Suffolk School Board agrees to study grading scale

SUFFOLK

The School Board informally agreed Thursday to form a committee to study whether the division's grading scale needs to be changed.

Other local school divisions have decided in recent months to widen letter grade ranges and add pluses and minuses to their grading scales. In Virginia Beach, for example, the scale is based on 10-point intervals, with students earning an A- or better with at least a 90. The lowest passing grade changed from 70 to 64.

Suffolk schools award students a 4.0 and an A for grades from 94 to 100 percent. Grades of 86 to 93 percent equal a B, or 3.0. Grades of 78 to 85 percent equal a C, or 2.0. Grades of 70 to 77 percent equal a D, or 1.0. Anything below 70 is failing.

Interim Superintendent Deran Whitney said the committee could include administrators, teachers and parents. Board member Mike Debranski, who volunteered to participate, said he is concerned that changing the scale would lead to "inflating grades."

Later, one parent spoke in support of switching to a 10-point grading scale, arguing that not doing so puts Suffolk students at a disadvantage when they apply to college.