I noticed that too, but a journalist who can't spell "medal" may be expected to garble facts.
Weighted GPA
Some high schools, to reflect the varying skill required for different level courses and to discourage students from selecting easy ‘A’s, will give higher numerical grades for difficult courses, often referred to as a weighted GPA. For example, two common conversion systems used in honors and advanced placement courses are:
A = 5 or 4.6
B = 4 or 3.5
C = 3 or 2.1
D = 1
E/F = 0[5]
Some schools use an 8 point scale, although it is uncommon. A: 100-93% B: 92-85% C: 84-76% D: 75-68% F: 67% and below
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_the_United_States