At the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) Board of Education meeting on Dec. 16, Middleton High School (MHS) Principal Peg Shoemaker, Clark Street Community School (CSCS) Principal Jill Gurtner, MHS Assistant Principal Liz Merrick and Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Silvia Romero-Johnson discussed challenges related to Act 95, otherwise known as the Wisconsin Guarantee. 

They announced that a weighted GPA system will be implemented to comply with Act 95 by July 2025. The GPA of current students will be recalculated according to the system.

Act 95 guarantees that students within the top five percent of GPA at any Wisconsin school will be admitted to the University of Wisconsin (UW) -Madison. It also guarantees admission to all other UW schools for the students within the top ten percent of GPA; however, in schools like MHS, the number of students with a 4.0 GPA exceeds five percent. The weighted GPA system should solve this problem by isolating a definitive top five percent.

In the new system, Advanced Placement (AP) courses are weighted on a 5.0 scale and as of now are the only courses that will be weighted. 

“AP courses are recognized as rigorous and standardized, making them a reliable measure. The district’s decision aligns with college admissions trends, where AP coursework is seen as a marker of academic challenge, said Merrick. “Additionally, we wanted to make the smallest change possible, as the Wisconsin guarantee/Act 95 truly only affects about 30 students in each senior class.” 

While they are open to weighing other courses, Merrick said that “there are currently no plans in place. We would like to see 1-2 years’ worth of data on how weighting AP courses affects our students before launching a process to review other courses.” 

Students may see this as fair given that a course’s status as an  “AP” isn’t necessarily indicative of its rigor.

There have been a variety criticisms of the implementation of a weighted GPA system. In fact, the MHS administration has stated that they were reluctant to make the decision. The debate on whether to weigh GPAs is a widespread discussion and is just one of many uncertainties in the future of education.

Many argue that weighted GPAs encourage students to select highly weighted courses as opposed to those that fit the interests or intended career paths of the students. This is especially concerning considering MHS only offers one AP fine arts class: AP Music Theory. 

“The weighted GPA system could increase pressure on students to take AP courses rather than choosing classes based on their true interests.” said Merrick. “This may lead to students avoiding non-AP courses that provide valuable skills or real-world experiences.” 

In addition, those opposed to weighted GPAs have said that weighted GPAs encourage students to take more rigorous courses, which could threaten their mental health. Many teens push themselves to achieve a high GPA, often to the detriment of their mental health. Given the implementation of weighted GPAs at MHS, it would be no surprise if some students tried to take as many APs as possible, regardless of how it affects them. 

“Students may feel compelled to overload their schedules, which could impact their well-being,” said Merrick

Another concern is a possible increase in inequity. Underrepresented students are drastically less likely to enroll in AP classes. This is due to a variety of reasons, including low-quality early education. Without the adequate foundational skills learned in elementary and middle school, a lot of students can’t make the jump to APs. 

Educator and assessment biases that impact the grades of these students may stop them from taking AP courses. Another major factor arises from educators struggling to effectively communicate with the families of these students.

“The emphasis on AP courses might…create inequities for students who do not have access to the same AP offerings,” Merrick said.

While some people criticize weighted GPA systems, many students are glad that MHS is finally making the switch. Weighted GPAs can be beneficial to students as it rewards them for taking more rigorous courses. Weighted GPAs can also act as a safety net for students. If they don’t do as well as they would have liked in a more rigorous course, the class’ weight can cancel it out.

Some have argued that weighted GPAs can decrease inequity by encouraging students from underrepresented groups to enroll in AP classes. Weighted GPAs may help to counteract the effects of other factors stopping marginalized students from taking these courses.

Another reason people advocate for weighted GPAs is for a perceived competitive advantage in college admissions. Many students presume that because weighted GPAs essentially add points to their GPA for their harder classes, those with weighted GPAs will be valued as more competitive applicants than those who don’t. 

In reality, there typically isn’t any advantage that comes from weighted GPAs because most colleges will recalculate applicants’ GPAs and look at their transcripts and applications holistically rather than solely based on GPA.

Beyond just deciding whether or not to weigh GPAs, many schools are moving away from AP classes altogether. Schools that have eliminated AP courses often replace these classes with their own engaging and in-depth courses in which educators have the freedom to teach students what they need to know, not what the College Board determines they should. However, the schools that are making this leap are typically private schools that have sufficient resources to do so.

Another reason for this change is that many universities are not as willing to accept AP credits as they were in the past. A lot of colleges require a score of 5 for any credit, and some, like Amherst College, don’t accept AP credits at all. 

Many argue that current AP curriculums don’t foster a love of learning in students while others say that AP courses must be eliminated because unequal access to resources makes the AP system biased.

Evidently, eliminating APs doesn’t worsen students’ chances of getting into college, as most universities only expect students to take advantage of what resources are available at their school.. While this change is probably not feasible or likely for Middleton at present, it is important to keep in mind when looking at our values as a school. 

Another unconventional system is used by Clark Street Community School (CSCS). CSCS is a school that strives to be “democratic, place-based and personalized.” They don’t use grades, instead utilizing a competency based system where students give and receive feedback about what they learn and make. A lot of the arguments made by advocates of CSCS and similar schools are the same as those used against weighted GPAs and AP classes.

CSCS reinvents education by creating a system that is personalized to its learners. The school has a strong focus on making its students passionate and engaged in what they are learning. CSCS focuses on changing the system rather than molding students to fit inside it. Regardless of the success of CSCS, many parents and students are still wary of the system because of its unconventionality. 

Change is slow to happen, and the future of education is still unknown. Regardless of whether GPAs at MHS are weighted or not, students should take advantage of what opportunities they can and take classes that benefit and interest them.