Grading Scales
Roanoke County Public
Schools
February 24, 2009
How will my child get into
college?
Quick Answers
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Grades
GPA
SAT or ACT
Rigor of courses
Special talents
Activities
How previous students from the high school
performed
Questions to answer
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How do we compare to other
states and divisions?
How many A’s and B’s do
our students earn?
How does weighting affect
GPA?
When did we last change our
grading scale?
How do colleges deal with all
this information?
Does our grading scale hurt
college acceptance?
How do we decide? What is
fair?
How do we compare to other states?
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1999 VEA-last comparison of 123 VA grading scales
Virginia does not have a mandated grading scale.
States which reportedly have mandated grading scales:
Georgia, Tennessee,
West Virginia, Florida,
Alabama
Only Florida actually does
(a 10-point scale)
Others mandate weighting,
or have gone back to local
option
Comparison in Virginia:
It is not just about the grading scale
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In a 1999 survey of divisions in
Virginia, Roanoke Co was one of 59
out of 123 divisions with A=94-100.
4 had A=90-100, 1 had A91-100, 5 had
A=92-100, 35 had A=93-100,19 had
A=95-100
In a 2002 survey of 27 like divisions:
25 had A = 93 (or above) to 100
In 2009 survey of 6 divisions like ours
(Albemarle, Botetourt, Chesterfield,
Hanover, Stafford,Prince William) :
2 had A=94-100, 2 had A=93-100, 1
changed in 2007-08 to A=90-100, 1 is
pending.
Recent grading scale changes seen in
Fairfax, Stafford (pending), Loudon
Weighting practices varies from
division to division.
Valedictorian status varies.
91-100
92-100
93-100
94-100
95-100
When did we last change our
grading scale?
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Grading scale prior to 1992-1993:
A=95-100 B=88-94 C=81-87 D=75-80 F=74 and below
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Grading scale 1992-1993 and after:
A=94-100 B=87-93 C=78-86 D=70-77 F=69 and below
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What happened to percentages of grades? In the
next six years, percentages of A’s stayed the
same and B’s actually went down 3.2%. A
restructuring of expectations?
Since 1998, percentages increased A’s 8%, B’s
3.2% (in comparison with 1993-1999).
How many A’s and B’s are there?
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Virginia schools are required to report their distribution of
grades, i.e., what percent of grades were A’s, B’s, etc.
Examples: in two similar systems, A’s ranged from 20-25%
of all grades, B’s were 22-31% of all grades.
In our high schools, A’s given ranged from 32-43% of all
grades, B’s were 28-32% of all grades.
At Fairfax’s Thomas Jefferson School for Science and
Technology, on 16 out of 432 seniors in 2007 graduated
with all A’s. TJ produced 158 semifinalists in National
Merit, and had the highest SAT score in the country.
Grade inflation: debated since 1894 in a Harvard study.
Princeton in 2004 adopted a grade deflation policy,
including quotas for A’s.
Grade Distibution Comparison
Roanoke County, Virginia
Similar Divisions in Virginia
50
50
40
40
30
30
High
20
Low
High
20
10
10
0
0
A
B
C
D
F
Low
A
B
C
D
F
How does weighting affect GPA?
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The reason that GPA’s are so variable is the weighting.
Virginia requires that schools weight Advanced Placement
and International Baccalaureate courses. Here again,
Virginia does not mandate consistency.
We weight AP, dual and certain specialty school courses.
That means that our highest GPA’s are in the 4.2-4.3 range,
with 4.0 being a perfect “A”.
Systems that weight other course levels, like honors or
college-bound, might come up with a higher GPA.
School profiles are sent with each transcript to explain our
method.
Does the grading scale hurt students
in college acceptance/scholarships?
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Divisions vary in grading scales, weighting.
Around Richmond, 5.0+ not uncommon.
In one school in New Jersey, 7.0+ are routinely seen.
“Grades have long been contentious in education
because they are so subjective. Grading scales
vary widely among K-12 school systems -- and
often within schools -- making it increasingly
difficult to accurately compare grades.” Strauss,
Valerie. “So many grading scales”, Washington
Post Sept. 26, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.
com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR20
06092500999.html
How are students from different grading
scales compared by colleges?
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College admissions
offices are
sophisticated enough
to factor in the
difference
Comparing to
previous students
Local comparisons
based on rank
Rigor of courses.
Refiguring the GPA
How would we decide? What is fair?
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Do objective research.
Determine the elements
that are important: our
reputation, our expectations,
our current success, talk with
college admissions directors.
Get input from our students,
parents, teachers, administrators
Anticipate ramifications:
student achievement, SOL
performance, graduation
rate.