WBRZ - Baton Rouge

LAFAYETTE - Proposed changes to a grading scale for students in advanced placement courses in the Lafayette Parish school system are designed to encourage more students to take the studies without fear of hurting their grade-point averages, district officials say.

The Advocate reports that under the proposal, students in advanced placement classes will be graded on a 4.5 grading scale, rather than the traditional 4.0 scale where an "A'' is worth four points. Students taking the end-of-year AP exam to receive college credit for course work will have the course weighted on a 5.0 scale.