by Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education is considering changes to grading policies that would make 61 the lowest score a student could receive and eliminate zeros.
The school board discussed the possible policy revisions last week in a work session. A number of teachers and parents, however, have sharply criticized the proposed changes, saying they would lower standards and inflate grades.
Under the revisions, students who fail to complete assignments would receive a grade of “I†or incomplete, rather than an “F,†and teachers could assign as yet undetermined consequences for missed assignments. In addition, homework could not constitute more than 20 percent of a student’s quarterly grade and any extra-credit assignments would have to be connected to learning outcomes.
The numeric grading floor would be 61, consistent with a seven-point grading scale. According to Sherri Martin, director of instructional services for the district, the grading floor is intended to give students the opportunity to recover from poor performances.
“Emotional resilience means that students have a chance to recover, that getting one low grade or having one bad day doesn’t doom you to failure,†she said. “You have hope; this is about hope.â€
Martin added that assigning a grade of “I,†rather than a zero, to incomplete work would encourage students to complete assignments.
“Students would understand that they have to get work done, that they don’t get off the hook by not doing it,†she said.
Chris Gelpi, a parent of two children in Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools and a professor at Duke University, said the proposed policies would fail to teach students about responsibility.
“Teaching our children about the integrity of the grading system means not giving credit for knowledge that has not been gained or for work that has not been done,†he said. “Giving 61 percent credit, regardless of the knowledge imparted or the mastery of the subject, doesn’t do that.â€
Gelpi added that the proposed changes would only improve the appearance of grades.
“It seems to me that the proposed grading policy seeks to close the achievement gap, but it seeks to do so through an accounting trick,†he said. “It seems to me that it’s analogous to trying to fight poverty by recalculating the poverty level and lowering the level. No one is helped by lowering the bar in that kind of way.â€
Several board members said they would like to allow more time for feedback regarding the proposed policy revisions, but agreed to eliminate extra credit that has nothing to do with learning. In addition, board members agreed that teachers should use a consistent rounding practice for grades, with fractions of points greater than 0.5 rounded up to the next whole number,
“I think there’s actually a lot of education we need to do among all parties concerned,†Superintendent Neil Pedersen said. “The issues surrounding grading are extremely sensitive and emotional.â€
Pedersen said the changes would increase consistency across the district, adding that the proposals would not lower standards, as some have argued.
“Our intent, primarily I think, is to have grades accurately reflect whether students have mastered the essential skills and knowledge that are included in a course,†he said. “I would contend that the grading systems that we have now do not always do that.â€
Board member Jean Hamilton said she would like to see the district use this opportunity to get feedback from everyone regarding why students fail.
“If we really want to deal with the students who are not successful in our district, we need to have conversations beyond just the grading policy,†she said.
The proposed policy changes also emphasize the use of Professional Learning Communities, or groups of teachers within schools who meet regularly to discuss the successes and failures of different teaching methods. Under the proposed changes, PLC teams would develop consistent evaluation methods, acceptable extra-credit opportunities and guidelines for incomplete or late work. In addition, PLC teams would determine how much homework would count as part of a quarterly grade.
Board members will revisit the proposed policy changes at their June 19 meeting.