Parents Concerned With Possible Changes to Student Grading

Parents spoke out against making any immediate changes to the high school grading format at a special forum Tuesday night.

The Board of Education and administrators are considering changing how students receive grades in an attempt to better reflect student accomplishments. However, parents in attendance expressed concern with making any changes and agreed that any change should only affect incoming freshmen, not current students.

“Our intent is to ensure that all student achievement is properly represented so that they can maximize their future potential,” Assistant Superintendent Marysol Berrios said. “We want to be able to represent our students in the best, the most efficient, accurate, precise way possible.”

For example, the current system only employs “plus” grades and does not include “minus” grades. The two highest grades a student could receive are “A” and “B+”. It was phased into the high schools beginning with the freshman class in the 2009-10 school year.

Berrios said that most of the “top performing schools” in New Jersey use letter grades with “pluses” and “minuses.”

Officials are considering three new formats:

• Letter grades only

This scale provides more accurate student grade averages, officials said. The disadvantage, Berrios said, is that students at the high end of a grade range, especially “A” students, might receive the same grade as students at the middle or end of a range.

• A full “plus-minus” scale

Berrios said this option could provide a “more precise picture of student performance” and rewards students who perform at the high end of the scale with higher grades. Single assignments and tests can have more of an impact on a student’s grade with this option. Grades are more often contested in this system, Berrios said.

• Number grades, no letters

This format provides the most “precise picture of student performance,” Berrios said. “Grades are an exact reflection of student achievement.”

One parent said that she was in favor of the numerical scheme.  

“If we are going to prepare our students for the outside world, let’s be real. Number grades are real,” the parent said.

Parents were adamant that they did not want the grading format changed for this upcoming school year, especially for sophomores and juniors, nor were they in favor of any change that would retroactively effect grades.

Parents and officials said any change should be phased in with the incoming freshman class.

“I’m not looking to vote on anything new for September and for anything that’s retroactive,” said board trustee Eileen Albanese. “No changes are being made in September. We’re simply looking for you to tell us what you want us to do.”

Some residents wondered why the change is even being considered.

“What’s so broken about the way it’s done now? I can’t figure out what’s broken,” said Mike Zimak. “We want our kids to be competitive in society and not have an AP student want to take average classes to get a good grade point average. We want to encourage our kids to be competitive. That’s what’s going to help them get into good colleges.”

Weighted grades were also discussed. Honors and advanced placement courses are weighted on a different grade point average scale than traditional track and college preparatory classes. Students who receive an “A” in a weighted course receive a 5.0 GPA rather than a 4.0.

A separate meeting will be held with the community to discuss the possibility of changing the weighted grade format, officials said.

“We have a lot of homework to do. We have to talk to college admissions officers, other school districts of similar quality to see what they’re doing and our administrators, principals, staff, parents, and students,” Albanese said. “Our students should have a huge say as to what goes on in the classroom and what’s fair.”

— Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Daniel Hubbard at Daniel.Hubbard@patch.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.