Paying your way to the top?

How would you feel if someone received a higher grade and GPA than you just because they paid money?

What if I told you this went on in our own school?

Well, it does, and it can be accomplished by taking Dual Enrollment classes. These are college classes students pay for and get to take at the university. They, in some cases, can receive college credits for the class, as well as high school credits. Since the course is college level, the school weights the class the same way as an Advanced Placement (AP) course.

According to the district-provided course grade to what the school calls “quality points,” 100 percent in a Dual Enrollment class equates to a 4.8 and a 90 percent is a 4.0. This all seems good and fair. I mean, it is a college-level course, so this grading system seems appropriate for students who pay and go to and take these classes.

There is one problem though.

When the colleges, HACC of York, York College, and Penn State York, report the class grades, they don’t do it through percentages like Central does. Rather, they report it as either a 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0. When the school sees the 4, they automatically enter it into the system as a 100%.

What?

How does that make sense?

So technically, you could barely squeeze by in the class with an A and get a 90%, meaning you should get a 4.0. But, due to the flawed system, you’ll be getting a 4.8. That works great for you, but it is unfair to almost everyone else.

The people who took the same class and got a better grade are still receiving the same grade as you. They did less work but still got the same credit, and that’s not fair to those who did more work.

Those who also didn’t take a Dual Enrollment class and didn’t pay the almost $1,000 aren’t getting such a high grade. The entire situation is not fair.

I am not trying to bash Dual Enrollment classes at all. I think they are a great option to have in order to get college experience, receive credits and boost your knowledge in a challenging way during high school. But something needs to be changed in the way the grades are calculated for them to be a fair option to those who take them and those who don’t.

Communication is the key flaw here. Either the colleges need to report the scores the way that Central calculates them, or our school needs to follow up and do additional investigation to find the actual percentage earned.

The way the system is now, you can pay almost one grand, take a college class and get a very low A and still receive a 4.8, skyrocketing your GPA to unfair levels.

Central, either change the grade calculation system or stop offering Dual Enrollment classes as an option to students.

#opinions