At the beginning of the school year FCPS switched the minimum grade of all assignments to zero percent rather than 50 percent. This means that if students do not complete their work, they will not receive any credit. Although this holds kids accountable for their work, it adds an extra obstacle for getting back on track. FCPS has not been clear about what led to the minimum grade being changed, and students are confused and frustrated as a result.
The zero percent policy can cause students to feel extra stressed about getting assignments in on time and keeping up with assignments in general. There are also concerns that the grading policy will make people feel unmotivated. “If someone wasn’t [at school], it’s not their fault, and they get a zero instead of a 50, which is not very good,” said Elise Badgley, a ninth grade freshman. She personally dislikes the new grading policy as she believes it hurts a student’s ability to learn. “Once [students] see, ‘Oh my gosh, I have so many zeros cause I wasn’t here,’ then they are going to want to give up.”
Teachers, however, seem to be in favor of the grade changes. “I don’t get 50 percent of my salary if I don’t do my job, so I think that it sets kids up for unfair expectations,” remarked Ms. Parent, a World History 2 and IB world religions teacher. She finds the zero policy a good start, “but when we do it on a scale of one hundred, mathematically it’s gonna harm students a little more than if we were on a scale of 4.0.”
Ms. Parent doesn’t believe the grading policy affects students negatively. “I think it’s trying to encourage them to at least attempt the work, and that’s the idea between [getting] 50 percent and zero.”
FCPS has officially stated that it is, “maintaining its late work policy,” and that, “teachers have to accept major assignments up to two weeks late.” Now, students who do not complete assignments on time will get an automatic zero. Previously, students who did not submit assignments or had failed a test would get a 50 percent score. The grade book had been like this for months due to the Covid pandemic.
The system seems to be working for some FCPS schools. Woodson High School was featured by the local news, where they stated that students should be held accountable for uncompleted assignments. According to the Woodson High School principal, some students felt that those who did not complete their work “should be given a lower grade than someone who did turn in their assignment.”
However, students from Woodson High School use a rolling grade book instead of a quarter system, which is why teachers find the zero percent policy better. The rolling grade book averages all your assignments during the school year. But rolling grade books are not always for every school.
“What was happening [with the old system] was students were realizing, if they put in a few weeks of work at some point, they didn’t have to do anything for the rest of the year, and they would earn a passing score in a class,” David Walrod, president of Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, commented. “And so, we were seeing things like students flat out saying, ‘I’m not doing this, because I’ll get a 50 percent on it.’”
Overall, people seem divided over whether this is a good idea or a bad idea from FCPS. These are all just opinions from teachers and students, however, no changes from FCPS will be coming anytime soon or have been announced as of the 2023 school year.
