Zoom classes isn’t the only big change greeting Beaver Area High School students this fall.

Beginning this year, all Beaver Area students taking Advanced Placement (AP) or College in High School (CHS) classes will be on a 5.0 grading scale rather than the 4.0 grading scale with a .04 weighting bonus that was used previously.

The idea of changing to the 5.0 scale was first discussed last year.

Mrs. Caitlyn Belhumeur, a guidance counselor at Beaver Area High School stated, “We revisited the idea this summer so that [AP and CHS] students could have an accurate picture of their GPA throughout the year.”

Before the change, the 4.0 scale didn’t really account for AP and CHS course rigor, nor were students aware of their accurate GPA’s as the .04 bump wasn’t factored in until the end of the school year.

The new 5.0 scale better reflects the AP and CHS work load—and allows for accurate running GPA calculations so students always know where they stand.

Mrs. Belhumeur explained, “Each student’s GPA is computed by assigning quality points for each credit earned. The total number of quality points is then divided by the total number of credits earned. We still use a 4.0 scale for all courses—except AP and CHS classes, for which we now use the 5.0 scale.”

Some students may be concerned that this new system will affect their cumulative GPA and class rank; for example, a senior whose AP coursework may have been completed last year under the old 4.0 system would be in danger of losing his/her class rank to a senior loading up on AP courses this year under the 5.0 system.

However, high school principal Dr. Meghan Murray said in the class meetings September 16 that the 5.0 scale would also apply retroactively to any AP or CHS credits students may have accumulated, so there is nothing to worry about.

Any additional questions should be directed to students’ guidance counselors.