Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:51     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
why dont all schools move to this BS system of everything above a 90 is an A
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:50     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You do know that schools use Slate to auto-recalculate the GPA for only the classes they want, right?


https://technolutions.com/admissions?itemId=ygz90f7yhhcmc2hayamsb4kpvy301e

https://advisortraining.wayne.edu/remote_advising/slate_overview.pdf


Can someone do a deep dive on Slate and how it works, along with visuals? I will post on YCBK reader questions (can others do it as well) - because maybe they'll cover this in a podcast.

It's a big black box, and parents should have more visibility.


I think only the very big systems like the UC system uses slate to recalculate. I'm not sure why - maybe you have to pay for that feature? Or maybe it's not trustworthy?


Virtually every school uses an admissions management platform which has recalculation capabilities. It is just one part of shaping a class and managing yield.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:48     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Even in states with standardized scales, there are differences in grading.


of course! but having the scales non-standardized would make it worse.


Would it? It would make everyone falsely believe they were looking at apples and apples, when clearly they aren't. My kids went to a school where a lot of smart kids drop out at the first sign of an B and go to much easier high schools to maintain the GPA at the expense of a better education. This is not what we need in our education system.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:46     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:welcome to life.
things are not standard, nor are they fair.

the sooner you figure that out and move on, the better off your kids will be with coping, dealing and tbh thriving.


I hate this attitude.

The idea that the college board, a corrupt for-profit NFP, is more open to change and improvement than parents are is damning


Not sure where the college board comes into this. The idea that private institutions should have to abide by your priorities rather than their own is what is wrong in this discussion.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:41     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
I think GPA should not be included in college admissions at all. Just the courses you took and your standardized test score. That is enough information for any college to know how you'd do there.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:40     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Slate is a CRM like Salesforce. It’s been tailored for use in education recruitment and admissions.

Like most CRMs, there is the initial cost of implementation and then added costs if the school wants to use advanced features.

Some schools can afford to use all the features, but others can’t. There is also the cost of have the staffing to make all the features work.

It does mailing list communication (email, text), event registration, reporting, and allows application review. If you’ve used a CRM, it wont be groundbreaking to see Slate.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:33     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Anonymous wrote:Even in states with standardized scales, there are differences in grading.


of course! but having the scales non-standardized would make it worse.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:32     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Anonymous wrote:GPA would still be so subjective, but I admire your spirit. A standard scale would be a move in the right direction.

Agree about the bday cutoff.

-Mom in NY with a 10 year old boy currently in 6th grade


I was one of those 10yr old 6th graders. In hindsight it was not a great experience.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:32     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Even in states with standardized scales, there are differences in grading.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:31     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
where the Packer kids the ones who burned down the playground at the public school or was it the St Ann's kids?

Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:30     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Agree with this.

I think it would also take pressure off kids. And normalize A- and B+s.

Bring back - and +s by the way.

A classroom where kids just try to get over the 90% line isn't really healthy. an 89 is a good grade. It shouldn't be lumped in with the kids who got a 80. a 90 isn't the same as a 100.

Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:29     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Anonymous wrote:
I think a lot of people here dont realize all the private schools that hand out top grades, with no APs to check that "rigor", and average SATS no where to be found.

Read it and weep, DCUM. These kids end up in T20s. They were admitted in K. It's not like a Stuy or a Regis where you have to get in on merits at 9th grade entry

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1758028010/packer/uvjdqpplcgojpcsekn5s/PackerSchoolProfile2025-26_091525.pdf

I'd love to see everyone move to a numbered system, like stuy. And then a grade distribution on the school profile with average SATs. I can read that - I trust AOs can read that. Main Street High where every kid gets a 96 or up in math but their average SAT is 1200 tells me all I need to know.





About 20% Packer kids go to T20.
It's amazing but in the context of NYC privates, it's mediocre.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:27     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Anonymous wrote:It's obvious that GPAs are not standard, and really can't be, but it's fascinating to me that they are still the best predictor of a student's success in college.


Actually, most colleges are saying the SAT is the best predictor.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:23     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Anonymous wrote:Even if a 90 was always an A, it wouldn't standardize the amount of work necessary to get an A.


This. The curriculum is not standardized, the tests are not standardized, the individual teachers' grading and grading curves are not standardized. There is not way to do this across schools. This is why the SAT exists. Perhaps we cold move to a system of OWLS, but for whatever reason the College Board dropped the SAT subject matter exams and writing requirements.

The SAT, even with its flaws, is the best we've got right now to compare apples to apples.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2025 10:20     Subject: I think GPAs should be standardized
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You do know that schools use Slate to auto-recalculate the GPA for only the classes they want, right?


https://technolutions.com/admissions?itemId=ygz90f7yhhcmc2hayamsb4kpvy301e

https://advisortraining.wayne.edu/remote_advising/slate_overview.pdf


Can someone do a deep dive on Slate and how it works, along with visuals? I will post on YCBK reader questions (can others do it as well) - because maybe they'll cover this in a podcast.

It's a big black box, and parents should have more visibility.


I think only the very big systems like the UC system uses slate to recalculate. I'm not sure why - maybe you have to pay for that feature? Or maybe it's not trustworthy?


I just googled and found "forms" and demos for quite a few schools including Columbia. Think its standard to recalculate.
Just the 5 core classes, plus certain qualified electives.

Its the job of an $18/hr person at Northeastern....I wouldn't expect it to be accurate....

https://www.higheredjobs.com/region/details.cfm?JobCode=179245169&Title=Admissions%20and%20Records%20Representative