GPA and Rank Frequently Asked Questions

• There are two different grade point averages or GPAs that are calculated for each high school student and are printed on the student’s transcript.

•  The unweighted GPA is a traditional GPA based on a 4.0 scale where all courses are counted equally, regardless of the difficulty of the class. 

• The GPA for rank or weighted GPA is a GPA in which different courses carry different weights. Classes considered to be more difficult are given more GPA points.

• Per Board Policy EIC LOCAL, Duncanville ISD assigns different weights to GPA as outlined below. This reports on the transcript on a 100 point scale.  However, the unweighted GPA is reported on a 4.0 scale. 

The District shall assign weights to semester grades earned in eligible courses and calculate a weighted numerical grade average, in accordance with the following:

Beginning with the class of 2028, a student’s GPA will be weighted on a 6.0 scale.  

• Class rank is a way to see how your academic achievements measure up to those of your classmates.

• Your class rank is determined by comparing your weighted GPA to the weighted GPA of people in the same cohort, or class, as you.

• You may qualify for automatic admission to many public universities in Texas through the Top 10% Rule. To meet the requirements, you must graduate on the Distinguished Level of Achievement graduation plan and in the top 10% of your class. Class rank and the weighted GPA are used to determine students in the top 10%.

• Class rank is a way to measure how a student’s academic performance compares to other students in his or her class.  As new students enroll, they are added into the comparison group for class rank which could cause some students to shift. However, per board policy, in order to be considered for valedictorian or salutatorian, a student must be graduating after having been enrolled for at least 4 semesters or 2 years preceding graduation, and must be graduating after being enrolled for 8 consecutive semesters.
   
• GPA and class rank are calculated at the completion of the second semester of the student’s sophomore year, and each semester during the junior and senior year as students receive final grades for courses. As new grades are added to transcripts, students may also shift in class rank in comparison to their peers.

You may refer to Board Policy EIC Legal and EIC Local or contact your campus counselor to discuss your course pathway and graduation plan. 

Beginning with the class of 2028, several changes have been implemented. You may refer to Board Policy EIC Legal and EIC  Local or contact your campus counselor for more information. Some notable changes are below:

• The weighted GPA scale will be on a 6.0 scale.
• Semester grades earned in high school credit courses taken in grades 9–12, and Algebra I and English I if taken in junior high. The calculation shall include failing grades earned in those courses. 
• Additional exclusions have been clarified.
   

You may refer to Board Policy EIC Legal and EIC  Local or contact your campus counselor for more information.

The calculation of class rank shall exclude grades earned in any course provided by a private, community, or commercially sponsored program substituted for physical education or fine arts; summer school; any course for which credit is earned outside the regular school day or regular school year; a distance learning course, unless the course is either assigned to the student by the District or offered as a course option along with traditional District courses; any credit recovery course; any non-approved online course; any course for which a pass/fail grade is assigned; or through credit by examination, with or without prior instruction. For further provisions regarding excluded courses, see District publication regarding class rank guidelines.

The class rank calculation shall not include semester grades from a course that is retaken after a passing grade has been earned.