Wake won’t be issuing traditional grades, for now, for school work done during pandemic
Wake County students are being asked to do their schoolwork while they’re working from home, even though school leaders say the assignments aren’t being graded at the moment.
Most of Wake County’s 162,000 students will resume daily classes on Monday for the first time since North Carolina public schools were closed in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Wake County Superintendent Cathy Moore said at a news conference Thursday that students should do their school work to keep up with their learning and in case school buildings are allowed to reopen for classes this semester.
“It is still possible, based on state guidance, that traditional grading could resume should we return to school after May 15th,” Moore said. “That makes it imperative for students to keep up with their schoolwork.”
All North Carolina public schools are moving to remote learning because they’re closed through at least May 15 to try to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Students at Wake County’s modified-calendar schools and early college high schools began receiving remote instruction this week. Year-round and traditional-calendar students, who make up the bulk of Wake’s students, start Monday.
The online school days will be shorter for Wake students with teachers pre-recording many of the lessons that their students will use. Teachers will use live lessons to review materials.
Parents and students have raised questions about whether the work that teachers give will be graded.
The State Board of Education is allowing regular grades to be issued for grades K-11 if schools can meet “critical factors” such as ensuring that all students have access to the materials during the move to remote learning.
“The Department of Public Instruction has also advised districts they should not resume traditional grading practices until they can assure that all students have access to the same materials,” Moore said. “Simply put, it would not be fair to issue grades only to students who can access remote learning online.”
Computers distributed to students
Wake is distributing computers and mobile hotspots to families who need the technology to learn remotely. Moore said that more than 13,000 computers have been distributed to students who have internet access at home.
Once Wake receives 10,000 new mobile hotspots next week, Moore said those devices and computers will be given to families.
Moore says the district had planned to give computers to students within the two years but is speeding things up due to the pandemic.
For the work that’s already been done this semester, Wake is giving pass/fail grades to students in grades K-11 for the 3rd quarter if they were passing as of March 13 — the last day of classes.
Wake says a decision on final semester grades for K-11 students will depend on whether schools reopen this school year and what new guidance is given by the state.
For now, teachers will give feedback to students that’s not a traditional grade. Moore said teachers have kept the 3rd quarter results and will record the work given should traditional grades be issued.
“State education officials have made it clear that districts should ask students, parents and teachers to focus on learning, engagement and feedback versus formal assessments,” Moore said.
Some Wake high school students have signed an online petition asking that they be allowed to use their 3rd quarter grades as their final semester grades. Moore said that she wants to hear what the state says before the district makes a final decision.
The state board also used March 13 as a cutoff date to say that high school seniors will get a passing grade for the spring semester if they were passing a course as of that date. Spring semester grades won’t count for seniors in their grade-point-average.
Moore said that Wake seniors who’ve passed all their requirements are still encouraged to take part in remote learning. For underclassmen, Moore said it’s particularly important to keep learning since they’ll be back in class in the fall.
“We want students to know the semester and the year is not over,” said school board chairman Keith Sutton.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 2:52 PM.
