After much deliberation over the difference between the school’s GPA scale compared to those of other nearby schools, the administration foresees a possible change in the grading system for the Class of 2020.

Unlike Los Gatos High and most other local schools, Saratoga High implements a different GPA for pluses and minuses within grades. While Saratoga uses a 13 grade-point scale, Los Gatos uses the traditional four grade-point scale with a 5.0 scale grade bump for APs and honors classes.

For instance, someone with all B-plus grades in regular classes would have a GPA of 3.33 at SHS, while at Los Gatos, the student would receive a GPA of 3.0.

To be consistent with schools like Los Gatos, the administration is contemplating adopting grading system that applies the same grade point average for pluses and minuses within the same letter category. AP and honors courses would still be calculated on a 5.0  grade-point scale.

According to principal Paul Robinson, out of all plus and minus grades, 55 percent of them are minus grades, while only 45 percent are plus grades. Thus, removing the grade-point difference not only will benefit the students with the minus, but also will reduce pressure for students who feel obligated to aim for the extra grade boost from the plus, Robinson said.

“A lot of schools around us have this system in place, so I think it would make sense for us to adopt this new system,” sophomore Nathon Chin said. “It could decrease the stress students have over maintaining a certain grade.”

In addition to researching about the plus and minus grades, Robinson said that the leadership counsel and department chairs have talked to admission counselors at universities that students frequently apply to, asking them if removing pluses and minuses from students’ transcripts would impact admissions.

“The feedback we got was that it doesn’t make that big of a difference,” Robinson said. “Leaving [the pluses and minuses] on [the transcript] or taking it off wouldn’t be the deciding factor of a student getting in or not getting in [to a school].”

Regardless of the plus or minus mark on the transcript, Robinson said colleges and universities will calculate grades the way they want to. They tend to choose a few classes, calculate them in their own fashion and then rank grades against everyone else’s.

“We’re doing a lot of research on the percentage of the plus and minus grades and how they have impacted students,” Robinson said. “We want to make sure we weren’t hurting anybody and we’re trying to help as many students as we can.”

Since this idea was brought up at the start of the school year, there has not been a serious discussion about this change. However, administration and counselors continue to further research and receive feedback to make the most efficient decision possible.

“We would implement it next year after we’ve spent this spring informing everyone as to why we’ve moved in this direction,” Robinson said.

If the change becomes official, the administration hopes that it will help reduce stress and competition among the students.

“We want to do what we think will best meet the needs of our students and give them at least a peace of mind that the grades they’re getting are really indicative of what they earned in their classes,” Robinson said.