Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton-Portage Township Schools Superintendent Anders Hill discusses a proposal to institute a weighted grade-point average at Houghton High School that would give additional value to advanced classes.

HOUGHTON — Houghton High School may join the many schools around the country with weighted grade-point averages to award more points for advanced classes.

The Houghton-Portage Township Schools Board discussed instituting a weighted grade-point average at its meeting Monday.

The district had begun exploring the idea after talking with parents, said Superintendent Anders Hill. Under the new plan, the top possible GPA would be 4.25, rather than 4.0.

While colleges used to recalculate the weighted GPAs, many are no longer doing that, Hill said, placing Houghton students at a disadvantage.

“The admissions directors from Michigan Tech came in and met with (Principal) Tiffany (Scullion) and I and told us we were behind other schools, our kids are losing out on scholarship money,” Hill said. “It’s really a positive thing. I would say the majority of schools in Michigan have gone to this.”

The new weighted GPA wouldn’t affect class rank until the class of 2027, this year’s freshmen, to give them time to take Advanced Placement classes. In the meantime, students would have both weighted and unweighted GPAs on their transcripts. GPA would be recalculated for all students still in the district, and would include retroactive weighting for AP classes they took before the changeover.

Including online classes, Houghton currently offers 11 AP courses, Scullion said.

The growing use of the Common Application, which more than 1,000 schools participate in, has made it easier for students to apply to colleges. In 2019, Michigan Tech received around 6,000 applications a year; now, it’s more than 22,000.

Aside from Ivy League schools, those colleges have stopped recalculating GPAs, Hill said.

The same disadvantages Houghton students face in scholarships also apply to financial aid, Scullion said.

“If you were to complete your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and find out maybe you have a little more need, if you’re a 4.12, they hand it to that person first before the 3.89, just based on what we’ve learned from our outreach with universities,” she said.

A resolution to approve the weighted GPA had been an action item on Monday’s agenda. However, the board decided to postpone a vote in order to get more feedback from students.

During public comment, Houghton High School senior Ian Evans had called for a full survey of the student body before any decision was made.

“I might even think it’s a good idea, but I think it’s most important that we hear from students to make sure that you guys know how the student body feels about it, so you can make an informed decision,” he said. “Because we are the ones that are going to be the most affected.”

The board should make a decision by its May meeting in order to have it in place for next year, Hill said.

Hill said the district could put together a focus group of high school students to discuss the change. Board President Amanda Massaway asked that the focus group also include recent graduates, because of their experience with the admissions process.

Also Monday, the board approved moving forward with a November 2024 bond proposal for building improvements. The intermediate step precedes a vote on the bond language that will happen in April or May. Hill said an advisory group will look at what the potential bond would include prior to that meeting.

The district is looking at ways to ease overcrowding in the district due to higher enrollments, such as additional space at the elementary school. An average of 50 people attended three community forums the district had held to discuss space issues and the possible solutions.

One item that had been discussed, a portable classroom, will probably not be pursued due to cost, Hill said. The estimate was around $600,000, about double what the district had anticipated. Hill said the district might cap one grade at the elementary school to manage growth.