When choosing classes in high school, you have to worry about more things than you might have expected. For example, different classes are weighted differently, and their weights are symbolized by levels. The amount of weight a class has affects your GPA; to give context, your GPA is your Grade Point Average. Your Grade Point Average is affected by the grades you get in classes. Ledyard High School uses a 4.0 scale where: A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0.0. Your GPA is viewed by college administrators to contribute to college acceptance and contributes to your class rank, which is something some scholars consider, and also gives you a confidence boost. It’ll also help you obtain certain scholarships to help pay for the college you may have gotten into! Overall, your GPA is definitely something to consider; this makes picking the level of your class very important. 

Which brings me to the definition of class levels: levels are symbols of weight towards your GPA, and the level determines the weight on your GPA. Levels do have the ability to lower or raise your GPA. So, what are the different types of levels, you may ask? Well, there are three total. You would think level one would have the lowest weight, but it’s actually the opposite! Level one classes are of the highest weight, other than our beloved AP classes that give not only a higher GPA boost, but also college credit, which is another big thing to consider when picking classes at LHS. Coming back to the levels, since level one holds the highest weight, it is considered the honors class or a more challenging class to take. Going down one level to level two, the class is weighted a little less and is deemed average level difficulty, meaning the class just moves a little slower in compared to the level one class, which moves at a swift pace, taking less time on one unit compared to a level two. Finally, in some cases, LHS provides level three classes, which are weighted the smallest amount and would typically provide a lower boost to your GPA as the class moves more slowly than the other two levels. However, this by no means should make you feel like comparing yourself to the other two levels; pick whichever classes will match your learning pace and give you the best high school learning experience. 

Now that you know a bit about how levels work here at LHS, let’s get into the classes you must take freshman year and the credit system. The high school has different credits, which determine how long you will be in a class for. There are 0.5, 1, and 1.5 credit; 0.5 credit means you only take the class for one semester/half the school year on an A day or B day, 1 credit means you take the class for the full school year or an A day or B day, and 1.5 credit means you take the class both A and B day for the first semester and than only A or B day the second semester. Usually, the amount of credit for the class corresponds with the level of the class like electives which are typically level two to level three range with 0.5 credits; typically, level two electives will almost always be one credit as well as the core classes, and AP’s can reach into the 1.5 range. As for the required freshman classes, they are: Physical Education (0.5 credit), Systems and Sustainability (0.5 credit), English 9 (1 credit), Algebra or Geometry (1 credit), World History (1 credit), Biology (1 credit). These are only the required classes, however, you have eight credits of classes you can take each year; so you can throw a language class in there or a music class. 

 The classes you take as an underclassman, and how you go about your classes as an underclassman, can affect the classes you take in your upperclassman years. For example, Ceramics II will require a C or higher in Ceramics I to be allowed to take the class, so keep in mind the prerequisites you need to take before approaching a more advanced class. This brings me to the next subject, which is trying your best in your classes starting your freshman year and keeping up with your grades, because it can affect what classes you are allowed to take later on in your high school career. For example, AP psychology requires you to have a B- or higher in biology, which is required for every student freshman year. To know what prerequisites and required classes you need to take to graduate, you can visit the Program of Studies on the Ledyard High School website.

Keep in mind that GPA and rank start at the beginning of high school, so stay motivated and do what works best for you! One of the Ledyard High School guidance counselors leaves you with some great advice! “Don’t think in the immediate, think about your future as well.”

Ariana Gutierrez, Staff Writer

Junior Ariana Gutierrez is a staff writer for the 2024-2025 Colonel Newsmagazine. She likes books, color guard and talking…a lot.