HUNTERDON CENTRAL REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

prior to September 2010 will reflect the old numeric grading system. No historical grades will be changed or
recalculated and the new grade scale will be in place moving forward.
Multiple conversations have taken place with college admissions deans and directors to determine the best
practice for utilizing both grading scales on our student transcripts. Admissions officers are used to seeing
transcripts from students who have attended multiple schools and whose transcripts may reflect different
grading systems. The colleges simply ask us to be as transparent as possible. HCRHS will include an
explanation of the grading system change on our School Profile which is mailed with every college application.
Counselors will also include an explanation of these changes in their recommendation/secondary school reports
to colleges.
The major changes in the scale include expanding to a 10-point range for all grades A through C with plus (+)
and minus (-) values within each range. In addition, the GPA and WGPA will also change. There are two
levels of courses utilized for the purpose of calculating weighted grade point average:
1. Weighted courses are any courses with an AP (Advanced Placement) or HNS (Honors) label. For HNS
courses, grade point equivalents increase 0.5. For AP courses, grade point equivalents increase 1.0. For
example: Standard "B" = 3.0, HNS "B" = 3.5, AP "B" = 4.0.
2. Unweighted courses are any courses not designated AP or HNS. Both weighted and unweighted grade
point averages (WGPA and GPA) are calculated. Only the final grade achieved in each course is used to
compute GPA and WGPA. All graded (non-pass/fail) courses are used in the calculation of WGPA.
Cumulative GPA and WGPA for final course grades are tabulated and posted on student report cards and
the permanent transcript record at the conclusion of each quarter. Please keep in mind that the majority of
colleges recalculate GPA on a pure 4.0 scale. In the recalculation process, colleges use the grading scale
provided by the high school.
Also, rather than receiving a numeric grade on the report card or on a student’s transcript (as is the current
practice), students will receive a final letter grade for each course. Historical grades (those which precede the
grade scale change) will remain numeric. Grades earned beginning with the 2010-2011 school year will appear
as letter grades.
The decision to begin posting final grades earned as letter grades was made because it is the method preferred
by colleges and universities, and it aligns with what is done by other high-performing high schools. It is true
that our plan is for the transcript for current freshmen, sophomore and juniors to show high school grades
earned prior to September 2010 as number grades, and grades earned beginning in September 2010 as letter
grades.
The differences between the two grading scales are demonstrated below:
NEW HCRHS GRADING SCALE:
Grade Numeric GPA WGPA-HNSWGPA-AP
Equivalent
A+ (97-100) 4.0 4.5 5.0
A (93-96) 4.0 4.5 5.0
A- (90-92) 3.7 4.2 4.7
B+ (87-89) 3.3 3.8 4.3
B (83-86) 3.0 3.5 4.0
B- (80-82) 2.7 3.2 3.7
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