- April 24, 2024
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When students at Flagler Palm Coast High School do not turn in assignments, they usually receive a zero for that assignment. When students do the same at Matanzas High School, they usually receive a score of 50%.
The difference illustrates a difference in grading philosophies that district staff plans to assess.
“We will be taking a look at what is the best practice,” said Janet Valentine, superintendent for the Flagler County School District. “But what is working at one school may not be working at another school.”
Neither FPC nor Matanzas has a blanket policy for grades; specific grading systems are set by individual teachers. But FPC does not champion the half-credit system as much as Matanzas does, Valentine said.
Giving students who fail an assignment half-credit rather than no credit is an attempt to give them some hope and possibility for redemption, said Dr. Chris Pryor, principal at Matanzas.
While Pryor does not set grading policies, he does set grading guidelines, and at the start of this school year, he urged the teachers at his school to use the half-credit system, which he has been promoting for about six years.
Pryor’s reasoning is this: The Florida Department of Education, as well as most universities, ask for students’ grades submitted as a GPA. Under that system, an A is a 4.0; a B, 3.0; C, 2.0; D, 1.0; and an F, a 0.
“The difference between all of those grades is the same — one point,” Pryor said.
But Matanzas’ grading program does not allow for this type of system; instead, it asks for percentages as grades.
Using the percentage system, a score between 90% and 100% is an A, a score between 80 and 89% is a B, and so on. The lowest grade a student can get to receive a D is a 60%.
The difference, then, between a B and a C is 10 points, but the difference between a D and a no-credit grade is 59 points.
“It’s completely inequitable,” Pryor said, referring to the four-point system. With his half-credit philosophy, he said, “People think we’re giving them something for doing nothing, but no, we’re giving them an F, but we’re still giving them a chance to dig themselves out of the hole they’ve dug.”
Valentine expressed similar sentiments, saying that a student who scores badly on one assignment for some reason — like a bad day or a distraction at home — often cannot recover from the no-credit score, even if that student receives mostly A and B grades on every other assignment.
“I don’t believe it’s grade inflation,” Valentine said. “They’re still assigning F grades; they’re still averaging this in. It just gives students an opportunity to overcome their mistakes.”
Another possible criticism of the system he supports, Pyror said, is that a one student could try his hardest and get a 35%, while another student could decide not to even bother and still get a 50% mark. To remedy this, Pyror said, teachers can give the student who tried a score of 55% or 56%.
“The purpose of this, the intent of it, is not to save a student who is not doing work or who is refusing to do work,” Valentine said. “The intent is to support students who are trying, who, for whatever reason, get a low grade.”
FPC’s principal, Lynette Shott, did not immediately return a call asking for comment on her school’s grading policies.
Valentine said she and her staff will examine grades in both schools and plan to discuss whether a policy for both high schools should be implemented, or whether classroom grades should remain case-by-case.
“The grading conversation is constantly happening at the district level,” Valentine said.
