State law will require one GPA formula for every Texas district, with AP and academic dual credit weighted the same

How a Texas high school student's grade point average is calculated, and so who lands in the top 10% of a graduating class, is set to stop depending on which school district the student attends.

Senate Bill 1191, passed by the Legislature in 2025, turns what had been an option into a requirement. Before it, state law said the education commissioner "may" create a standard method for computing high school GPAs. The bill changed that to "shall" and requires every school district to use the method once it exists.

What the law requires

The standard method must give extra weight to honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, OnRamps dual enrollment and dual credit courses. Four of those, AP, IB, OnRamps and academic dual credit classes, must receive the same amount of added weight. Dual credit courses listed in the state's workforce education course manual, the career and technical classes, must be weighted differently from the academic ones.

The bill passed the Senate 31-0 and the House 130-6, and it directs the commissioner to write the method as soon as practicable.

Why districts weight courses differently now

Today, nearly every district sets its own formula. Some multiply grades by a weight, some use four-point scales and others eight-point scales, and many count AP courses above dual credit, according to a San Antonio Report review of districts in that area.

Officials in those districts told the outlet they rank AP higher because the College Board sets its standards nationally and AP credit is more widely accepted by colleges outside Texas.

Former state Sen. Brandon Creighton, the bill's author, wrote that the gap in weights discourages students from taking dual credit, the San Antonio Report reported. The outlet noted that dual credit can save families thousands in tuition and typically has no added cost, while AP exams carry fees, though reduced fees are available to economically disadvantaged students.

The outlet reported that the new rules would apply to students enrolled in seventh grade by the 2027-28 school year, and that the law leaves districts room to decide how much weight honors classes receive.

The stakes for class rank

Class rank matters most for automatic admission, since most Texas public universities admit students in the top 10% of their graduating class. Several districts in the San Antonio area told the outlet they expect to revise their own GPA policies before the 2027-28 school year.

One, Alamo Heights ISD, reversed an earlier decision on how it weighted two dual credit courses after students had already picked their classes, and its high school principal apologized to families, the San Antonio Report said.

Sources

State of Texas

sanantonioreport.org