QPA's are calculated/recalculated every quarter, semester, at YEP, at NYE and during grade changes
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1. The following numerical equivalents will be used in computing the QPA from report card letter grades for non-weighted courses:
A = 4.00 B = 3.00 C = 2.00 D = 1.00 E = 0.00
2. The following numerical equivalents will be used in computing the QPA from report card letter grades for honors courses:
A = 4.50 B = 3.50 C = 2.50 D = 1.50 E = 0.00
3. For additional weighting at the high school level, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and selected advanced Career and Technology Education (CTE) courses
are approved. See Administrative Procedure 5128 for a list of weighted grade courses. Seminar courses will not receive weighted grades. Additional courses may be approved system-wide by the Superintendent. The following numerical equivalents will be used in computing the GPA from report card letter grades for weighted courses:
A = 5.00 B = 4.00 C = 3.00 D = 2.00 E = 0.00
4. The following grades are not included in QPA calculations: I, P, W.
Explanation of Quarterly QPA Calculation
1. A quarterly QPA will appear on each quarterly report card. It is derived by performing the following procedure:
a. The credit value of each course receiving an A, B, C, D, or E for the quarter will be divided by the number of quarterly grades that the course receives during the year (ex 4 for FY, 2 for S1, etc). This is the quarterly credit.
b. For each course receiving an A, B, C, D, or E, the weighted grade points will be multiplied by the quarterly credit to derive the quality points (honor points).
c. The quarterly QPA will be calculated as the sum of the quality points divided by the sum of the quarterly credits.
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Q: Student(s)/Staff say the QPA calculation is incorrect and it should be fixed. Their calculations do not match what is in the family portal. How can this be corrected before the end of the quarter/right now/before college admission is affected/scholarships are affected?
A: If there are QPA concerns the person to contact is the grade manager.
QPA calculations are programmed in the SIS software and out of the control of building personnel. Course values are programmed into the course numbers. Calculation formulas are dictated by administrative policies and programmed into the software at the county level. As long as teacher grades are correct, QPA's are correct:
when the grading window for Q grade types closes, QPA's are recalculated by the county
when teachers file grade changes, the grade manager recalculates the QPA
when the Q4 grading window closes, final grades are auto calculated, QPA's are recalculated
Grades in AP/Honors courses are not weighted. The calculation for grades is dictated by policy, programmed into each course, and expressed in percentages. To make the QPA calculation, percent grades are converted to letters and a series of calculations are made.
QPA calculations use weighted values for equivalent letter grades, all done in the software and not visible. So it isn't true that GRADES in AP/Honors courses are automatically raised by a weighted value. What AP/IB/Honors weighting does is make a QPA above 4.0 possible.
Q: Can you explain the difference between Cumulative QPA and Structure List QPA?
A: Both are defined by in administrative procedure, can't be changed except by the BOE, and there are no software mistakes in the programmed calculations.
CUMULATIVE CAREER QPA is a calculated using final QPA's from all courses that have ended from Gr 9-12. It uses only courses that have gone to transcript so grade changes in courses that haven't ended don't matter in this calculation. This value is recalculated each time a grade change that requires a transcript change is processed. This the QPA that should appear on transcripts and is necessary for reports in APEX and SchoolMAX.
STRUCTURE LIST QPA uses the final QPA's from all courses that have ended from Gr 9-11 and the QPA's from all enrolled courses for Q1, Q2, and Q3 in Gr 12. This value is calculated on or about two weeks after the Q3 grades are submitted. It should be calculated once and never recalculated except in rare circumstances by the grade manager at the direction of the principal.