Liberty Hill ISD will change the way it calculates grade point averages, or GPAs.

The new system, which is intended to expand students' course choices, will begin applying to incoming freshmen classes at Liberty Hill and Legacy Ranch high schools for the 2024-25 school year.

How it works

At a July 15 meeting, the board of trustees voted to limit the amount of credits and courses that can count toward a student’s GPA and contribute additional weight.

The new GPA and class rank system will count a maximum of 18 credits, encompassing only core subjects and languages other than English, or LOTE.


Currently, the district does not limit the number of courses that can contribute to a student’s GPA. It includes fine arts and elective courses but not physical education or athletics, LHISD Counseling Coordinator Jamie Richardson said.

Only the following 18 credits will impact a student’s GPA and class rank going forward:
  • Four English courses
  • Four math courses
  • Four science courses
  • Four social studies courses
  • Two language other than English courses
The best grades earned in each subject area will affect a student’s GPA and rank while students may take an additional course to replace one of their 18 credits with a higher grade, Richardson said.

What else?

Advanced core and LOTE classes—including Advanced Placement, dual-credit and enrollment, OnRamps and honors courses—will continue to contribute more weight toward a student’s GPA, while fine arts and on-level courses will no longer be weighted, according to district information.


The district removed a provision that disallowed students from receiving weight for AP, honors or advanced courses if their grade fell below a 70. Additionally, students can now receive weight toward their GPA for each semester they take a course instead of having to complete both semesters to gain weighted credit.

The district will begin offering the Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, program next school year, which requires students to be enrolled in an advanced course, Richardson said.

The background

Since December, the district held meetings with a GPA committee of district administrators that was expanded throughout the spring to include teachers, counselors, parents and students, including incoming ninth graders.


The committee explored new GPA and class rank options as the district received feedback that staff and community members were confused about the district’s policy and guidelines, said Susan Cole, LHISD executive director of teaching and learning.

The GPA committee considered counting the following course options toward its GPA and class rank system:
  • Option A: core courses and LOTE courses only
  • Option B: core courses; LOTE; and level 3 and 4 career and technical education, or CTE, courses
  • Option C: all courses plus bonus points for level 3 and 4 electives
The committee favored Option A as it removed limitations and provided students more opportunities to take different courses, Richardson said. Under the new format, students will have the flexibility to explore fine arts and elective courses instead of feeling they are missing out on additional core classes, she said.

In their own words

“Option A opened up the possibility for our students to really have freedom of choices to explore the things that they're interested in and not feel bound to a GPA [and] to trying to figure out how they were going to get into those competitive colleges,” said Deah Twine, LHISD director of CTE and college, career and military readiness. “They can do all that and explore their interest in fine arts and CTE and those various aspects as well.”