LMHS Newsroom

Dear LMSD Community,

During the Curriculum Committee meeting on January 18, 2024, members of our Leadership Team recommended changes to grade point average (GPA), weighted grades and graduation credits for high school students. These changes will primarily impact students who will enter ninth grade beginning with the 2024-2025 school year and thereafter.

The discussions about grading and reporting at the high school level were initiated as part of Redefining Success pathway in our strategic plan, All Forward. Input on GPA, courses that counted toward GPA and credit requirements was garnered from staff and students. Feedback was solicited through several input channels including multiple surveys, discussions with staff, building leadership and District administration.

Currently, only major courses count toward a student’s GPA. Major courses include English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and World Language. One of the recurring themes that emerged from our discussions was that students do not always select courses in their passion areas (e.g., fine arts, etc.) because they do not count toward their GPA. We understand that students are faced with decisions that are stressful and our decisions are based upon the reduction of some of that stress while providing support academically to pursue their interests.

Our recommendations moving forward represent our focus on academics and wellness coming together in the best interest of our students:

• Beginning with the ninth-grade class in 2024-2025 (class of 2028) All courses on the transcript will be included in the grade point average (GPA). Honors will be calculated on a weighted 4.15 scale, and AP, IB, and DE courses will be calculated on a weighted 4.25 scale. College Preparatory (CP) courses will be calculated on a 4.0 scale. The highest GPA students will be able to earn is a 4.25. See the Making Practices Public Page for the weighting scale.
• Please note current high school students will remain on the 5.0 grading scale with only final grades in the five major academic areas included in the GPA.
• Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, the credit requirements for graduation from a Lower Merion School District high school will increase from 21 credits to 21.5 credits. The additional 0.5 credit requirement accounts for the Lower Merion School District senior project requirement. This 0.5 credit requirement is specific to Lower Merion School District and is in addition to the state mandated 21 credits. This increased requirement applies to all high school students. This modification is being made to align policy with state and local mandates and will not impact students as they already complete a graduation project worth 0.5 credit.

I would like to thank the staff, students, and administration for their thoughtful discussions, input, and effort towards making these recommendations become reality.

Sincerely,

Alexis McGloin, Ed.D.
Assistant Superintendent