How GPAs Work

Understanding how a grade point average (GPA) is calculated will help you and your student set and revise goals and expectations as high school progresses.

Why It Matters

GPA is a reflection of effort.
Your student’s GPA is a gauge of academic success. Because maintaining a high GPA takes sustained effort, both colleges and employers use GPA to judge a student’s determination and perseverance.
A specific GPA should be one of your student’s primary goals.
Higher GPAs will provide more opportunities for admissions into selective programs as well as scholarship and honors opportunities.
Knowing where your student stands dictates the path forward.
Understanding a current GPA allows your student to know what grades need to be achieved in the rest of the current term and each term after that to achieve the goal GPA.

What Your Student Can Do Now

Learn how the school calculates GPA.
The traditional GPA is calculated based on a 4.0 point scale, with each “A” grade being given 4 points, “B” equivalent to 3 points, “C” receiving 2 points and “D” 1 point. Total points for classes taken are added together and divided by the number of classes or credits. However, your student’s school may use a different scale, assign partial points based on percentage grade, weight more advanced classes or use other variations. It’s important that your student understand how grades are calculated at the high school they will attend.
Understand what impacts GPA.
If your student’s school assigns + or – grades, such as a B+ for class percentages of 87%–89%, working to increase a grade from a straight letter grade to a + can be worth the effort. However, if an 83% and an 88% both equal 3 points on a 4-point scale, it may be more worthwhile for your student to concentrate on moving another grade from a B to an A when choices have to be made. Similarly, if your student’s school provides a GPA boost, or weights grades, for certain classes, such as AP or honors classes, then taking and scoring well in those will increase cumulative GPA over time.
Set a goal GPA for high school.
Your student should be able to predict a realistic overall GPA based on previous academic performance. Comparing this prediction to the requirements for admission into the program of choice and available scholarship awards will allow your student to set a goal for an achievable GPA to aim for with a little extra work.

What Your Student Can Do Later

Periodically re-evaluate based on current GPA.
As your student progresses through high school, a frequent check on current grades and how they affect the overall GPA can help your student stay on track to reach the goal. The school is likely to provide some sort of online portal where you and your student can periodically check cumulative GPA through the previous term as well as grades for current classes. Your student can calculate a new cumulative GPA for future terms by using an online calculator customized with the school’s calculations.
Take steps to improve the overall GPA.
At the start, your student should do good work, turn it in on time and commit to understanding class content. If actual grades fall short of the desired GPA, your student can work with teachers and tutors as needed to try to raise grades for current classes. Sometimes extra credit or rework is allowed to improve overall scores.
Set incremental goals.
At the beginning of each term, your student can project how grades in each of the current classes will affect overall GPA by running scenarios on online calculators. Using this information, your student can then set a grade goal to achieve by end of the term for each class. If it’s useful to your student, they can also set smaller goals for daily assignments, tests and projects based on each component’s weight for the class grade.

What You Can Do

Work with your student to calculate GPA scenarios.
Select an online calculator that corresponds to your student’s school method for calculating GPA. Work through various grade scenarios to demonstrate how individual class grades affect overall GPA. For example, you may wish to start with simple calculations of all As in unweighted classes, and then change half of those to Bs to see the change. You can see how weighted classes, combinations of lower and higher grades and the number of classes taken affect a total GPA.
Define expectations.
Spend some time exploring potential education and training programs and their entrance information. Searching for “Common Data Set” and a specific college or university name online will return a report showing the GPAs of admitted students. You can also see required GPAs for entrance into honors programs or to qualify for merit awards at specific institutions. Use these standards and your own knowledge of your student’s academic performance to define a GPA goal your student may need to stretch for but could realistically achieve. Make it clear to your student what your expectations are for an overall high school GPA as well as GPA for each academic term.
Understand academic rigor.
Many colleges place significant value and consideration on the level of difficulty certain classes have over others when making admission decisions. While a solid GPA is necessary for college admission, your student should also understand the impact that course selection has. A college’s admission website or the Common Data Set can provide the importance academic rigor plays in the admission process.

Next Steps

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