GPA selection process lacks integrity

 ONE of  my top grade 12 students has not gained admission into a particular tertiary institution in 2016 despite the fact that he has attained an exceptional grades point average (GPA) of 3.5 which is well above the university’s minimum requirement GPA of 2.75 – 3.0. 

This student deserves a place in that university because he has worked very hard for during his 12 years of education to score an ‘A’ grade in Language & Literature, another ‘A’ grade in Chemistry, a ‘B’ grade in Advanced Math and another ‘B’ grade in Physics. 

For an admission into one of the courses of engineering offered at University of Technology, the requirement is an average of ‘B’ grade in Advanced Math, Chemistry and Physics and a ‘C’ grade or better in English. 

That implies that any students who score an average GPA of 2.75 would be eligible for admission into one of the engineering programmes.

GPA is calculated based on the grades point per subject. For instance, the engineering stream subject requirements are Language & Literature, Advanced Math, Physics and Chemistry.

In terms of grades point, an ‘A’ is equivalent to 4 points, ‘B’ corresponds to 3 points, ‘C’ corresponds to 2 points and ‘D’ is equal to 1 point. 

Normally the grades point are added and then divided by the number of required subject taken to determine the GPA. 

Consider the student who has met the minimum requirements for an engineering course stated above. His GPA is calculated as: (3+3+3+2)÷4=2.75. In the case of my student, his GPA is: (4+4+3+3)÷4=3.5 which is just 0.5 points less to reach 4.0, the nation’s highest GPA. 

Thus, my student’s GPA is exceptionally high and he should be qualified for engineering studies.  

The GPA fluctuates every year according to the performances of the students at the national level. 

Thus, the determinant factors that mainly influence the exam performances are the structure of the exam questions and the level of difficulty. 

Basically, exam questions are not be of moderate thinking order but should be in percentage wise; 60% moderate level and 40% higher level questions to measure the competency level of individual students. 

If the questions are not structured properly then, the exam may be too difficult or easy and most students will score above or below the national average accordingly. Given that if the national average per subject is very low then this will imply that the level of exam questions is more difficult and most students would end up scoring the highest GPA as 2.75 to 3.0. Otherwise, if the level of questions in the exam is of moderate difficulty, then the national average will be very high and the GPA would turn out to be very high like 3.6 to 4.0. 

If our selection process based on the GPA system can be manipulated, controlled and corrupted, then this clearly shows that it is not practical and lacks integrity. 

Moses Ba Mogia

Goroka, EHP