News: The New Grading Policy

The New Grading Policy

Paige Fanneron, Incoming News Editor
Published June 17, 2020

The South Orange-Maplewood School District (SOMSD) recently updated their grading policy for the remaining online portion of the school year. In a letter to students and families, the district administration outlined the new grading policy for each specific school. In the letter, they introduced a pass/fail concept for Columbia High School (CHS) students, in addition to providing information on credit recovery and grade weighting.

For fourth quarter (Q4), the administration has decided to put in place a course in progress (CIP). Under the CIP, students who do not end up passing their courses will be given the opportunity to make up that specific class’ work by Dec.1, 2020. CIPs were put in place for those students who may not have access to a computer at home or have a situation at home that may be preventing them from getting their work done. For seniors who get CIPs, they will not be allowed to get their diplomas until they make up the work for the class that they have a CIP in.

The school district has also implemented a pass/fail system for CHS, where if a student passes a class, meaning they receive a D- or above, then they will pass that class, receive credit and their final grade for the year will not be impacted by their Q4 grade. If a student has a higher grade in a class that raises their final grade average, then it will positively affect the student’s overall grade. If a student’s Q4 grade is above a D- and does not raise their final grade in that class then their Q4 grade will essentially be nullified and their final grade will consist of the first three quarters and midterm grades.

GPAs will be determined the same way that they have been determined in the past, and will be based off of the overall end of the year grades. A student’s GPA can only be positively affected by Q4 grades, as long as they pass their classes. For the students who have 504s, they will be given accommodations based off of their action plans.

“I can see how it could be fair since a lot of people now out of school may not have the resources they need to do well” Maggie Sheridan, '21

Maggie Sheridan, ‘21, said, “A lot of people have been working hard to get the grade they have, only to have it just be passing.” However, Sheridan can see both sides of the new grading policy and also said, “I can see how it could be fair since a lot of people now out of school may not have the resources they need to do well.” While Pamela Galoff, a CHS science teacher had a similar opinion to Sheridan and said, “I think it is fair for the students who have been struggling with various things like internet issues, feeling overwhelmed, family issues, health issues, etc. I am not sure it is fair for students who have chosen not to work all year. Some students have done no work until Q4.” The new grading system allows for kids with certain circumstances to make up the work that they have missed, however, it also allows the students who have not been participating in distance learning to receive credit for classes that they have not completed their work in. Link to SOMSD grading policy letter.

Designer: S. Mannion