Weighted Grades Committee Recommendation Presented to Boonville R-I Board of Education March 19, 2014

Brief History of Weighted Grades in the Boonville School District Original Weighted Grade Policy was implemented by the Board of Education in with 18 courses weighted During the winter of 2008 the Board directed a committee to review the Weighted Grade Policy This committee voted 10-9 to remove weighted grades. The Board voted to keep weighted grades and introduced the current procedure for adoption of weighted grades. Currently BHS has 9 weighted courses

Brief History of Weighted Grades in the Boonville School District Earlier this school year the Board approved the formation of a committee to review the current weighted grade policy to determine what direction the District should move. The current committee members are: –2 Board members –2 BHS teachers –3 administrators (Central Office, BHS, BTEC) –3 BHS students –4 BHS parents –1 Community member –1 BHS Counselor –5 of the current committee members served on the 2008 committee

Changes at BHS since Weighted Grades were Implemented BHS is a non-ranking school. Class rank is not given to students. Students are recognized at graduation using the Cum Laude system. The grading scale has changed. It used to be 97% was an A, now it is 95%. An A- was 93% and it is now 90%. The number of dual credit opportunities for high school students has increased greatly. –Dual credit classes at BTEC –Online dual credit classes through SFCC –Dual enrolled (dual credit) at SFCC-Kemper

Findings by the Committee The committee members contacted the universities and colleges that the majority of our graduates attend. Members received the following responses: –Not all weighted courses have rigor –The universities look at the courses taken, not the weight –They have a concern of grade inflation –Several of the universities will accept weighted grades, but they also look at ACT scores and core courses taken –Some will not accept weighted grades. They recalculate the students GPA –Students are competing for competitive scholarships typically must apply by December 1 st.

The Committee’s conclusion and recommendation There is no compelling evidence that weighted grades benefit students. If there was a clear advantage, then why wouldn’t all schools weight as many classes as possible and assign a weight of 1.0 to each. Students who apply for competitive scholarships must do so using their 6 th semester transcript, which has no weights on it. Students and parents need to be educated about the benefits of dual credit. We need to focus on the affordability of post- secondary education for our students. Weighted grades add a layer of confusion to this.

The Committee’s conclusion and recommendation Weighted grades were initially added so students who took more difficult courses were not at a disadvantage when it came to class rank. Now we have students who are taking courses at Kemper and BTEC which are not weighted, while the same course here may be weighted. The weighted grades are now causing a disadvantage for students. The committee voted 15-1 to eliminate weighted grades beginning with the next school year,