Every student knows the Grade Point Average.

For some, it’s the measure of their academic success. For others, an annoying statistic your parents never stop reminding you of.

Last school year, Spring Lake switched GPA systems. Previously, Spring Lake used a 4.0 scale. The scale follows a general pattern like this: A- (3.7), B+ (3.3), B (3.0), and B- (2.7). Your grades, and their point value, are added per trimester and averaged to find your grade point average. This system had been in Spring Lake for a long time, but recently the district switched to a different system: the 4.0 + 1, or “weighted” GPA.

Many people believed that we were on a 5.0 scale; however, on a 5.0 scale an A would be worth 5.0, with your GPA being out of 5 — no real change.

So, what did change?

Students challenging themselves with AP classes have seen the changes to their GPAs firsthand. A 4.0 + 1 scale means that, in a non-AP, a 4.0 will be added to your average. For an AP class, an A will be worth 5.0. This allows your GPA to be boosted past 4.0, in theory being as high as 5.0, although Spring Lake does not offer that many APs.

This change was only for the freshman, sophomore and junior classes and it would continue into the future; however, seniors at the time never got their GPA changes, much to their dismay. 

But, why? Why switch to weighted GPAs?

Colleges look at weighted GPAs along with unweighted GPAs as one of the biggest factors of your admission to college. You might not have had straight A’s, but your class load was more rigorous than the average student, and that will be reflected in your weighted GPA. Straight B’s in AP classes will be like straight A’s in regular classes, while also providing the chance for students to earn college credit while still in high school.