Starkville School District could soon revisit its elementary and middle school grading system, district Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Jody Woodrum said Tuesday.
She presented a modified grading system to the school board Tuesday which combines the district’s current 10-point grading scale and a former system which had higher requirements for a student’s passage to the next grade.
High school students would not be affected by the proposed grading change, Woodrum said.
She also hinted that SSD’s current policies for student promotion and retention could be modified in the future. Her proposal was only meant for discussion, and the board took no action.
SSD implemented a districtwide 10-point grading scale two years ago, she said, but elementary and middle school principals asked her and Assistant Superintendent for Operations Toriano Holloway to revisit the system to ensure young students are advancing with the skills they need for future success.
“The reason was for high school students to have more opportunities for scholarships and college entrance, to put them on a level playing field with other districts that use that system so they wouldn’t be penalized for our higher grading system,” Woodrum said of the previous grading change. “Those principals … the reason they’re requesting this is to look at the other end of the scale. They really feel like when it was changed, an F being below 60 is too low, and an F being below 70 would be a better range. They felt like we have students maybe advancing to the next grade with a grade too low.”
“Meaning that they wouldn’t be successful (in a higher grade),” SSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway added.
Woodrum’s suggestion was to create a modified grading system which keeps the 10-point scale for A’s and B’s while narrowing the range for C’s and D’s. Under the proposed system, a grade below 69 would result in an F for a student, she said.
The proposed system would only affect elementary and middle school students; however, the 10-point scale would still apply to middle school students taking ICT, foreign language and algebra 1 classes, she said.
“That raises the bar a little bit from the failure system and creates a shift to have a higher standard,” Woodrum said.
During discussion on the matter, school board member Eric Heiselt asked Woodrum if the potential change takes the responsibility of passing or failing a student off the teacher’s shoulders and places it squarely on the tighter grading system.
Woodrum said SSD’s current promotion and retention policy leans heavily on grades to the point she would like to examine that policy and potentially make changes.
“I think promotion and retention is always about finding the best fit – especially at the elementary level – for the student. Where are the skills being taught that this student needs to work on? Are they in the current grade, or can they go to the next grade and still have those skills available that they need to work on. But this is a start in that direction,” she said. “To me, (grading policy changes) would come with looking at the promotion and retention policies.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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