What’s your opinion of the decision to phase out weighted GPA at Kennett High?

The Conway School Board recently decided that, beginning with the 2022-23 school year, Kennett High School will no longer academically weight core courses, bringing all classes at KHS and the MWV Career and Technical Center under the same grading system. According to gpacalculator.net, a "weighted grade point average (GPA) is calculated after adding extra points for honors or Advanced Placement courses. Basically, this means an A in these courses receives 5 points rather than a 4 ... so the overall GPA can exceed 4.0." It adds that "many high schools and colleges will look just at English, math, foreign language and science course grades to calculate weighted GPA. Grades for courses such as gym, wood working, cooking, music, health and theater may not be considered as much for the admissions process.” Critics of the change at Kennett might say it’s unfair for a cooking course to receive the same weight as Honors English. However, school board member Michelle Capozzoli, who lauded the policy, said, “I have a hard time that students that take these courses in the career-tech don’t have the opportunity to run for valedictorian because they’re competing against the weighted GPA. There are some students that are taking or not taking these courses, because it will affect their GPA.”

This week’s Tele-Talk question:What’s your opinion of the decision to phase out weighted GPA at Kennett High?