A Florida school district is updating its GPA policy after a student graduated with a record-setting 11.99 weighted GPA, according to UPI Odd News.
Vaibhav Bhaskar graduated as valedictorian of Steinbrenner High School in Lutz. His GPA broke the Florida record of 11.84, previously set in 2022 by Gaither High School graduate Dylan Mazard.
Bhaskar earned the unusually high mark under Hillsborough County’s system, which added extra weight for Advanced Placement and dual enrollment classes on top of the standard 4.0 scale. He took 20 AP classes and completed 24 dual enrollment college courses through the University of Florida’s online program, enough to earn an associate’s degree.
Bhaskar told the Tampa Bay Times that he pushed himself to take the hardest classes and make the most of every opportunity available. He plans to attend Duke University in the fall.
Hillsborough County’s school board has now voted to cap GPAs beginning with next year’s graduating class. The district said college admissions officers were having to recalculate unusually high GPAs, and that the current system could encourage excessive online coursework and create stressful, unhealthy learning habits.
