As most Arlington Public School (APS) students are aware, a new grading policy has come into effect for this school year. With the minimal attention the grading policy has been getting, it might seem easy to sweep it under the rug and act as if nothing has changed; however, no matter how many times you sweep, this policy will remain a lump to step on.
While the new grading policy is 10 pages long—each page with content and changes—there are only three major changes which are as follows: summative assignment retakes, a 10% maximum late penalty, and finally, a weekly email being sent to parents. The first major change can be found on page four, bullet 10: “A student must be afforded the opportunity to retake or revise a summative assessment after remediation.” This is an important change when compared to the previous policy of being able to retake at the teacher’s discretion. Previously, teachers could decide whether or not they would allow retakes, with most teachers opting to either not have retakes or to have conditions attached to them, such as having a lower maximum score or averaging both scores.
The second major change can be found on page three, bullet nine: “Late work submitted after the specified due date but within the teaching unit will be graded, but may be penalized up to 10 percent of the value of the assessment.” As students have experienced, before this change, every teacher had a different policy on late work varying from 10% a day to no late work penalty. This policy, while still penalizing students, will ensure that perfect work guarantees the same letter grade as work turned in on time, changing the focus from timeliness to quality.
The third and final major change is an automated email showing a summary of grades, replacing the interim progress reports used in the past. Found on page one: “Weekly progress reports will be sent via email to parents/guardians through the student information system for all courses every grading period.” Parents will still have access to their child’s grades, however, now parents will be directly emailed keeping parents more aware of their student’s grades.
These alterations will certainly impact Arlington Career Center’s students and teachers. As of right now, students are still divided on whether this is a good or bad change. Some students are saying that the minimal late work penalty will help them as they will have more time to perfect their work and get it done. Other students have shot back saying that these changes will raise the average grade, making standardized testing even more important in college admissions. Will this policy lead to more accurate grades? Will this policy lead to grade inflation? Will this policy have any effect on students’ mental health? In time, we will get a clearer picture of how exactly these changes will affect Arlington Public Schools. As this picture develops, the Chronicle will report on it throughout the year and help answer these questions.
