On Thursday September 13, 2012, a Board of Education meeting was held
in Ellicott City in order to consider a change to the grading scale
for county high schools.
There were three options for possible changes to the grading scale,
but no decision was made. At the meeting, it was decided that more
information must be gathered before a final decision is made.
At the meeting it was debated whether to keep the grading scale as the
current 10 point scale, use only percentage points until the final
grade is calculated at the end of the course, or to use a plus-minus
system.
“I think we should keep it the same,” said sophomore Andrew Pelletier
about the grading scale. “It’s working how it is.”
If the plus-minus system is adopted, students will still receive
letter grades, however there will now be a plus or minus grade for
each letter. This would be a more accurate representation of the
students’ score, however it would also affect the students’ GPA’s.
This could adversely affect athletes who currently maintain the C
average necessary to be eligible to play sports; a C minus would make
their GPA lower than the 2.0 that is required.
The percentage system would also provide a more accurate view of the
grade the students’ earn, but it will not affect GPA’s any differently
than the current system.
The current grading scale is being criticized for having codes that do
not relate to the grade the student earned, such as codes for not
showing up for a final or entering late into the course.
