Understanding your GPA

A grade point average (GPA) is a calculated average of the letter grades you earn in school following a 0 to 4.0 or 5.0 scale. Every semester, you’ll receive a GPA based on the grades you earned in all of your classes during that semester. Throughout high school, you’ll also maintain a cumulative GPA, which is an ongoing average of all your semester one and two grades beginning with freshman year.

Why is it important? Because it is key to:

• • Your status as a student, class rank

  • Future financial aid, which requires "satisfactory academic progress"

  • Scholarship eligibility

  • Future employment opportunities

  • Eligibility for College athletic teams

  • Acceptance to university programs

How your GPA is calculated:

• 1. Identify the grade value for each completed course based on the grade you received: A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1.

  2. Calculate the grade points you earned for each completed course by multiplying the grade value by the course's credit value. Example: If you earned a B in a 3-credit course, your earned grade points for that course would be 9.

  3. Calculate your total grade points achieved by adding together the individual grade points.

  4. Calculate your GPA by dividing your total grade points achieved by the total credits attempted.