Thanks to a recent school board decision, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage secondary students may see a boost in their grade point averages (GPAs) next year, without hitting the books any harder.
A student's GPA "is simply a numerical way to reflect grades," said Principal Dave Helke.
When calculating GPA, each letter grade -- A, B, C, D or F -- receives a numerical value. An 'A' typically receives a '4' and each other letter grade gets a point less than that. An 'F' gets no points.
The board voted to give all 'minus' grades -- A-, B-, C- and D- -- a one-tenth of a point increase, awarding 3.7 points for an A-, for example, instead of 3.6 points, the previous value given.
The change comes after a parent "called with a very personal story of how GPA had impacted some things going on with her child," said Helke.
Helke and the board did some research, and realized that a majority of metro-area schools give students the higher value, resulting in higher GPAs overall.
Even a small difference like that can affect things like scholarships and class rank, he said.
"One one-thousandth, one one-hundredth of a point can really make the difference between making a cut and not making a cut," he said.
