Howard county honor rolls vary by school

Howard County (Map, News) - Howard County public high schools need to have a consistent measuring stick when it comes to deciding who makes the honor roll, said the county’s Association of Student Councils.

“In some schools, a 3.0 [grade point average is required to achieve honor roll]; in others, it’s a 3.4,” said Lisa Boarman, facilitator of school counseling for the school system.

Members of the Howard County Association of Student Councils, an umbrella group representing middle and high school student councils in the county, want honor roll requirements changed to reflect uniform standards for all high schools.

“It makes more sense to have the same academic standards for honor roll,” said Wossen Ayele, student member of the county School Board.

To achieve honor roll in the county, students must achieve a GPA between 3.0 and 4.0. However, within that scale, students strive for various honor roll levels, such as principal’s, gold and silver — all of which have different GPA requirements depending on the high school.

To gauge students’ opinions on the matter, Boarman created an online survey for about 100 students.

Nearly 90 responses have been returned, and the results will be discussed at 9 a.m. during the county student association of councils meeting at 9 a.m. Dec. 12.

The meeting will be held at the Applications and Research Laboratory in Ellicott City.

Geoffrey Burgan, president of the Student Government Association at Atholton High School, filled out a survey and said students should make honor roll if they achieve at least a 3.2 GPA or better.

“If you get a 3.0, at the very minimum, you’re doing 80 percent of work in school,” he said.

Another issue is whether students who take honors, Advanced Placement and gifted and talented courses should receive extra points toward honor roll because of their difficult courses.

Burgan said he sees both sides of the issue.

“The weighted GPA [shows that students are taking more rigorous courses], but is it right to punish someone for doing great in other courses?” he asked.

tjohnson@baltimoreexaminer.com

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