Academic recognition is a motivator for student achievement.

That is what Columbia Falls High School administrators are aiming for with the addition of a new honors diploma this school year.

Students who complete at least half of the Advanced Placement courses offered by the school in addition to all graduation requirements are eligible for the special designation. Students must also have minimum 3.85 grade-point averages.

Currently the school offers seven Advanced Placement courses and Principal Scott Gaiser foresees more being available in the future.

Gaiser said the hope is that students will be motivated to pursue rigorous courses to achieve the diploma. Advanced Placement courses also have the benefit of possibly transferring as college credit.

“What it’s going to do is put students in a good place in preparation for college,” Gaiser said. “It acknowledges students who work at a high level.”

The school board approved the honors diploma at a May meeting.

The honors diploma also is a compromise for the continuation of weighted grades, following meetings involving students, parents, staffers and community members.

According to board minutes from the May 13 meeting, “Gaiser noted that the intent of the policy is to remedy the strife regarding the current weighted grade policy.”

Weighted grades have applied to Advanced Placement courses in addition to other accelerated courses at Columbia Falls High School.

A 2011-12 student-parent handbook noted that weighted grades would be phased out over the following two years, opening up discussions to revisit the purpose, benefits and validity of the grading system. The honors diploma program preserves the weighted grading system.

Weighted grades apply to rigorous courses and give a point higher per letter grade than regular classes. A weighted “A,” for example, would give a student five points toward his or her grade point average while a non-weighted “A” is worth four grade points.

Parent Tara Norick said she sees the benefits of weighted grades. Norick participated in meetings discussing weighted grades and an honors diploma.

She is a mother to two high-school students. One who will be a junior next year is going for the honors diploma.

“We want to encourage kids to work harder in high school and recognize their academic achievement. Students that take AP classes significantly increase their workload. I think the honors diploma is a step in the right direction,” Norick said.

Norick said she believes that weighted grades lift the burden off of students who are concerned about jeopardizing their grade-point averages if they take rigorous course load. She sees weighting advanced courses as motivation tool for students to challenge themselves.

“There’s some level of security to take that risk,” Norick said.

Glacier High School in Kalispell also recognizes students who take Advanced Placement courses, although grades are not weighted. Glacier students who pass a minimum of six Advanced Placement courses earn graduation recognition called Merit Distinction.

Gaiser said when the weighted grading system was implemented at Columbia Falls, it was thought it would enhance college-bound students’ acceptance rate or scholarships awarded.  

Montana public colleges and universities governed by the Montana University System Board of Regents do not consider weighted grade point averages when admitting students, according to Juana Alcala, director of marketing recruitment for undergraduate admissions at the University of Montana.

This is not to say that many out-of-state or highly selective colleges, honors programs or scholarship requirements don’t take weighted grades into consideration, Alcala added.

And there’s always a personal benefit in taking advanced course to prepare for college-level course work, Alcala said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].