Weighing pros, cons of GPAs in lieu of intrinsic learning
With a diverse range of honors, CAPP, and AP classes, West does a fantastic job offering students a myriad of academic opportunities. One could walk through door 24 and become well equipped to be a college-level critical thinker. Administration and staff inspire thousands of students to push themselves to become better, well-educated citizens. Students work tirelessly during their brief four years here to craft an educational foundation that will last a lifetime. When it comes time to graduate, those who succeed will walk across the stage and the best of us, those who represent our class as a valedictorian, will give one final address to the student body. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice that West has had multiple valedictorians for a number of years in a row now. This could be a great sign that students are succeeding at pushing themselves to be the best they can be! Unfortunately, it is not.
The process of selecting valedictorians is simple: use an unweighted GPA to determine who ranks amongst the top of the class and, boom, you have your valedictorian(s). The problem with this system lies within its inability to account for the rigor of the courses these students have taken. A student could pack their schedule full of the most rewarding, challenging classes that West has to offer. Unfortunately, these true valedictorians will share a stage with impostors who have never set foot in a single honors class.
Depending on the college, class rank can be a vital factor in the college admissions process. The National Association for College Admission Counseling published the State of College Admissions (SOCA) most recently in 2019. In the report, it was determined that class rank still fell among the top factors that colleges consider when examining applications. Admittedly, the importance of class rank has substantially decreased since 2007. Nonetheless, a whopping 72.3% of colleges still considered class rank to hold some amount of importance. By neglecting to fairly evaluate class rank, administrators are committing a grave disservice to their students.
This problem looms much larger than a simple class rank. Some colleges have a strict GPA cut-off for scholarship eligibility. Reporting an unweighted GPA could severely hinder a student’s ability to attend college. Most college admissions offices, obviously, have evolved to consider the rigor of the courses a student has taken. However, this is not necessarily the case for scholarship consideration. For example, The University of Colorado, Boulder, when considering scholarship applicants does “not add weight for honors, AP and/or IB curricula because there is not a standard format for the designation or grading scale for these courses.” The GPA that appears on your application is the GPA that is considered for scholarships. This gives students who are not from West, or, for that matter, the Oshkosh Area School District, a significant leg up in the scholarship application process. Thus, in order to achieve a higher class rank and a higher grade point average, students are persuaded to take less challenging courses for the sake of the unweighted GPAs.
This lack of motivation does not foster an environment that truly encourages students to challenge themselves. Proponents of an unweighted scale would argue that encouraging students to surround themselves with difficult classes will increase student stress and workload. While perhaps this is true, it would be foolish and naive to act as if the current educational climate does not bolster a sense of competition that rewards such workloads. We would love to pretend that student motivation stems from an intrinsic desire to learn. However, when scholarships, college admissions, and the coveted “valedictorian” title are all at stake, there is a deep-rooted sense of competition apparent in every school system. Whether or not you believe that this sense of competition is justified is a separate issue. Regardless, it exists. Those who take more challenging courses, who decide to take on a workload greater than that of the average student, deserve greater recognition. Neglecting to use a weighted GPA when considering class rank is a slap in the face to those who took more rigorous courses and a gross overpraise of those who took the path of least resistance.
I should note, however, that “path of least resistance” is not a jab at the art and music departments. I’m very aware that some fear a weighted GPA discourages students from enrolling in these courses. I will concede that this is perhaps the greatest folly of the current way weighted scales function. The arts are not weighed the same as more rigorous science, math, and English courses. This can very negatively (and unfairly) impact a student's weighted GPA. The only solution is to offer more challenging AP, CAPP, or honors arts and music courses. This way, students will not be penalized for engaging in these crucial and necessary classes.
Additionally, since CAPP prices are high (although still considerably lower than taking the course in college) and the College Board continues to increase the test fee every few years, it’s very apparent that if you want to take the most advanced classes for college credit, you have to pay. One could see this as discriminatory toward low-income students. Fortunately, West does a phenomenal job of refuting this argument against a weighted GPA. Those who qualify for free/reduced lunch can have their fees significantly lowered or completely excused to ensure that they are not denied the opportunity to challenge themselves by taking these more challenging courses. Kudos to the district for making sure to foster an environment of inclusivity. We can only hope that one day they foster an environment that doesn’t incentivize a lackluster work ethic.
Indirectly encouraging students to enroll in less rigorous courses is a disservice to the student, the school, and the community as the roots of education lay the foundation for our community’s future. Hopefully, the district will one day properly reward and acknowledge students for their efforts in attempting to be the best they can be.
By Max Carlin
Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue VII
April 25th, 2022