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Frisco ISD and Prosper ISD · Guide

How to raise your GPA in high school

Your GPA is an average, so the way to raise it is easier to see once you know the math. This guide shows how it works in Frisco ISD and Prosper ISD, with real numbers, and lists options, not rules.

Last checked November 10, 2026About 6 min readUnofficial

Unofficial guide. Rules can change each year, and every student's situation is different. Always confirm with your school counselor and the official Frisco ISD and Prosper ISD sources linked at the bottom.

How the math works

Frisco ISD and Prosper ISD use the same kind of weighted scale for class rank:

  • Each course has a level with a top score: 6.0 (Frisco Tier III, such as AP; Prosper AP/Dual Credit), 5.5 (Frisco Tier II, such as Advanced; Prosper Honors) or 5.0 (Frisco Tier I and Prosper On-Level, the regular courses).
  • Your points for a course are the top score minus 0.1 for every point below 100. A 95 in an AP course is 6.0 − 0.5 = 5.5.
  • Your weighted GPA is the average of all your semester points, to three decimal places. Every semester grade counts the same. (In Frisco ISD, a course worth two credits counts twice.)
  • A grade below 70 earns 0 points, and it still counts. This is the biggest single drop on the scale: a 70 in an AP course earns 3.0, but a 69 earns 0.

So one more point in one class adds 0.1 to that semester grade's points. How much that moves your GPA depends on how many semester grades are in your average.

Example of the drop below 70: after one semester of 7 classes, a 69 instead of a 70 in an AP course costs 3.0 points, so your GPA is 3.0 ÷ 7 ≈ 0.429 lower.

Early semesters move your GPA most

In the end, every semester grade has the same weight. But your GPA is an average, so the more grades it already has, the less one new grade can move it. Here is one class that ends a semester 5 points higher (for example 95 instead of 90). That raises its points by 5 × 0.1 = 0.5. With 7 classes each semester:

WhenSemester grades in your GPAChange in GPA
After 1 semester (fall of 9th grade)70.5 ÷ 7 ≈ +0.071
After 2 semesters (end of 9th grade)140.5 ÷ 14 ≈ +0.036
After 4 semesters (end of 10th grade)280.5 ÷ 28 ≈ +0.018
After 6 semesters (end of 11th grade)420.5 ÷ 42 ≈ +0.012

Your own numbers depend on how many courses you take, and high school credit courses taken in middle school count too. In Prosper ISD, the Class of 2031 and later count only core subjects for class rank (see below), so fewer grades are in that average.

It's never too late to help, it just takes more grades. For example, after 42 semester grades, raising all 7 classes by 5 points in your 7th semester adds 7 × 0.5 = 3.5 points over 49 grades: 3.5 ÷ 49 ≈ +0.071.

Course level: when a harder course helps

The same grade earns 0.5 more one level up. A 90 earns 4.0 in a regular course, 4.5 in a Frisco Advanced or Prosper Honors course, and 5.0 in AP. That's why a 95 in AP (5.5) is worth the same as a 100 in Advanced or Honors (5.5).

It only helps if your grade stays close. One level up is worth 5 grade points:

  • A 97 in Advanced or Honors = 5.2. A 93 in AP = 5.3 (higher). A 92 in AP = 5.2 (the same). A 91 in AP = 5.1 (lower).
  • A grade below 70 in any level earns 0.

Some students move up one level in a subject they're strong in; others keep a level where they can keep their grades up and have time for activities. Prosper ISD encourages students to think about prerequisites and time, and to keep a balance with activities and personal time. Frisco ISD notes that Advanced courses go deeper and aren't simply more homework. Your counselor can help you decide which level fits you. More in AP, Advanced and dual credit in Frisco ISD and AP, Honors and dual credit in Prosper ISD.

Frisco ISD: rules that change what counts

  • Counts: high school credit courses taken in middle school, Frisco ISD summer school (every summer school course, including original credit) and Frisco ISD online courses. Frisco ISD's GPA page also counts non-FISD online correspondence courses; ask your counselor which ones are accepted.
  • Doesn't count: credit by exam (CBE) and Exam for Acceleration. The score goes on your transcript and you earn the credit, but it doesn't add or take away GPA points. Pass/fail courses, local credits and college courses that aren't Frisco ISD-approved dual credit don't count either.
  • GPA Opt Out (11th and 12th grade): you may leave one credit a year out of your weighted GPA in band, choir, orchestra, theatre or technical theatre, dance or drill team, color guard, athletics or athletic trainer, or cheer (not art). You must have been in that same program the two previous high school years and file the "GPA Opt Out" form by the deadline in both junior and senior year. Frisco ISD suggests it only for students with a weighted GPA of 5.0 or higher.

Why 5.0? A course that earns at most 5.0 points can only pull an average above 5.0 down. For example, if your other six semester grades average 5.3, adding a 5.0 makes (6 × 5.3 + 5.0) ÷ 7 ≈ 5.257. Ask your counselor whether the opt out makes sense for you. Details in How Frisco ISD calculates GPA and class rank.

Prosper ISD: rules that change what counts

Classes of 2026 to 2030

  • Counts: high school credit courses at any grade level (including middle school) and dual credit taken in person in the fall or spring.
  • Doesn't count: summer school and anything outside the regular school day or year, online courses (unless approved by the principal and proctored by a district employee), correspondence courses, credit by exam, credit recovery, local credit courses, off-campus private PE programs, and a course retaken after you already passed it. These can still earn credit.

Class of 2031 and later

  • Class rank counts only English, math, science, social studies and languages other than English.
  • Credit by exam, online courses (including online dual credit) and district courses for original credit count, at the On-Level weight (top score 5.0). Credit recovery, college courses that aren't dual credit, local credit and pass/fail courses don't count. Failing grades still count.
  • Summer school: Prosper ISD's board policy and its summer school pages don't say the same thing for the Class of 2031 and later. Ask your counselor whether summer grades will count, and at what weight.
  • Ask your counselor which courses count if you take more than the required number in a subject.

Details in How Prosper ISD calculates GPA and class rank.

Tools to see what each grade does

  • GPA calculator: type your semester grades and see your weighted GPA. Change one grade to see the difference.
  • What if…? (in the planner, on the Summary): pick one class and slide its grade. It shows your GPA about where it would land, and nothing in your plan changes.
  • What do I need on the final? (Course plan, Grades view): pick a course and semester, type the semester grade you want, your nine-weeks grades and how much each part counts (from your syllabus). It shows the lowest final exam score you need. The planner doesn't guess the weights, because each teacher's syllabus sets them.

Ask your counselor

Our sources don't answer these, so ask your counselor before you decide:

  • Retaking a course to replace a grade: whether a new grade replaces the old one, or both stay in your GPA. (Prosper ISD's rule for the Classes of 2026–2030 leaves out a course retaken after you already passed it.)
  • Dropping a course in the middle of the year: what happens to the grade. In Frisco ISD, Advanced, AP, IB and GT courses can be dropped only at the six-week mark or at the end of a semester.
  • Summer school or credit by exam to free up a spot: how it would change which courses are in your GPA and at what level.

See it for your own courses

My GPA Planner does this math for you with your district's rules. Add your courses and goal grades, and it shows your projected weighted GPA. On the Summary, What if…? lets you pick one class and slide its grade to see what changes; in Course plan's Grades view, What do I need on the final? shows the lowest final exam score you need. Your plan stays on your device unless you choose to share it or save it to Google Drive.

Open the planner

Official sources