USF is raising their standards…

[JoeBulls]

I hear ya..

I just say -- then maybe they should evaluate your record by which classes you take rather then your overall GPA..

Nothing personal with you -- you sound like a smart guy -- and considering the fact that I can't spell I am thrilled with USF's lower admission standards.

[Guest Rueben_Horowitz]

Thanks Reub, no offense meant here, you're alright in my book.  I can intensely argue with anyone, but I don't take it personally.  I might appear to be your worst enemy on one subject, but your biggest ally in the next.

Likewise.

Now to get things back on a more "fun" note; has anyone ever witnessed an "upper decker"?

LOL, I'm famous for upper-deckers. Left one in my music teachers bathroom in high school. I'm definitely a ****-showboater.

[80mins]

Use a little bit of logic here fellas.  What you're saying would WORK if EVERYONE WAS TAKING THE SAME COURSEWORK!

I'd take a kid with a "B" in Calc than a kid who made all As and the highest course he passed was geometry!  

That's why the system has to do it this way.  

Let me try and put it into another perspective which may be easier to get across.

Think of it in a basketball sense.  Who would you bet on to win a winner take all game?

An ACC team with a 20-5 record or a Conference USA team with a 20-5 record?

I think what's erroneous is not that >4.0 grades exist, but that they are stated (whether explicit or implied) that they are on a 4.0 scale. It would make sense if it said "4.5 on a 5.0 scale" or even "4.25 on a 4.5 scale" if a 4.5 would be the highest attainable GPA (as with a student with half AP classes and half regular classes).

[Ruger7mmmag]

Use a little bit of logic here fellas.  What you're saying would WORK if EVERYONE WAS TAKING THE SAME COURSEWORK!

I'd take a kid with a "B" in Calc than a kid who made all As and the highest course he passed was geometry!  

That's why the system has to do it this way.  

Let me try and put it into another perspective which may be easier to get across.

Think of it in a basketball sense.  Who would you bet on to win a winner take all game?

An ACC team with a 20-5 record or a Conference USA team with a 20-5 record?

I think what's erroneous is not that >4.0 grades exist, but that they are stated (whether explicit or implied) that they are on a 4.0 scale. It would make sense if it said "4.5 on a 5.0 scale" or even "4.25 on a 4.5 scale" if a 4.5 would be the highest attainable GPA (as with a student with half AP classes and half regular classes).

How about this.  Take the maximum gpa one could attain at that highschool by taking all of the higher coursework available and apply that scale to EVERYONE at the school.  Put everyone on a 4.5 grade scale whether they take the extra classes or not.  That way, if someone "aced" all lower classes it would show their 4.0 was less impressive than if they stepped up and took harder classes.  You can't penalize kids for taking harder classes which is essentially what you do if you don't account for that.

If you didn't reward for taking harder classes, the smarter students would take easier coursework to ensure they made all As to be "safe".  That defeats the whole purpose of educating folks.

[bull4evr]

speaking of inflated gpa's, although this is going to be about college gpa, not high school i found this might be appropriate. A B+ is worth 3.3 at usf while at UF is worth 3.5. A B- is worth 2.67 where UF does not have a minus system. Strange but true.

Back on the high school "inflation" rant. The extra points are a reward for those who attempt a larger courseload.  There is criteria involved for the teacher and a minimum amount in the curriculum to be covered. In Broward county there was a year in 2003 where honors classes were weighted the same "extra" points as the AP classes. The plan bombed because those taking AP classes dropped them and took the easier courseload in the Honors classes and aced them. In turn, this pushed those who were "rightfully" in the Honors classes further down the totem poll and adversely affecting their performance.  The system was switched back the next year to add 1 point for honors and 2 for ap. i.e., an A in regular = 4.0, Honors = 5.0, AP = 6.0.

[80mins]

speaking of inflated gpa's, although this is going to be about college gpa, not high school i found this might be appropriate. A B+ is worth 3.3 at usf while at UF is worth 3.5. A B- is worth 2.67 where UF does not have a minus system. Strange but true.

Back on the high school "inflation" rant. The extra points are a reward for those who attempt a larger courseload.  There is criteria involved for the teacher and a minimum amount in the curriculum to be covered. In Broward county there was a year in 2003 where honors classes were weighted the same "extra" points as the AP classes. The plan bombed because those taking AP classes dropped them and took the easier courseload in the Honors classes and aced them. In turn, this pushed those who were "rightfully" in the Honors classes further down the totem poll and adversely affecting their performance.  The system was switched back the next year to add 1 point for honors and 2 for ap. i.e., an A in regular = 4.0, Honors = 5.0, AP = 6.0.

When I went to school, both honors and AP were 5.0, and those who were taking AP were doing so for their own benefit/future college credit (imagine that!) I do know, however, that they had to do something with the calculation of GPA because some students would refuse to take any extra-curricular classes (band, choir, etc.) because no honors credit was available for them and heaven forbid someone get JUST a 4.0!  :

[JoeBulls]

I do remember that B- crap at USF..

what a bunch of bull..

I get a 2.67 and the dude at UF gets a 3.0..

stupid.

Joe = who got a lot of B-'s

[Mag Pie]

Plus/Minus scale only screws people over.

[alau255]

i hate the +/- scale

[Ruger7mmmag]

They implemented that lousy thing my senior year at USF and I was so glad to get the heck out of there when that happened.  The +/- system sucks.

When I was in hs in IB, IB classes were worth 5.0, Honors 4.5 and regular classes 4.0.  And the comment above about taking other classes to fill out your schedule is true.  You did everything you could to avoid taking "regular" classes bc even if you "aced" them it hurt your gpa.  When other guys on my sports teams were taking sex ed, home ec, teacher assistant classes etc., I was taking honors anatomy and physiology and other honors classes which even when I "aced" them still dropped my gpa.  But if I didn't take those classes, then I dropped bc all the other IB students were doing the same.  To give you an idea how competitive the class was, the only difference between me (6th in a class of 400) and the valedictorian was I transferred into IB my sophmore year and all my classes I took at the previous schools were at best "honors" where I had ALL As in them.  But that extra half point in those classes was the difference and deservedly so.  I hardly cracked a book my freshman year compared to what I had to do when I got in that program.

What Drummer says is true, had they weighted all the classes the same; no one would take the risk on the harder classes and would just party.