Arlington school leaders this week are making a quick pivot on secondary-school-level grading policies, having heard an earful from teachers that new rules put in place at the start of the school year have not worked as intended.
The change will effectively close a loophole that allowed students to aggressively demand re-takes of tests and re-submission of projects in an effort to further bump up their grades.
Such gaming of the rules was “the No. 1 issue that came up” in conversations with secondary-school teachers in recent months, Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members on Jan. 25.
The revision, which goes into effect with the start of the third grading period on Jan. 29, is designed to focus second chances on students who are on the cusp of knowing the subject matter, rather than those trying to improve, say, a B-plus grade to an A.
Under the revision:
• Only students scoring at or below 80 on a test or project will be eligible to participate in a remediation effort.
• Teachers will determine the type of work required and the time frame to complete it.
• The final grade to be assigned on the test or project will be no higher than 80.
Making the changes will “support true remediation for students who need remediation,” Durán said.
School Board members in June 2022 approved controversial revisions to grading policies, which some saw as focusing on giving students second chances and others viewed as dumbing down the grading process.
Teachers began implementing the changes at the start of the 2023-24 school year, and students seemingly quickly figured out how to put it to work to their advantage.
Color the superintendent displeased with their efforts, which, he intimated, was making a mockery of the policy’s actual intent.
“This is not a grading game,” Durán told School Board members, although some students seemed to take it as such.
A number of School Board members praised Durán’s decision to make a mid-year course correction.
“It’s great that we’re continuing to look . . . and make changes as needed,” board member Bethany Sutton said.
With the changes in place, school leadership will see how things go. Future revisions “may be needed” and likely would go into effect at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, Durán said.
