The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
A course grade of 93 earns a 3.0 grade point average in Virginia Beach public schools. In Fairfax County schools this fall, it'll get a 4.0.
Local parents concerned that their students will be compared unfavorably in college admissions are pleading with the Beach School Board to revise the grading scale. It allows for an A at 94 and above, and a B from 86 to 93.
So far, they've found few supporters.
"We set a tone when we reduce or increase standards," said board member Todd Davidson, reflecting the prevailing view. "We do not reduce our standards."
In the past few weeks, an online petition calling for a switch in the Beach to a scale with 10 points per letter grade has registered more than 1,100 signatures.
Laura Aquilino, mother to two First Colonial High School students, started the petition last month after Fairfax County approved a scale with 10 points per grade, including pluses and minuses.
"It's not like they should get something they didn't earn," Aquilino said. "It's recognizing them for their efforts."
In Virginia Beach, board member Carolyn Weems said she called 13 universities to see if any adjust grading scales to compare applicants across school divisions. She found none.
"It's getting so much more difficult to get into college now," she said. "If we can help our children, we should put them on a level playing field."
In Hampton Roads, all school divisions use a similar grading scale to Virginia Beach, but scales vary elsewhere.
Cape Henry Collegiate School, a Virginia Beach private school, went to a 10-point scale last fall. "It just seemed more fair to have an equal value for each grade," Head of School Jack Lewis said.
Attempts thus far to legislate a statewide grading scale for public schools have faltered, and the state Department of Education considers grades a local matter.
Students also are split on the issue.
Mary Baragar, a 15-year-old freshman at Princess Anne High School, said A's are attainable with effort. But a change could help students on the cusp, she said. "It's hard being right on the border of 93 and 94," she said.
But Richard Parocha, a First Colonial senior headed to the Coast Guard Academy, thinks the tough scale may give students an advantage in the admissions process. "It does make an A more meaningful," he said.
Amy Widner, Virginia Tech's public relations coordinator for undergraduate admissions, said universities consider the rigor and grading scale of schools. "We are looking at each student in the context of their school."
In Virginia Beach, the board declined to change the scale in time for fall. Members plan to consider it again in October.
Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
The Problem Is Lack Of Consistancy & The Useless State DOE
I cannot tell you the problems I had last year with the VB schools sytem, the administration & the school board. When I took it to the State level (on an issue of disability discrimination and failure to provide mandatory education & instruction), I was told that the State merely gives a "guideline" to the localities but the policies are made & enforced locally. At every level I went to, including the school board, there was a total lack of accountability and a failure to enforce. This issue is NOT one of whether our grades should be lowered or raised...it is about the fact that because there is not a standard grading scale across the state, some students are being treated as better performing college candidates than others. Why are these things not a state wide standard ? We need statewide grading scales, statewide graduation credit requirements, statewide testing requirements & statewide monitoring & enforcement. Otherwise, students who underperform from some cities may take the place that a student in a harder grading city may deserve in college. What a MESS we are statewide & locally.
college grades
Wouldn't you people want your children's high school grading scale to be similar to what their college grading scale will be?
I went to Tallwood, got A's with the current grading scale, went to William and Mary and got my butt kicked my freshman year before realizing the different level of studying you have to do for college. College is HARD, it's supposed to be hard.
Keep the grade scale as it is to help prepare your children for the higher level of education that college is going to give them.
I agree that the grading
I agree that the grading scales should be more strenuous and challenging to the students. However, the statewide standards should be uniform and the same at every public school, in each and every county, city or town within the state. Each county, city or town should not be allowed to set their own standards different from the state.
deal with it
As long as colleges and universities are given the grading scale when given the grades transcript from the high school, there should be no worry. Back in the day when I was a high schooler, the City of Richmond had a scale of 95 and up A, 88 up B, 81 up C, 75 up D. That's right. When I was in high school an 80 was a D and a 74 an F.
I survived.
I went to a good university.
I became a teacher.
I think my high school scale served me fairly well.
Sure. Why not?
We've dumbed down the curriculum to make sure everyone passes and is kept in school. Why not dumb down the grading scale, too, so everyone can get into college? Weren't the SAT's supposed to be the "equalizer" to compensate for the various standards across the nation/world?
Higher standards for whom???
The VB school board should apply their desire for higher standards to their teachers, not just their students. Recently my son came home with a project guideline sheet and the teacher instructed that the presentation must be loud enough for the entire class to "HERE" not (hear). I was completely outraged that this is from a teacher at the high school level...Why is that the students are expected to perform at a level ABOVE which the teachers are held to? Adjusting the grading scale is not allowing our kids to "dumb down" it is merely giving them a fair advantage with kids from other districts. Changing the current grading scale to a 10 point grading scale does not mean some parents are going to stop pushing our kids to do their best! We all should be aware of what kind of work our kids are capable of doing and it is our job as parents to make sure they are doing their best.
Look at the grade graph
Of all the cities represented here, Portsmouth has the most liberal grading -- and the highest failure rate of any of the Hampton Roads cities. The grading system is clear to all the kids and their parents when they enter school. If they don't apply themselves and EARN it, it SHOULD NOT be given to them. Virginia Beach and Portsmouth should take the hint and hold a hard line on grading. Thats whats wrong today everyone wants something for nothing and then cries entitlement when they dont get it.
match the colleges
Every college uses a 10 point scale and it seems most public schools follow the same scale. Va. Beach wanted to set themselves apart from the rest of the pack when they adopted the current grade scale but all it's done is force teachers to inflate grades so that students pass. What's funny is that Va. Beach encourages teachers to use alternate grading systems (4 or 5 point scale) A score of 3 out of 4 is a 'B' yet it's only 75% which would be a 'D' if graded on the normal scale. In-state colleges recognize that there are different grading scales across the districts but if a Va. Beach student is applying to an out-of-state school they would be at a disadvantage. Change the scale.
Another Viewpoint on the 4 or 5 Point Scale...
One of the reasons that teachers have been "encouraged" to use the 4 or 5 points scales is that it all but eliminates failure. If the following scale is used A=4, B=3, C=3, D=1, and E=0, then it's virtually impossible for a student to have an average below 1.0, thus insuring that no child fails. VBCPS officials claim that with the current 100 point scale that a zero is too detrimental to a student's grades, so teachers are encouraged to give a 50 when the student doesn't do anything or turn in anything.
As a number of readers have pointed out, it's all about numbers - low failure rates, low retention rates, high graduation rates - all at the expense of a student's education.
Grade inflation is alive and well in the VBCPS.
exactly, Lee
Lee, you've hit the nail right on the head. The VB scale looks good on the surface, but if you dig for the real reason behind it, the truth comes out. Also, just because the current grading scale SEEMS "tougher," does not mean that the curriculum(s) rise(s) up to meet the tough standards.