How to Modify Grade Point Average (GPA) to Make It More Adequate

Authors

Joe Lorkowski, The University of Texas at El PasoFollow
Olga Kosheleva, The University of Texas at El PasoFollow
Vladik Kreinovich, The University of Texas at El PasoFollow

Publication Date

6-2014

Comments

Technical Report: UTEP-CS-14-50

Published in International Mathematical Forum, 2014, Vol. 9, No. 28, pp. 1363-1367.

Abstract

At present, the amounts of knowledge acquired by different graduates of the same program are usually compared by comparing their GPAs. We argue that this is not always the most adequate description: for example, if, after completing all required classes with the highest grade of "excellent" (A), a student takes an additional challenging class and gets a "satisfactory" grade (C), the amount of her knowledge increases, but the GPA goes down. We propose a modification of the GPA which is free of this drawback and is, thus, more adequate for describing the student's knowledge. We also provide a psychological explanation for why people cling to the traditional GPA.