december 19, 2018 volume 54, issue 3
the Everything Greenhill
evergreengreenhill.org
An unequal balance Weighing the pros and cons of an unweighted GPA system Read about Greenhill’s response to cheating on page 10
Graphic by Sarah Luan and Michelle Liang
Amber Syed Managing Editor Leah Nutkis Copy Editor A student took seven classes, most of which were honors and Advanced Placement. Another student took five classes, none of which were honors or Advanced Placement. Both students earned a 3.82 grade-point average come the end of the trimester. Is this fair? Greenhill uses an unweighted gradepoint average (GPA) system, meaning that Advanced Placement (AP) and honors classes are worth the same grades as regular classes. A weighted GPA takes into consideration that honors and AP classes are more difficult than regular classes, and are therefore given a grade bump at the end of the course. “When you think about our curriculum, it really is a faculty-driven curriculum,” said Director of College Counseling Jenny Fisher. “Because of the course trajectories that different departments have chosen, there are not equal opportunities to have weighted grades. It wouldn’t help in the college process for Greenhill to have a weighted GPA.” For example, a more English-andhistory-driven student would only have the opportunity to take a couple of AP courses, whereas a science-driven student would have many more chances to take an AP class. Also, while AP Spanish and AP Latin are
equivalent to a fourth-year language course, AP Chinese is equivalent to a sixth-year language course. Additionally, teachers design their own curriculum at Greenhill, thus there are more variables in what goes into grades than just what’s on the paper. “A GPA on its own is a crude measurement, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” said Ms. Fisher. “You have to get into a student’s transcript to learn about what choices a student is making and their performance over time.” While GPA is not the only determinant for college acceptance, Ms. Fisher said that it’s still an important aspect of the application. “I think grades do matter,” she said. “They aren’t the only thing that matters, but academic criteria do matter in the college process.” Despite not having a GPA bump, many students still feel motivated to take AP and honors classes. Junior Divya Inaganti said while she isn’t discouraged from taking harder courses, she feels that there is an added pressure. “It hasn’t discouraged me, but it makes me feel more tense because, when I get an A- in that class, it’s like a 3.67 and that pulls down my other classes’ GPAs, so it’s aggravating but it [doesn’t] compel me to not take it,” she said. Similarly, junior Julia Townsend said she still finds motivation to take more rigorous courses for a few reasons. cont’d on page 8
“When they give high honor roll or select valedictorian, it’s not really reflective of who’s earning the top scores, because students in the easy classes are getting the same GPA or higher than students taking harder classes.” -junior Divya Inaganti
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Students debate whether dressing up for Diwali is appreciation or appropriation p. 3
A look into the past of the Montgomery Library on its 50th anniversary p. 4
The role of caffeine on campus and why students drink it so much p. 8
Lee Hark debuts reading The Nutcracker for the kindergarten performance p. 10
Freshmen take the boys varsity soccer program by storm p. 14
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