The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
Lee Hicks, a 17-year-old senior at First Colonial High School, had a clear message for the School Board : “We need a 10-point scale.”
That sentiment was nearly unanimous as more than 20 people spoke at a hearing Wednesday night on the Beach grading scale . All but one rejected the board’s compromise proposal to add a B+, C+ and D+ to the scale, calling that a token change.
Lee, who will graduate before any change takes effect, said his own experience supports a 10-point scale, which provides intervals of 10 to 11 points per letter grade. The current Beach scale has seven or eight points per letter grade.
A commanding speaker , Lee is a student leader at the Legal Studies Academy at First Colonial. He said he’s applying to several colleges, including James Madison, Virginia Tech and George Mason.
“I’m pretty much banking on my recommendations and extracurriculars,” he said after the hearing. He fears that his grade-point average of about 2.8 could disqualify him.
“With a 10-point scale, there would be no question of college,” his mother, Kelley Hicks, told the board. “We’re going to have a hard time getting him into college . A 10-point scale would level the playing field.”
Most school divisions nationwide, including many in Northern Virginia, use such a scale, proponents of the change have maintained.
The speakers Wednesday, as well as several thousand who provided comments through surveys and an online comment forum, cited college admissions, scholarships and insurance discounts as areas where Beach students face a disadvantage.
Navy Chief Chris Maurer told the board that this is the first place he’s lived that didn’t have a 10-point scale. He said that puts military children such as his daughter at a disadvantage.
“You can’t be narrow-minded and say you’re keeping a higher standard. You’re not,” he said.
Other parents said the current scale hurts students beyond the high achievers. Struggling students at the bottom are more likely to fail, several said, and middling students that might bring home B’s elsewhere miss the cutoff for honor roll and membership in academic honor societies.
Carolyn Weems, the board member who has pushed for a change for nearly a year, said she doesn’t consider the 10-point scale off the table.
“I’ll be looking at our proposal and the 10-point proposal and some other really good ideas,” she said after the hearing.
The board has scheduled a vote on the grading scale for Jan. 19.
Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com
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I think it is pretty clear
I think it is pretty clear to everyone that the solution to the discrepancies in grading scales between school districts in Virginia will eventually have to be fixed by enacting regulations on a state-wide basis. Until then, the differing (and changing) grading scales necessarily cause the Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) to act, and react, accordingly. The Fairfax County Public Schools system is the largest in the state and has recently changed their grading scale. The arguments about the competitive disadvantage keeping our current grading scale ensures are well known, and you have no doubt heard them all (from University entrance difficulty to 15% off car insurance). I am also fully aware of the concept of, and understand the rationale behind the fear of “grade inflation.” However, the issue of grade inflation would be most meaningful only if the VBCPS were to exist in a vacuum, which it doesn’t. Until state-wide regulations are in place, VBCPS must react to how our arbitrary scale is viewed in relation to our competitors’ arbitrary scale. If it takes changing the grading scale to ensure our students are in the best possible position to take full advantage of t
Grading scale
I think it is pretty clear to everyone that the solution to the discrepancies in grading scales between school districts in Virginia will eventually have to be fixed by enacting regulations on a state-wide basis. Until then, the differing (and changing) grading scales necessarily cause the Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) to act, and react, accordingly.
The Fairfax County Public Schools system is the largest in the state and has recently changed their grading scale. The arguments about the competitive disadvantage keeping our current grading scale ensures are well known, and you have no doubt heard them all (from University entrance difficulty to 15% off car insurance). I am also fully aware of the concept of, and understand the rationale behind the fear of “grade inflation.” However, the issue of grade inflation would be most meaningful only if the VBCPS were to exist in a vacuum, which it doesn’t. Until state-wide regulations are in place, VBCPS must react to how our arbitrary scale is viewed in relation to our competitors’ arbitrary scale. If it takes changing the grading scale to ensure our students are in the best possible position to take full advanta
The more I think about it....
.... the more I like the straight numerical percentage system best.
Instead of having to worry about which grading scale was used to formulate GPAs and how in-depth colleges actually go to figure out how each school district in the US grades, the straight numerical would allow colleges to easily convert a student's percentage score to a GPA in any grading system it choose to use.
Straight numerical eliminates the discussion on lowering the bar, as without letter grades, there are no more preconceived bars to speak of. A score of 69% and lower can still be classified as the cutoff point for failing, so no current standards are lowered and those 70% and above are properly rewarded for their hard work. The straight numerical system also benefits the current 4.0 students, as it differentiates and identifies the differences between a 95% 4.0 student and a 99% 4.0 student. Sounds like a great compromise system where everyone wins.
Numerical Percentage System
The only way that the "straight numerical percentage system" can be considered a mathematically valid and equitable assessment of progress is if it is designed with a 20 point range between the five grades, ex. A = 81-100; B = 61-80; C = 41-60; D = 21-40, E = 0-20
So he is a "commanding speaker"
and if he wants a trophy and speaks well of it, will his parents BUY one for him. He needs to earn his grades...2.8 is not very commanding. Hey young man, study more and whine less.
Have you heard the great
Have you heard the great news - we are going to a 10 point scale!! - Now it will be a fair and level playing field for all students in Virginia Beach finally! Lee will finally have the GPA he deserves! Way to go Lee!
Fair & Valid Assessment
The proposed grading scale fails to address the inherent fallacy that exists with the 0-100 point scale. With the current & proposed scale, a seven point range exists between the minimum and maximum values of the grades A-D. The allowed range between the minimum and maximum value of an E is sixty-nine points. This is not defendable from a mathematical stand point, allowing poor performances on one or two assessments to have an excessive impact on a student's grade. This results in an inaccurate representation of a student’s grade and understanding of the subject matter. The use of a five point scale when logging and calculating student grades is a more valid measurement tool. Ex. A = 5 points, B = 4 points, C = 3 points, D = 2 points, E (work attempted, but fails to meet minimum standard) = 1 point, E (work not attempted) = 0 points. Just because the current system is what we grew up with does not make it the right one to use in the 21st century. There are many norms from the past that are not appropriate for today.
Unbelievable
My children both work their butts off to EARN those A's and know what is required of them to do so. Why should someone who is not putting forth an effort to earn the grade be given one because it's not fair? As I understand it, college admission boards take into consideration where the student is coming from when considering a student for admission and there are people who are paid to keep the boards informed of individual district grading scales. VBCPS has an excellent college acceptance rate and should not only stand by, but be proud of their grading scale! The student in the article needs to spend as much time on his academics as he does on his extracurriculars, period.
I went to Kempsville ...
... and I felt the grading scale was not only fair, but made perfect sense as well. School children all over the country are being coddled, quite frankly. I read last year about a school system in Texas that wanted to disregard homework scores because bad grades for not doing homework brought down students' self-esteem. Guess what? It should. If you're not doing homework, then a bad grade is the stick to get you to do it. Similarly, if you want to go to college and expect it to be a "good" school, then you need to work harder in high school. A 2.8 GPA means you get just as many C's, D's, and E's as A's and B's; more so, in fact. THAT is what colleges consider when they read your application. Other school systems need to start emulating the VBCPS grading scale. Nothing good comes from lowering the bar.
VA BCH WANTS THE 10 POINT SYSTEM
It's not the 10 point system that will dumb our students down, it's the lack of quality parenting that will. If you instill the belief in your children that hard work pays off and that in your household anything less than an 85% is unacceptable and needs to be improved, then regardless of which grade scale is used, as a parent you've succeeded and your child will undoubtedly benefit. That said, we shouldn't strive to put our children at a disadvantage just to show the world they are capable of working harder than others to succeed. If my child brings home a 92% B and another child receives a 90% A, there's a problem with the system.
If you haven't seen it already, look over the website www.fairgrade.org. It offers a lot of good information on the subject of switching to the 10 point system. Also, read VB6132's comment earlier in this thread. It’s a good post that puts an unconventional twist on setting the bar higher.