Starting next school year, we can expect Skyline High School’s grading system to look a lot different from this year. Starting in August, our grades will be on a 4-point scale, so it can translate more easily to our Grade Point Average (GPA).
As the year comes to a close, students and teachers have been wondering whether or not this 50% rule would continue into next year. And while this rule will be revoked starting next August, what many students and teachers did not expect was an entirely new grading system.
The 50% rule that was implemented this year at Skyline has been controversial. This rule gave students the benefit that if they did not complete an assignment, their grade for the assignment was 50% instead of zero. This rule was intended to motivate more students, so they are not discouraged by glaring zeroes, but many have found it problematic, saying that it gives a free pass to students who don’t attempt to do their work.
The Skyline Post interviewed SLC Principal Casey Elmore to get clarification on what changes to expect.
What is the grading system going to look like?
It essentially looks like the GPA grading system. We will no longer have a percentage system, we’ll just see the letter grades.
What exactly is changing?
First, the zero percent grade is back. Missing and incomplete work will be put in as a zero, no longer 50%.
Second, there will be fewer increments within the grading scale. No more 0-100. In a 0-100 scale, mathematically there are many more chances to get an E than an A, and Skyline wanted to change that. The reason: the fewer increments you have, the more accurate the grading becomes.
What sparked this big change within our system?
Skyline is working towards ensuring that grades are based purely on what you know, not on how hard you work and not on your behavior. The Skyline faculty has been reading the book Grading For Equity to support their learning.
Is this for all AAPS schools or just Skyline?
Skyline is the only school doing this so far. Huron is planning to make some changes because they are reading the same book as Skyline, but nothing is confirmed as of this article’s publication, June 2023.
What are the end goals of this?
(1) Equity: for a grading system that offers a more equal chance for all students to be motivated and successful, and (2) for grades to truly represent skills and content knowledge.
Why have most students not heard about this grading system as this year comes to a close?
The school is planning on not announcing the policy until this August, meaning that students do not have much prep time to get used to this new system.
