Grades & GPA

A student’s grades are a primary indicator of their academic performance in their high school courses. The highest performance in a class would be indicated by an “A.” When a GPA is being calculated on a 4.0 scale, the “A” would equate 4 points. The lowest performance in a class would be indicated by a grade of an “E.” When a GPA is being calculated ona 4.0 scale, the “E” would equate 0 points. The following table indicates the grade and the corresponding point value, calculated on a 4.0 scale:

Weighted vs. Unweighted Grades

Unweighted grades typically represent the above 4.0 scale.

Weighted grades may be awarded by a high school if students are taking courses that go beyond general courses, such as honors, dual-enrollment and Advanced Placement (AP). In a weighted grading system, the above grades would carry greater point levels per grade. For example, a school may count honor courses as earning 4.5 points when a student earns a grade of an A, and 5.0 points when a student earns a grade of an A in a dual enrollment or AP course.

Most colleges will evaluate a student’s unweighted grades on the 4.0 scale, regardless of the type of class that is being taken.

Grade Point Average - GPA

The GPA allows colleges, universities and scholarship granting organizations to understand a student’s academic performance across their classes. Most colleges and universities in Arizona consider a student’s unweighted GPA, which is on the 4.0 scale mentioned above.

The following is a simplified calculation of an unweighted GPA for the student’s earned grades during one semester:Sweet 16 or core academic coursework.

To calculate the unweighted GPA, we could add up all points earned. In this case the student earned 19 points. You then divide total points by total number of classes, in this case 6 classes. So the GPA would be 19 points divided by 6 classes and the GPA equals approximately a 3.17.

At the University of Arizona, we consider the unweighted GPA achieved in the Sweet 16 courses. Not all courses in the above table are Sweet 16 courses. Physical Education and Driver’s Education are not part of the Sweet 16. So if we are calculating a Sweet 16 GPA we would ignore those two courses. The student earned 13 points in the four Sweet 16 courses. So the GPA would be 13 points divided by 4 classes and the GPA equals a 3.25.

GPA’s can be calculated in at least a few ways:

• By semester - A semester GPA will indicate academic performance across all the classes taken in a semester.
• Cumulative GPA - This GPA is calculated and indicative of academic performance across all the classes taken in high school.
• Core GPA - This GPA is only indicative of academic performance in the Sweet 16. Not all courses are considered. Reminder: The Sweet 16 refers to the 16 core academic courses recommended for best preparation for university admission and success. The Core GPA is considered in admission and scholarship consideration within Arizona.