Coronavirus is changing how NC students will be graded this year. See what’s coming.
Updated April 24
North Carolina is temporarily changing how public school students will be graded now that schools may not reopen this school year because of the coronavirus.
The State Board of Education approved a new grading policy Thursday that says students in grades K-11 won’t get failing grades for the spring semester. The new policy says schools should promote students to the next grade level unless plans were already “well underway” to retain a student on March 13 — the last day of classes before the statewide coronavirus closures.
As part of the new policy, high school students in grades 9-11 will have the option to get a numeric grade for their spring classes that will be used on their transcript to calculate their grade-point-average. Students can also choose to use a pass “PC19” or withdraw “WC19” grade that won’t be counted in their GPA.
“We have taken consideration for the best possible scenario in an impossible situation of which we wish we were not in,” said Sneha Shah Coltrane, director of advanced learning and gifted education in the state Department of Public Instruction.
Shah Coltrane co-chaired a group that developed the grading recommendations. She said teachers should use “grace and generosity” when giving grades during this time.
The vote came a day before Gov. Roy Cooper announced that schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year.
The coronavirus has caused 41 states, three U.S. territories and the District of Columbia to order or recommend school building closures for the rest of the academic year, affecting about 43 million public school students, according to Education Week.
Student choice cited in grading decisions
North Carolina schools switched to providing remote instruction so students can keep learning. Many schools are providing computers and printed materials to students who don’t have the technology to learn from home.
But concerns still exist about how many of the state’s 1.5 million public school students can participate in distance learning. The grading policy says that students will be held harmless for learning that takes place remotely.
Shah-Coltrane said that many states are leaving it up to local schools to decide on grading. But she said that North Carolina educators want the grading decisions to be applied consistently across the state.
Under the new grading policy:
▪ Elementary school students won’t get a final grade for the semester. Instead, teachers will provide year-end feedback to help students transition to the 2020-21 school year, whenever that begins.
▪ Middle school students will get a PC19 or WC19 grade for the final course grade based on how they were performing on March 13, but can improve it to passing during remote learning. Students who get a withdrawal grade won’t be considered to have failed.
▪ High school students in grades 9-11 can choose the PC19 or WC19 grade or a numerical grade for their final course grade for their spring classes. The numeric grade will be based on what they had achieved as of March 13 or if they can improve the mark during remote learning.
As with the middle school students, the state says getting a withdrawal grade doesn’t mean a high school student failed a course. It’s supposed to only mean that a student didn’t show enough mastery to get credit for the course.
High school students will decide on what grades to use based on advice of their school and in consultation with their parents.
If schools can’t reach students, DPI will recommend that they give the non-numeric grade. Students who want the numeric grade instead would get a chance later to make a change.
Most high school students use a block schedule in which they complete classes in a single semester. For students who are taking year-long classes, only their fall grade will count for the GPA if they don’t use a numeric grade for the spring portion.
The high school policy comes after some students argued they should get a numeric grade for the work they had done this semester before the closure. They said only using a pass/fail grade would hurt them academically compared to classmates who may have taken the same courses in the fall semester.
State Superintendent Mark Johnson stressed the role that students played in helping to develop the policy.
Nate Kolk-Tomberlin, a student at Apex High School and student advisor to the state board, said all the students he’s spoken to have supported the policy. He said it will help people such as high school juniors who need the spring semester grades to count in their GPA as they try to meet college admissions and scholarship requirements.
“This plan is really going to offer the best opportunity for all of our students,” Kolk-Tomberlin said.
Fairness of policy questioned
But state board member James Ford said giving traditional trades during a pandemic when not all students have the same access to resources promotes inequity. He was the lone no vote Thursday. He said the focus now should be on mastering skills and not earning merit grades.
“While it would certainly benefit students who are already in a position to perform well with the resources and opportunity for learning, those without the same level of access will be further disadvantaged,” Ford said.
The high school grading guidelines are different from the ones approved in late March for seniors. Under that policy, seniors will get a passing grade for a course if they were passing as of March 13. Spring semester courses aren’t counting for their GPA.
Several board members asked Thursday about allowing seniors to also get numeric grades for their spring courses. Shah Coltrane argued against the change but said she’d look at an option where numeric grades for spring courses could be added while still not counting them for GPA.
The new grading policy should also ease concerns from parents that the school closures will result in large numbers of students being held back. Hoax stories have appeared around the nation saying the coronavirus closures were going to cause most students to repeat the school year.
“There is no perfect solution,” said Greene County Superintendent Patrick Miller, a member of the group that developed the grading recommendations. “But this recommendation represents, I think, the best solution that we could put together for you to consider today.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 1:03 PM.
