Just moved to a new district and the grading scale here is so different compared to my old school. It got me thinking - is there a typical or most common grading scale used by most high schools in the US?
There isn't necessarily a "typical" grading scale that all high schools in the United States use, as it can vary greatly from district to district. However, more commonly, high schools tend to use either a traditional scale or a college-style 10-point scale.
1. A traditional scale often looks like this:
A: 93-100
B: 85-92
C: 77-84
D: 70-76
F: Below 70
2. The 10-point scale—which is similar to many colleges' grading scales—typically looks like this:
A: 90-100
B: 80-89
C: 70-79
D: 60-69
F: Below 60
On both scales, there can be plusses and minuses near the top and bottom ends of each letter grade range—for instance, an A- might be a 90-92 on the traditional scale or a 90-93 on the 10-point scale.
Additionally, some schools will use weighted GPAs for honors or Advanced Placement (AP) classes, where an A might count as a 5.0 rather than a 4.0, boosting students' overall GPA. This is not a universal practice, though, and some districts will stick to an unweighted scale where an A is always worth 4.0, regardless of the difficulty level of the class.
In short, grading scales can be quite diverse, and the scale that your new school uses is likely just one of many used throughout the country.
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