When entering the doors of GHS freshman year, most students hope to exit these same doors as seniors with a college acceptance letter and a scholarship in hand. One of the main determining factors in getting accepted into college is a student’s GPA (Grade Point Average). Recently the Gretna School Board made a decision that they believe will positively impact not only Gretna students GPA, but their mental health as well.
Grading in Gretna schools has been done on a six point scale where a 94 through 100 is considered an A.
“I think the current way of grading has been very stressful,” senior Julia Tostenson said.
Compared to other districts in Nebraska, Gretna currently has one of the strictest grading scales. Omaha Public Schools, as well as Ashland, require a 90-100 for an A, while rival Millard require 93-100 for an A. Trying to compete for the same college acceptance and scholarships while having different requirements for what constitutes a 4.0 GPA was one of the driving factors in changing the current grading system.
“The CIA (Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment) department reached out to lots of colleges and asked what do you look at when you look at for college acceptance,” assistant principal Theresa Huttmann said. “They said that they look at GPA and ACT scores. Our grading scale was making it so it was very hard to get a 3.0. Most colleges only accept a 3.0 and above, so if at every other school, if I get an 83 percent, I’m still getting a 3.0. But at our school, I’d be getting a 2.0, so that was the biggest part. It was potentially getting in the way of students getting into college.”
While this is a positive step moving forward, it does come with hesitation from some teachers.
“I think it will be more helpful for scholarships, and make us equal to other schools,” said English teacher Taylor Loudner. “I just hope that it doesn’t make them try less or be more lazy. I want them to try and do their best.”
Overall however, Loudner said she feels like the new grading system will have a positive impact.
“I think it will alleviate the pressure of having to have a one or a two,” Loudner said. “At the end of the day, it will help us learn better and be more prepared for college and learn from them.”
The new grading scale will not be retroactive, meaning that seniors and current students will still have their current grades, and they will not be changed to the new grading system.
“I am a little upset that the grading scale is just now changing because it would have caused so much less stress for me and my peers,” Tostenson said. “It would have also made people have higher GPAs to get into more colleges and get better scholarships.”
Even though seniors and current students can not go back and change their GPAs to align with the new grading, administration believes the change will have a positive impact on students in upcoming school years.
The new grading system has been in the works for the past five years and had to be approved by the School Board in order to be enacted. Starting with the 2025-2026 school year, all Gretna students will now adapt to this new scale.
“I think it will be more helpful for scholarships, make us equal to other schools,” Loudner said.
This new change will be implemented in the 2025-2026 school year, and is said to benefit our students a lot. It was a change that required a lot of thought.”
