example, dropping down from English 9 Honors to English 9 after the first quarter.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does FCPS calculate end-of-year grades for a course when a student drops down from an honors class? (For example, dropping down from English 9 Honors to English 9 after the first quarter.)

The student would not get any of the .5 bump up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does FCPS calculate end-of-year grades for a course when a student drops down from an honors class? (For example, dropping down from English 9 Honors to English 9 after the first quarter.)

The student would not get any of the .5 bump up.

Thank you. How would the end of year grade be calculated if the student wasn't in English 9 in first quarter and the first quarter English 9 Honors grade (WP) is not included in the GPA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers are allowed to use the 4.0 scale OR the straight percentage average of the four quarters (+ final if there is one) for calculating the final grade. Most teachers I know go by the percentage average since that's what the computer program we grade with uses.

It should be laid out in the teacher's syllabus how they will calculate the final grade.

On a slightly related note, as a parent of high school children, I find it annoying that the GPA is not reported on the kids' report cards each quarter. When I was in high school, every interim and every report card had a GPA for that marking period on it as well as a cumulative GPA average. We always knew where we stood so no surprises when college application time came around. I wish they did that in FCPS.

You can see the gpa on Naviance. They won't count a year long course until it has been completed and a final grade has been issued. Plus, some teachers (mainly history) grade on the trend- so it may not be using the 4.0 scale or a straight % average. Plus a few curve, although they curve on the quarter.

What is Naviance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers are allowed to use the 4.0 scale OR the straight percentage average of the four quarters (+ final if there is one) for calculating the final grade. Most teachers I know go by the percentage average since that's what the computer program we grade with uses.

It should be laid out in the teacher's syllabus how they will calculate the final grade.

On a slightly related note, as a parent of high school children, I find it annoying that the GPA is not reported on the kids' report cards each quarter. When I was in high school, every interim and every report card had a GPA for that marking period on it as well as a cumulative GPA average. We always knew where we stood so no surprises when college application time came around. I wish they did that in FCPS.

You can see the gpa on Naviance. They won't count a year long course until it has been completed and a final grade has been issued. Plus, some teachers (mainly history) grade on the trend- so it may not be using the 4.0 scale or a straight % average. Plus a few curve, although they curve on the quarter.

What is Naviance?

Family Connection on FCPS Blackboard:

https://www.fcps.edu/resources/college-and-career-planning/college-and-post-secondary-planning/family-connection