AACPS Education Board Makes Decision About Students' Grades

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — The Anne Arundel County board of education voted 5-4 on May 6 to revise the public school district's grading regulation that now makes fourth marking period grades a satisfactory/no grade format for students in for-credit courses. Furthermore, the final second semester grade for students in high school-level courses can be no lower than the grade earned in the third marking period.

A student who earns a “no grade” in the fourth marking period would receive the third marking period grade as the final grade for the second semester. The student also would have additional time to turn in work to achieve a “satisfactory” mark. Letter grades will be calculated into a student’s GPA as they would in any other semester, according to the school district.

Prior to adopting the revision, the board rescinded an action approved at its April 15 meeting that would have given students in high school-level classes the choice of earning a letter grade or satisfactory/unsatisfactory designation.

In addition to the high school grade ruling, AACPS Superintendent George Arlotto made the following changes to the regulation to apply to middle school students and elementary school students as follows:

• Middle school students in yearlong credit courses who engage in eLearning and earn a “satisfactory” designation in the fourth marking period will receive a final grade one letter grade higher than the average of their first three marking periods. A student who earns a “no grade” in the fourth marking period will receive the average of the first three marking periods as their final grade but will have additional time to turn in work to achieve a “satisfactory” mark.
• Middle school students in yearlong non-credit courses who engage in eLearning and earn a “satisfactory” designation in the fourth marking period will receive a final grade one letter grade higher than the average of their first three marking periods. A student who earns a “no grade” in the fourth marking period will receive the average of the first three marking periods as their final grade but will have additional time to turn in work to achieve a “satisfactory” mark.
• Middle school students in one semester non-credit courses who engage in eLearning and earn a “satisfactory” designation in the fourth marking period will receive a final semester grade one letter grade higher than their third marking period grade. A student who earns a “no grade” in the fourth marking period will receive the third marking period grade as the semester grade but will have additional time to turn in work to achieve a “satisfactory” mark.
• Students in second through fifth grades will receive satisfactory/no-grade designations for the fourth marking period. Elementary students do not have their marking period grades combined into a final grade.
• Students in first grade will continue to be assessed using the current “consistently demonstrates,” “progressing,” “emerging,” and “needs development” designations.
• Students in prekindergarten and kindergarten will continue to be assessed using the current “consistently demonstrates,” “progressing,” and “needs development” designations.

The changes only impact grades in the current school year.