

From 2000 to 2009, the average GPA for high school students increased from 2.94 to 3.0. This is related to the phenomenon of grade inflation, whereby students seem to be earning artificially higher grades for the same quality of work. Overall, there has been an upward trend over time with regard to average high school GPA. This observed disparity between the average GPAs of different ethnic groups is a result of many intersecting socioeconomic factors, including family income, school quality, and other stressors that could impact a student's academic performance. In addition, Asian/Pacific Islander students have the highest average GPA, whereas Black students have the lowest. NCES also provided some interesting (and a bit upsetting) statistics on how average high school GPA differs with regard to gender and ethnicity: Average GPA By Gender:Īccording to this data, female students tend to have higher average GPAs than male students do. This data shows that students tend to have lower average GPAs in math and science courses compared with English and social studies courses.Īverage High School GPAs by Gender and Ethnicity The average GPAs for these different types of courses were as follows: The core curriculum in the NCES data consists of math, science, English, and social studies courses. But this might be deceptive: the average GPA in core subject areas is actually a bit lower (2.79), meaning the overall average is only brought up to 3.0 by the higher grades students receive in courses that are not part of the core curriculum.

Average in other academic courses (foreign language and other academic courses not in the core curriculum): 3.14.Average in core academic courses (math, science, English, and social studies): 2.79.Here are the high school GPA averages, according to NCES: Now let's take a closer look at the GPA data, starting with the overall averages. Because the average GPA has risen since 2009 (when the study was conducted), it's safe to assume that the 2020 GPAs will actually be a bit higher, though the trends will remain the same. The NCES study provides a fairly thorough look at average high school GPAs, so we're going to use this study for our analysis below. (Unfortunately, NCES has not conducted a similar study since 2009.) In addition to this study, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) offers some data on average high school GPAs in the US, although this data is from 2009, so it's a bit out of date. This increase in the average GPA has a lot to do with grade inflation (which we talk about in more detail below). This study also found that the average high school GPA has risen steadily over the years. What's the Average High School GPA Nationally?Īccording to a 2018 study by the Fordham Institute, in 2016 the median GPA for students at more affluent schools was a 3.0 and at less affluence schools was 2.59.


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I'll also tell you what these averages mean for you and how to understand them better in the context of the college application process. In this article, I'll give you an overview of the national averages for high school GPA so that you can see where you stand. What is the average high school GPA? Is your GPA above average? How do you compare with all the other high school students in the country? One way of knowing is to look at the national averages. Nearly all high school students have, at some point, wondered whether their GPAs are good or not.
