Board members take Beach grade issue to Richmond

RICHMOND

Three members of the Virginia Beach School Board traveled to Richmond on Thursday with a rare request – more regulation .

Over the past few months, the board has been hearing from parents who want students to get an A for grades from 90 to 100, the scale Fairfax County schools will implement this fall. In Virginia Beach an A is 94 to 100, and other Hampton Roads divisions have similar rules.

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.

“We in Virginia have an equity problem,” Beach board member Carolyn Weems told the state Board of Education. That’s because grade point averages are a factor in college admissions decisions and scholarships. Weems said her own research found nine states that had uniform grading standards, scales or grade point calculations. Beach board chair Dan Edwards and member Patrick Salyer also appealed to the board.

There was no immediate response from state board members.