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From Grades to Grade Point Average

From Grades to Grade Point Average

What is a GPA?

Now that you have assigned grades for your high schooler’s work, it’s time to calculate your teen’s grade point average for the school year. You can read about high school grades at High-School and Grades

Grade Point Average or GPA is a numeral calculated by assigning a numerical value to letter grades and is included in the your high schooler’s report card and transcripts.

You taught your kids to add, subtract, multiply and divide, so you are more than capable of computing your high schooler’s GPA. You can use your calculator or if you need more help, a resource is available for you.

Yearly GPA

To calculate the GPA for a year,

  • Convert each letter grade for a course to points. Typically,

A = 4 points; B = 3 points; C = 2 points; D = 1 point; F = 0 points

If your grading system includes pluses and minuses, add 0.3 to the grade points for a ‘plus’ and minus 0.3 for a ‘minus.’ So A+ would be 4.3 points and A- would be 3.7 points, etc.

  • Multiply the course points by the credit for the course to get ‘grade points’
  • Total the grade points
  • Divide the grade points by the number of credits to get your GPA

Grade 9 Example

Course TitleGradePointsCredit earnedGrade points
English 9 A –3.71.03.7 x 1.0 = 3.7
Algebra IA4.01.04.0 x 1.0 = 4.0
Biology with labB3.01.03.0 x 1.0 = 3.0
GeographyC+2.31.02.3 x 1.0 = 2.3
Latin IA4.01.04.0 x 1.0 = 4.0
LogicB3.00.53.0 x 0.5 = 1.5
Fine Arts: PianoB3.00.53.0 x 0.5 = 1.5
TheologyA4.01.04.0 x 1.0 = 4.0

Total grade points 24.0

Total number of credits 7.0

GPA = 24.0 ÷ 7.0 = 3.43

Repeat the process for each year/grade to get the GPA for each grade.

For pass/fail courses, credits are counted for the number of credits, but not for computing GPA. For example, if total credits were 7.0, but included one pass/fail class for 0.5 credits, then the total credits for calculating the GPA would be 6.5.

Honors and Advanced Placement

If your teen earns a credit for an honors course, points go up by 0.5.

A = 4.5 points B = 3.5 points C = 2.5 points D = 1.5 points

For Advanced Placement course, 1.0 is added to the points.

A = 5.0 points; B = 4.0 points; C = 3.0 points; D = 2.0 points

Cumulative GPA

The cumulative GPA provides a summary of your teen’s high school years. Because the number of credits may vary per school year, the cumulative GPA is not an average of the yearly GPAs.

To calculate the cumulative GPA, add all the grade points for each grade level. Divide that total by the total number of credits; remember to exclude the pass/fail credit.

GradeGrade pointsDividedNumber of creditsCumulative GPA
9th grade9th grade pointsdivided9th grade credits9th grade cumulative GPA
10th grade9th + 10th grade pointsdivided9th + 10th grade credits10th grade cumulative GPA
11th grade9th + 10th + 11th grade pointsdivided9th + 10th +11th grade credits11th grade cumulative GPA
12th grade9th + 10th + 11th + 12th grade pointsdivided9th + 10th +11th + 12th grade credits12th grade cumulative GPA

Helpful Resource

Yes, a lot of addition, multiplication and division. A calculator or a friend to check your calculations would be helpful or try the GPA Calculator //gpacalculator.io/high-school-gpa-calculator/

 

If you have any questions, feel free to email CHOH at info@christianhomeschoolersofhawaii.org

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