A student who broke the record for the highest GPA is now inspiring a change at a Florida high school.
Vaibhav Bhaskar graduated from Steinbrenner High School near Tampa with an 11.99 weighted GPA, much higher than the standard 4.0 GPA of years past, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
The Hillsborough County Public Schools had no GPA cap, and high-level classes, like honors, AP, and dual-enrollment classes, add points to grades every year.
He took more than 20 AP classes in high school and had 24 dual-enrollment classes, UPI reported. Bhaskar had already earned an associate’s degree while still in high school.
He also gave up lunch for more classes, according to the Times. All in an effort to break the county record.
In 2022, Dylan Mazard set the record with an 11.84, which Bhaskar surpassed, according to UPI.
But the county is now closing the loophole and capping the maximum GPA.
The school board said, “In addition, the current weighting often encourages students to enroll in excessive online courses to achieve an inflated GPA, resulting in stressful and unhealthy learning habits and mental health concerns.”
The board had passed the rules in 2023 to apply to the ninth graders who started in the 2023-24 year, meaning the capped GPA will go into effect this upcoming school year.
As the UPI pointed out, because of the change, Bhaskar’s record GPA will not be broken in the district.
Other counties in Florida aren’t having the same problem.
The Palm Beach Post noted that Palm Beach County uses an Honors Point Average system, meaning that an A is 4.0, but an honors-level A is a 4.5.
“Under the School District of Palm Beach County HPA system, accelerated courses (AP, AICE, IB, Dual Enrollment) max out at a point value of 6.0 for an ‘A,’” School District of Palm Beach County media relations specialist, Steven King, told the newspaper. “Since the District uses an average system, dividing total points by total classes, rather than an additive system, the absolute mathematical ceiling for a Palm Beach County graduate is a perfect 6.0 HPA.”
© 2026 Cox Media Group
