FLORIDA VALEDICTORIAN GRADUATED WITH A RECORD 11.99 GPA
Vaibhav Bhaskar graduated as valedictorian of Steinbrenner High School in Lutz, Florida, with a weighted 11.99 GPA, a number only possible because Hillsborough County’s old grading system piled extra points onto 44 advanced courses. The score beat the previous mark of 11.84, and the district has since changed its math so nobody can repeat it.
The New York Post reported the score as a Florida record. The old high of 11.84 belonged to Dylan Mazard, a 2022 graduate of Gaither High School.
Bhaskar discussed the feat on July 14, 2026, on WUSF‘s “Florida Matters Live & Local.”
A whiteboard, 20 AP classes and 24 dual-enrollment courses
The goal was on paper early. As a sophomore, Bhaskar wrote his targets on a whiteboard in his room, and the top two were to “become valedictorian” and “break the state GPA record.”
“Once I had those goals defined, and I had the mindset that I was going to accomplish those goals no matter what, from then on it just became about patience,” he told the Post.
He told WUSF that hearing the old record was 11.84 turned beating it into a fixation. His schedule was 20 AP classes plus 24 dual-enrollment classes, according to WUSF. The Palm Beach Post reported the dual-enrollment courses ran through the University of Florida’s online program, and UPI reported the coursework earned him enough credits for an associate’s degree.
He was not just locked in his room with a textbook, WUSF reported. Bhaskar founded an investment club, served as president of the South Asian Student Association and captained the mock trial team. “I was just your average high school kid,” he said.
His father, Bhaskar Malayappan, said the family did not push him. “We didn’t force him to read or do this much courses. So for example, we have a train track. So we laid the foundation, and here’s the train, and he went with his speed and we didn’t control his speed at all,” he said.
The title was a long time coming. In fifth grade, a teacher asked the class to come up with an alliteration to match their names, and Bhaskar was stuck. The teacher suggested “Valedictorian Vaibhav,” and he wrote it on his nametag without knowing what it meant.
Why the number looks so odd
Under the old Hillsborough model, an A in a standard class counted for up to 4.0 points, while AP and dual-enrollment courses carried added weight, so the totals stacked up. Bhaskar was candid about what that means.
“Regardless of the scale, colleges will recalculate your GPA,” he told the Post.
“On my scale, it was favorable because it gives those crazy numbers, and 11.99 obviously sounds a lot better than 4.93,” he said.
Hillsborough revised its GPA model starting with ninth graders in 2023, and Bhaskar’s class was the last that could produce a result like his, WUSF reported. The district said the old weighting led to “unusually high” GPAs and could encourage excessive online-course enrollment and unhealthy stress. A district spokesperson told the Post the new scale is “recognized universally by colleges and universities.” Bhaskar said he “fully supports” a standardized five-point approach.
He is headed to Duke University for a double major in economics and public policy, WUSF reported. He told the station he is drawn to the way numbers intersect with human behavior, and he may run for office someday. After graduation he spent his days sleeping in. He told the Post he was not burned out, just tired.
The standardization has now gone statewide. On July 22, 2026, Florida’s State Board of Education approved a weighted-grading rule for students entering ninth grade in the 2026-27 school year, according to Hillsborough County Public Schools. Under it, an A is worth 4.0 in a standard course, 4.5 in an honors course and 5.0 in an accelerated course, and it does not apply to Bhaskar’s class.
