TOPS Cumulative High School Grade Point Average 
(GPA Calculation)

LOUISIANA STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
OFFICE OF STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) Bulletin
TOPS BULLETIN NUMBER:
T2000-18
DATE ISSUED:
June 5, 2000
EFFECTIVE DATE:
As Indicated
DISTRIBUTION: Louisiana High School Principals and Counselors, City and Parish School Board Presidents, School Board Superintendents, Department of Education, Louisiana Officials, Louisiana Legislators, and Commission Members
TOPIC: TOPS Cumulative High School Grade Point Average (GPA) Calculation

 

To assure that your Scholarship and Grant and Procedure Manual remains current, please record this document on your TOPS Bulletin index and retain it with your manual.

 The Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission has revised TOPS rules (Louisiana Administrative Code, Title 28, Part IV) to clarify the procedure for calculating the cumulative high school grade point average (GPA).

The full compilation of TOPS rules with all changes incorporated to date may be viewed on our website at http://www.osfa.state.la.us.  The revisions follow*:

Part IV. Student Financial Assistance—Higher Education Scholarship and Grant Programs
...
Chapter 3. Definitions
§301. Definitions
...

Cumulative High School Grade Point Average——the final cumulative high school grade point average calculated on a 4.00 scale for all courses attempted, including each course that is repeated. Effective for high school graduates in the academic year beginning with the Academic Year (High School) 2002-2003, the Cumulative High School Grade Point Average shall be calculated by using only the course grades achieved for those courses included in the core curriculum and recorded on the official transcript reported to the Louisiana Department of Education. In the event a student has received credit for more than 16.5 hours of courses that are included in the core curriculum, the Cumulative High School Grade Point Average shall be calculated by using the course in each core curriculum category for which the student received the highest grade. For example, if a student has taken more than one Advanced Mathematics course, the Cumulative Grade Point Average shall be determined by using only the course in which the student has received the highest grade. In the event a student takes the same core course more than one time, the Cumulative High School Grade Point Average shall be calculated using the average of the grades earned in each repeated course. For example, a student who earns an "F" in Algebra I and who earns a "B" by repeating the course would add "0" for the "F" to "3" for the "B" and divide by two resulting in a "1.5" grade for calculating the Cumulative Grade Point Average.

For those high schools that utilize other than a 4.00 scale, all grade values must be converted to a 4.00 scale utilizing the following formula.

 

            Quality Points Awarded for the Course       =  X (Converted Quality Points)
Maximum Points Possible for the Course       4.00 (Maximum Scale)

For schools awarding a maximum of 5 points for honor’s courses, the formula would be used to convert the honors course grade of "C" as shown in the following example.

                                                                                  3.00    = 
                                                                                  5.00        4.00

By cross multiplying,

5X = 12;  X = 2.40

Quality points = Credit for course multiplied by the value assigned to the letter grade.

...
Chapter 7. Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) Opportunity; Performance and Honors Awards
...
§703. Establishing Eligibility
A.-A.9. ...

B. Students qualifying under §§703.A.5.a and b, must have attained a cumulative high school grade point average, based on a 4.00 maximum scale, for all courses attempted of at least and recorded on the high school transcript of at least:

C.-G.

1. A student who enters an Eligible College or University under an early admissions program prior to high school graduation will be eligible for an appropriate award under the following conditions:

...

c. The college courses taken to satisfy core curriculum requirements and the grades reported on those courses are reflected on in the student’s official high school transcript records. The student is awarded a high school diploma and the grade point average and core curriculum are certified to LASFAC by the high school in the same manner as that of other high school graduates.

G.1.d.-2. ...

...
Chapter 8. TOPS-TECH Award
...
§803. Establishing Eligibility

A. To establish eligibility for the TOPS-TECH Award, the student applicant must meet the following criteria:

8. if qualifying under §§703.A.5.a, have attained a cumulative high school grade point average, based on a 4.00 maximum scale, for all courses attempted and recorded on the high school transcript of at least 2.50; and
9.-11. ...

...
Chapter 9. TOPS Teacher Award
...
§903. Establishing Eligibility

To establish eligibility, the student applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

A.1. - A.3. ...

4. either;
a. graduate from a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)-approved, provisionally-approved, or probationally-approved public or nonpublic high school; and
...

iii. graduate with a cumulative high school grade point average of at least a 3.25, calculated on a 4.00 scale, for all courses attempted and reported on the high school transcript; or

...
Chapter 17. Responsibilities of High Schools, School Boards, Special School Governing Boards, the Louisiana Department of Education and LASFAC on Behalf of Eligible Non-Louisiana High Schools
...
§1703. High School’s Certification of Student Achievement

A.-A.2.

Procedures for Reporting and Certifying Student Performance

B.1. - B.2. ...

3. The responsible high school authority shall certify to LASFAC the final cumulative high school grade point average of each applicant and that average shall be inclusive of grades for all courses attempted and recorded on the applicant's official high school transcript and shall be computed and reported on a maximum 4.00 grading scale.

B.3.a. - D.3. ...

*Words in struck through type are deletions from the existing rules; words underscored are additions.

 

Information Center Menu Policy and Procedure Menu
LPM/LPB Index