How homeschool GPA is calculated
Each letter grade has a point value on the 4.0 scale (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0; with plus and minus grades, an A- is usually 3.7 and a B+ 3.3). To get the GPA:
- Multiply each course’s grade points by its credits. These are the "quality points".
- Add up the quality points for all graded courses.
- Divide by the total credits of those graded courses.
A worked example
English 9 (1 credit, A = 4.0) gives 4.0 quality points. Biology (1 credit, B+ = 3.3) gives 3.3. Health (0.5 credit, A = 4.0) gives 2.0. The total is 9.3 quality points over 2.5 credits, so the GPA is 9.3 ÷ 2.5 = 3.72.
A simple average of the three grades would give 3.77, because it treats the half-credit Health course like a full course. Weighting by credits is the usual method, and it is what this calculator does.
Pass/fail, incomplete and in-progress courses
A course marked P (pass) earns its credits but has no grade points, so it is left out of the GPA. Incomplete (I) and in-progress (IP) courses earn no credit yet and are also left out. An F is included in the GPA at 0 points and earns no credit.
Weighted GPA
A weighted GPA adds a bonus for harder courses, commonly +0.5 for Honors and +1.0 for AP and dual enrollment, so an A in an AP course counts as 5.0. Failing grades get no bonus. You can change the bonuses under "Weighting". Many colleges recalculate GPAs their own way, so showing both is a good idea. More in weighted vs unweighted GPA.
Per-year and cumulative GPA
Transcripts usually show a GPA for each school year and a cumulative GPA for all years together. The cumulative GPA is not the average of the yearly GPAs: it is calculated from every graded course at once, so a year with more credits counts for more. The transcript builder shows both, per year and overall, and updates them as you edit.
Rounding
GPAs here are rounded to two decimals (3.665 becomes 3.67) and shown the same way everywhere: per year, cumulative, and on the printed transcript.