Interesting information taken from an email I received.
Hi All,
Here is what I can tell you from my notes from the meeting at Langley High School last night regarding FCPS's grading scale:
The FAIRGRADE moms said their full presentation will be on their website soon. I was trying to copy graphs as much as possible because that contained the really striking information.
The most important points - many that I was unaware of - were:
In Fairfax County, NO extra points are given to kids' grade points for taking Honors classes. Only AP and IB classes get an extra .5 point. In Montgomery County, and nationwide in similiar counties with similar school systems, Honors and AP/IB classes are given extra points. Most of these districts give an extra 1.0 point as compared to FCPS .5 point.
They offered up this fact from their research: For McLean high schools last year (2007 graduating class), only 3% of the students received "weighted" gradepoints - meaning additional points added to their gradepoint for taking AP classes. Remember - they receive nothing for taking Honors classes in FCPS.)
For the same year (2007) 36% of students who attended Montgomery Co. High schools received a weighted GPA.
Where this most comes into importance is with regards to Merit scholarships. FCPS students are literally losing thousands of dollars per year with regards to merit money - which is based heavily on Grade Point.
The impressive women who put together what appears to very solid research, say that contrary to what FCPS says, Admissions offices DO NOT reassess grade point to take into account FCPS's more rigorous scale.
Compare these two examples:
A kid in Fairfax County receives the following Grades in these classes:
Honors Math 93% = B+
AP English 90% = B+
Honors Physics 99% = A
AP History 83% = C+
Spanish 93% = B+
The FCPS student would have an overall gradepoint of 3.60
An Arlington student would have an overall gradepoint of 4.0 withe the same percentage averages because their grades - even with the same percentages as the FCPS student would be as follows:
Honors Math 93% = A
AP English 90% = A
Honors Physics 99% = A
AP History 83% = B
Spanish 93% = A
Arlington student gradepoint = 4.0
One of the moms, a former admissions officer for Georgetown insisted too that "College Admissions officers don't like to see C's." And at many universities, like the University of Michigan, the Admissions offices drop the pluses and minuses in grades when they reassess gradepoints for admissions purposes. The puts FCPS students at a further disadvantage because 93% in a FCPS class translates into a B+. In most other school districts the 93% is an A. At U of M, the FCPS would be viewed as a "B" student, whereas the same student from any other county would be viewed as an "A" student.
Some notes about our own state universities and colleges. These moms found the following:
VA Tech - They DO NOT make an changes to gradepoints or adjustments to high school GPA for admissions.
GMU - same as VA Tech
Virginia Commonwealth University - No credit is given for AP or Honors classes taken in high school (*note from me: I am unclear as to if this means the high school student won't receive college credit for these classes taken, or if this means they reassess the high school gradepoint not taking into account that it is an AP or Honors class.)
Here are some examples of how merit scholarship money is afffected by GPA performance:
1. GMU: SAT 1300/GPA 3.7 or higher = a four year full tuition merit scholarship
2. Lynchburg College: 1100 SAT/GPA 3.5, 1200 SAT/GPA 3.25, 1250 SAT/GPA 3.00 = merit scholarships range from 12K - 48K per year over four years.
(Note: At Lynchburg, the high school GPA is taken exactly from the high school transcript - NO consideration for FCPS's rigorous system is taken into account.)
3. Purdue: SAT 1340/GPA 3.8 on a 4.0 scale = 10K-40K over four years for merit scholarships
The moms noted that at many universities, the schools won't even tell you that your student is eligible for a merit scholarship until you actually receive the award. In other words, because FCPS students have "lower" GPA's, many aren't even aware they could have been eligible for these tuition scholarships simply because kids from other school systems are beating them to the punch with their "higher" GPA's.
A note about the University of Virginia: For the 2007-08 school year, there were 18,000 applicants. Only 6.3% of these students were admitted. The average GPA for those students admitted was 4.0 or higher.
Across the country, the most common GPA scale is the 10 point grading system. - Meaning 90-100 = A, 80-90 = B etc....
2/3 of college admissions decisions come solely down to the high school GPA.
45 of the nationally recognized public high schools in the country use the 10 point scale.
Here is some striking data from a few of these 45 schools:
School
Nat'l Ranking
Avg. SAT
% of students
w/weighted GPA
Langley HS
37
1214
5%
(McLean)
Churchill HS
42
1224
36%
(Bethesda)
HM Gunn HS
66
1293
20%
(California)
Wellsley HS
70
1220
32%
(Massach.)
Manhasset HS
78
1180
21%
(NY)
Palos Verde HS
93
1125
30%
(CA)
These moms have identified 15 school districts in the country who have converted to the 10 point grading system. These school districts are located in 10 different states.
FCPS last reviewed its grading scale in 1997 and determined at that time to keep the existing system.
These moms are meeting with Superintendent Jack Dale and three other school officials on Thursday morning to present their findings. They were granted this meeting only after the large showing they received at McLean High School earlier in March when they presented this info to the McLean HS PTA.
Momentum for this issue is growing and these parents suggest the following:
1. Sign FAIRGRADE's petition & Volunteer Sheet
2. Pass this information around to as many parents as possible
3. Write letter and send e-mails about this issue to all of the school board members and the Superintendent - Jack Dale - as well as your Cluster Superintendent
www.FAIRGRADE.org (under construction)
email:
FAIRGRADE.fcps@gmail.com
The moms who did this research are:
1. Megan MacLaughlin
2. Marcy Newberger
3. Sara Pacque-Margolis
The data was collected from October '07 to March '08
My notes, I believe, are quite accurate. You may pass e-mail onto others if you wish, but if quoting information directly to public officials, please refer to their official information when their website is up and running. I believe they will put their presentation on their in a PDF file format.
Sincerely,
Catherine