Nantucket High students present plan to change GPA weighting; committee to vote next month

Three Nantucket High School students presented a proposal to the School Committee on March 10 to adjust the high school GPA weighting system so the grade-point scale better reflects course rigor.

“We believe that the change will allow us to differentiate the coursework between college prep, honors, and advanced placement,” Jake Clark said, explaining the students’ rationale that AP coursework commonly requires substantially more out-of-class work than college-prep classes.

Under the current NHS system the students said the differential between course levels is 0.3 points; their proposal increases the gap to 0.5 points so CP would be scored as 4.0, honors as 4.5 and AP as 5.0. They presented two rollout options: implement the new weights across all grades at once (multigrade) or phase the change in beginning with the incoming freshman class. The students and several committee members expressed a preference for the phased approach to avoid changing GPA calculations midstream for current students.

Committee members asked about technical implications for teacher grading and the Aspen gradebook; students and administrators said the numeric grades teachers record would not change, only the GPA calculation in Aspen would be adjusted, and that a start-at-freshmen approach would reduce disruption.

The superintendent recommended placing the proposed change on the committee’s next meeting agenda so members can vote after reviewing implementation details; the committee agreed to add the item.