Ten Point Grading Scale Summary Doug Alderfer, Ed.D Monday, February 13, 2012

Background Present grading scale was adopted in 1986 Current 10-point A= 94-100 A= 90-100 B= 86-93 B= 80-89 C= 78-85 C= 70-79 D= 70-77 D= 60-69 F= 69 and below F= 59 and below

Local Research Fairfax County Schools Study Surveyed 104 colleges with 64 responses Spotsylvania County Schools Study Madison County Schools Study

Arguments to keep existing scale May diminish student motivation to achieve higher standards May cause grade inflation May cause parents to think the curriculum has been “watered-down” Colleges and universities indicate that they routinely recalculate GPAs from different grading scales

Potential Benefits of the 10 Point Scale Compatible with other school divisions in Virginia and other states Align with grading scale used by most colleges Possibly more students would be distinguished as Honor Roll and receive merit based scholarships Possibly fewer students would fail and the drop-out rate would decrease Possibly increase student self-confidence and esteem Possibly motivate students to attempt AP and dual enrollment courses

Conclusions There are numerous potential benefits attributed to the 10 point grading scale Risks of changing the scale relate mostly the perception of lowering standards and expectations ] Based on the studies reviewed, the impact of the 10 point grading scale is still unclear

Questions?