Some use weighted, and others do not. Even the weighted systems are inconsistent as there is not a regulation on how many points or how highly the class is valued along with how it should factor into the GPA. Two students at different schools could take the same honors English course, but one could end with a 4.5 GPA while the other could end up with a 5.0 due to the inconsistencies within the GPA system.
Weighted GPA systems have both their advantages and disadvantages. The same can be said about using a regular GPA system. There are several advantages such as: lack of pressure on the students to pursue overly challenging classes, equal playing fields for the students, and a lack of concerns over how to factor honors courses into GPAs.
Students in a weighted GPA high school may feel pressured to take classes that are too challenging for them, thus damaging their GPA when it would have been fine if they would have stuck to their regular classes. Not only does this damage their GPA, but it damages the school’s reputation. A school’s success is determined by the success of the students. If many students attempted classes that were too difficult; the school would be seen as less successful because the students would not appear to be succeeding. Thus having a regular GPA system could be seen as advantageous to regular students and to the school …show more content…
However, the disadvantages of the weighted GPA system can be counteracted through a few precautions and a little extra work on everybody’s part such as informing students of the difference between honors and regular classes thus providing a sense of security to the regular students so that they do not attempt something too challenging for them. Thus proving that the advantages of using a weighted GPA system far outweigh the disadvantages of using one, and the advantages of using a regular GPA system in a high school