Putting the A in GPA

Report cards are often confusing and frustrating to junior high students. Some students might’ve thought they got straight As, but just one A minus brings their entire GPA down. A little minus sign is keeping them from a huge success. Many people feel that all As and one A minus are fantastic grades, but it’s very frustrating to perfectionists to be so close to that perfect grade, but to miss it by a close margin.

Eight out of ten people that are interviewed will say that they have or have had an A minus. This wouldn’t be a big deal, but it brought their GPA down, which bothers them. With one A minus, their GPA goes down to a 3.957; two As minus bring it down to a 3.9; and it just keeps going downhill from there. When high schoolers apply to colleges, the colleges look at their GPA. If these colleges see that students have 3.9s, they might not accept them, even though it is only an A minus that is bringing their grade point averages down.

Carley Rogers, a hardworking eighth grade student, has all As, but a few As minus. When she was asked a few questions, she said, “It really bugs me that a 92% takes away my 4.0 GPA, because an A minus is still an A. An A minus and A should be worth the same amount, because I work just as hard for an A minus as I do for an A.”

Another smart eighth grade student, Bella Criscione, said, “An A minus is still in the A category, just a couple percentages lower, so it shouldn’t make such a big difference. I don’t think that an A minus should even exist. Grades should just be A, B, C, D, F.”

Madeline Rapella is a senior in high school who is applying to colleges. She responded to the questions by saying, “If a college looks at my GPA and sees a 3.9 or 3.957, I won’t be the student they’re looking for because some of my dream colleges are only looking for a 4.0. An A minus is still an A, and one percent lower shouldn’t stop me from getting into college; it’s still a great grade, but your GPA doesn’t show that.”

Based on our interviewee’s responses, many students are agitated that a couple As minus bring down their perfect GPA and possibly prevent them from getting into their dream colleges. Students think As minus and regular As should be worth the same, because A minus is still an A - it’s still in the 90 percentile range.

By: Hali W and Mia R