Parents support weighted grading

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent
 
During the 2017 session of the Wyoming Legislature, lawmakers changed state law, which directed that a weighted GPA system must be used for all concurrent or dual enrollment classes, which are college level classes available at high schools to its students, for determining the Hathaway Scholarship in the state’s high schools. This means that schools must use a 5.0 scale rather than the traditional 4.0, meaning a 5.0 GPA will be an A, a 4.0 will be a B, a 3.0 will be a C, and a 2.0 will be a D. The new directive went into effect at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.
Newcastle High School Principal Tracy Ragland said that schools did not have a choice in the matter and so had to come up with a way to implement the weighted GPA system into areas other than concurrent classes.
NHS teacher Sonja Karp helps lead the 12th-grade PLC team, which is the group working toward finding the right balance of how to implement the weighted GPA system.
“I can see both sides of the issue,” said Ragland, who later added he’s impressed with the PLC team and believes they are coming up with a plan that seems fair.
Karp said she believes the cum laude system is the way to go because it shows a good balance.
“The cum laude system offers students who excel academically to receive recognition for their accomplishments, even though they may not be top of their class,” said Karp. “There are three levels, starting with Cum Laude. To graduate with this honor, the student must have a GPA ranging from 3.5-3.79. Magna Cum Laude is the next level of recognition for students with a GPA of 3.8 to 3.99, and the top honor is Summa Cum Laude awarded to students with a  GPA of 4.0 or higher.”
Karp said that other teachers of a few non-concurrent classes will also use a 5.0 scale because the classes are “rigorous enough.” Karp said that in the past, students with a 4.0 GPA wouldn’t push themselves their senior year for fear of losing that 4.0 average in the tougher classes. The 5.0 scale will help encourage students to take the harder classes while still managing a 4.0 GPA. 
One of the questions the team was dealing with was whether or not this would affect how a valedictorian is chosen. Ragland invited people in the community to come to school board meetings to give their opinions because the school is trying to keep the issue as “transparent as possible,” and a survey was also sent to the parents regarding the matter. 
While nothing has been made concrete, the survey shows that the vast majority of the respondents were in favor of using the 5.0 scale to determine the valedictorian.
“People are in favor of it,” said Karp, noting that parents were “overwhelmingly” supportive of the idea. A survey hasn’t yet been sent out to students, but Karp said it’s something they might consider.
While the weighted GPA system will affect all the graduating classes that are currently enrolled in NHS, it won’t come into full effect until the graduating class of 2022, who are currently freshman. The 5.0 scale will be in effect for all four years of the 2022 class’ enrollment, as opposed to only one year for current seniors, two years for current juniors, and three years for current sophomores. 
Once the PLC team completes its work, its members will present their plan to the school board at open session in three different readings. Anyone can come and Ragland said the options the team presents will also be put on the school website.