April 4, 2008
THECB Commissioner Proposes Uniform GPA Standards
Legislation passed by the 80th legislature, HB 3851, requires the Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to develop a uniform GPA methodology to be used by Texas universities in admission decisions, including Top 10 percent admissions decisions. Commissioner of Higher Education, Raymond Paredes held two stakeholder meetings this week to discuss the development of a uniform Grade Point Average (GPA) methodology. One of the meetings was with representatives of the education associations; the other was with the Advisory Committee to THECB, composed of public and higher education professionals.
The Advisory Committee had recommended a uniform GPA methodology in March. This week, Commissioner Paredes released his counter-recommendations. Undergirding Paredes proposed methodology is his belief that the uniform GPA should include only those "academic" courses that would be predictive of a student’s success in college. Members of the Advisory Committee cautioned against so narrowly defining eligible courses.
The Commissioner's recommendations differed from the Advisory Committee’s on the following issues:
Courses included in the GPA calculation:
The Advisory Committee proposed including all TEKS-based and state-approved innovative courses; Paredes suggested including only the "academic" courses in the Recommended High School Program (RHSP) and advanced level courses listed in the "No Pass No Play" rule. Upon learning that the State Board of Education is currently amending "No Pass No Play," Paredes suggested that the GPA rule should explicitly list the advanced academic courses to be included in the GPA calculation rather than citing an existing list of courses.
Both groups of stakeholders engaged in a spirited discussion about which Fine Arts and Career & Technology courses should be included in the GPA calculation. Commissioner Paredes requested additional guidance from the Advisory Committee on this topic.
Weighting of courses:
The Advisory Committee proposed weighting AP, IB and Dual Credit courses equally at 1.15; Paredes proposed a 4.0 scale with "plus one" for weighted courses (i.e., a 5.0 scale for weighted course). The Advisory Committee proposed weighting pre-AP, pre-IB and Honors courses at 1.05. Paredes proposed no weight for those courses, explaining that those courses have no consistent definition. Students should take them to be prepared to take and excel in AP/IB or Dual Credit courses which would receive increased weight.
Some stakeholders strongly opposed having AP/IB courses weighted equally with Dual Credit courses. They argued that equal weighting undermines districts' ability to encourage students to take the most rigorous courses. Paredes stated that not equally weighting dual credit and AP/IB courses disadvantage students in districts that are not able to offer many AP/IB courses. Additionally, not equally weighting those courses would undermine the Legislature’s mandate that districts offer students the opportunity to earn 12 hours of college credit while in high school. He also stated after the Uniform GPA is implemented, THECB would implement a "quality control" process to ensure that dual credit courses are sufficiently rigorous to merit additional weight. He suggested that the vertical teams might be utilized in this process.
Including non-high school courses:
The Advisory Committee proposed that no high school courses taken in middle school should be included. Paredes proposed that the GPA should include any eligible "academic" course, regardless of when the course is taken.
Including out-of-state courses:
The Advisory Committee proposed to exclude from the GPA calculation any out-of-state grades. Paredes proposed that courses on the student’s transcript would be included in the GPA calculation.
Implementation date:
According to the legislation, the universities have to implement the new methodology starting with fall 2009 admission decisions (i.e., decisions made during the 2008-09 school year). There was unanimous agreement in both stakeholder meetings that the implementation date should be postponed. Paredes said that the legislation left THECB no "wiggle room" on this issue. He vowed to work with legislators to amend the statute at the beginning of the 2009 legislative session to postpone implementation of the Uniform GPA rule until fall 2012.
The Advisory Committee and THECB staff will continue discussions to find resolution on these issues, working toward a release of proposed rules no sooner than THECB’s July quarterly meeting. A public comment period will follow, with the THECB adopting final rules in October.
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THECB Commissioner Proposes Uniform GPA Standards
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