School Officials Accepting Feedback on Minimum Grading System

Parents with concerns over grading regulations at middle and high schools will have their chance to weigh in on the matter.

New regulations in the way grades are recorded at the school system are intended to make it easier for students who are failing to climb out of the hole they've dug, Anne Arundel County Schools spokesman Bob Mosier told The Baltimore Sun.

The lowest student could score on an assignment they completed, under the proposed system at middle and high schools, is a 50 percent. Incomplete assignments will still be recorded as a zero. A student must make a "good faith effort," with the assignment, according to the grading regulation (see attached PDF for the complete grading regulation).

"If a student just signs their name at the top of the paper and then doesn't fill in the rest, that student is not going to get a 50," Mosier told Patch.

But parents and teachers have been critical of the proposed change, saying it bends the rules for students who don't try hard enough. The county's teachers association has also said that it lowers standards for the school system.

Eight of the 12 high schools in the school system have already implemented the minimum grading system—including Broadneck, Glen Burnie, Severna Park, Southern, Annapolis, Northeast, Meade and Chesapeake, which has standards for minimum grades per department. 

Regulations for middle schools are also included in the proposed document.

Superintendent Kevin Maxwell is asking parents with concerns about this policy to submit their thoughts, suggestions and changes to school officials. Parents can voice their concerns through an online link at the school system's website.

Comments may also be sent by mail to: Dr. George Arlotto, Associate Superintendent for School Performance, 2644 Riva Rd., Annapolis, MD 21401.

Input will be accepted until May 11.