INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River County School Board discussed possible changes to the grading scale during a round table session Tuesday afternoon.
School Board member Dale Simchick brought back for discussion the issue of the District’s grading scale, expressing concerns about how the proposed changes could negatively impact middle-performing students – those in the B, C, and D grade range.
Under consideration for future implementation is a scale that would include minuses (ie. A-, B-, C-, and D-). The current scale only provides for pluses (ie. A+, B+, etc.) and solid letters (ie. A, B, etc.).
Where the current scale would award a student an A for completing a course with a 90 percent score, the proposed scale would give that student an A-, affecting the student’s grade point average.
“We have no sampling,” Simchick said of not having data on how the change would affect students. “It’s a big guess where our children would fall.”
“We want to give our kids the best edge” in competing for college enrollment and scholarships, she added.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Fran Adams assured the Board that there is no rush to implement any changes to the grading scale. However, if the Board were to approve of the change, it could go into effect for the next school year.
The Board ultimately decided to hold off on making any changes until more data could be collected and analyzed. Later, the Board is expected to have a discussion regarding how changes – if approved – would be implemented.
Board members appeared open to the idea of using a dual grading system to phase in the new system without affecting current students.
