Manasquan Schools Discuss Changing Grading Scale

MANASQUAN – Manasquan schools have discussed changing their grading scale so it helps students better compete for scholarships and other achievements.

Lesley Kenney, the district's director of counseling services, said officials have developed a proposed new grading scale that would give students "the most advantages" possible.

"Are we making sure they are as competitive as they can be, and are we giving them the most advantages?" Kenney asked, according to a recording of the school board's Dec. 17 meeting.

Kenney said the current grading scale is, in some ways, "putting our students at a disadvantage."

According to The Coast Star, the current grading scale is: A, excellent, 93 to 100; B, good, 85 to 92; C, average, 77 to 84; D, passing, 70 to 76; and F, failure, 0 to 69.

Kenney suggested putting everything on a 4.0 grading scale, meaning an A would anything from 90 to 100, a B would be 80 to 89, C would be 70 to 79, a D would be 60 to 69 and an F would be 59 or lower.

Kenny pointed to an example of a student who had an 82 in a "credit recovery course" but was ineligible for scholarship money because, on the Manasquan scale, the grade is a C.

"They all should be on the same level," she said.