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grade point

grade point

16 3.3
A number given for a course mark to calculate a student's average
  • noun
  • /ɡreɪd pɔɪnt/
  • US
translation icon : punto de calificación
  • In A-track classes, a five-point scale is used to compute the grade point average.
  • grade point average
  • grade point average (GPA)
  • cumulative grade point

Examples

  • Students look for ways to raise their grade point averages to improve their range of college acceptances.

    Academic text (1994)
  • It's embarrassing when your mother has a higher grade point average than you do.

  • I thought you had the highest grade point in our class.

  • The difference in grade point average was not significant over the same period of time.

    Academic text (2011)
  • That looks like your grade point distribution for this class.

  • You require your players to maintain a 2.3 grade point average.

  • I'm ranked third in our class for grade point average.

  • I attended school at Yardale and had a 4.0 grade point average.

  • First-generation students report less social and academic satisfaction as well as a lower grade point average.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I thought you had the highest grade point in our class.

Surface Forms

grade point singular
grade points plural

Morphology

grade + point

The meaning is directly compositional: 'grade' (an academic mark) + 'point' (a scoring unit) yields a numeric value assigned to a grade. This noun-noun compound follows ordinary English compounding and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Grade point comes from the idea of giving a small point value to a student's grade, like a score in a game. Those 'points' are added or averaged to show a student's performance, so the term means the number used to calculate a student's overall average.