Lafayette School Board Decides Against Raising Grading Scale For AP Classes

Lafayette Parish School Board has decided to not increase the maximum grade point average Advance Placement students can achieve to 4.5.

The heightened difficulty of Advanced Placement courses have led some to argue whether or not AP courses should be worth more than average ones. Advanced Placement courses also make it possible for students in the system to obtain college credit.

The original suggestion would  have changed the current scale, allowing students in AP courses to be graded on a 4.5 scale, so that if they decided to take the harder classes they would not jeopardize their entire grade point average. Currently, all classes are graded on the traditional 4.0 scale.

The board was being encouraged by the Louisiana Department of Education to make changes to the grade point average maximum in order to increase participation in the Advanced Placement program.