Grading Procedures for Final Grades

May 22nd, 2020

In April 2020, the Board of Education unanimously approved recommendations for temporary grading modifications to avoid penalizing students during emergency situations, such as the school closure caused by the coronavirus. The additional decision to eliminate final exams for the 2019-2020 school year also impacts the calculation of the final grade. Thus, the grade ranges used to calculate final grades have been modified to mitigate the effect of the loss of points that students could have earned through strong performance on the final exam.

High School
In a typical year, the final grade for each high school course is calculated using a 10-point system, with each quarter grade given a 2-point weight and the middle and final exam each having 1-point weight. For the 2019-2020 school year, final grades instead will be calculated using a 9-point system, based on grades for all four quarters and the midterm, but no final exam. For Quarter 4, a “Pass” grade will be counted as an “A”.

The grade ranges for 2019-2020 final grades are:

A = 3.44–4.00
B = 2.44–3.43
C = 1.44–2.43
D = 0.44–1.43

This modified grading would allow, for example, a student who earned a B in quarters 1 and 2 and the midterm, and an A for quarters 3 and 4, to receive an A as their final grade, because students did not have the opportunity to receive an A on the final exam.

All Grades
The temporary grading policy amendment includes these additional provisions:

Students in grades Pre-K-11 receiving a grade of Incomplete for Quarter 4 will receive a final grade of Incomplete. The conversion to “N/A” will not take place until September 15.
Students in grades 6-12 receiving an “E” for 3rd quarter and an “N/A” for 4th quarter will fail the course for the year.
Students in grades 6-12 receiving an “N/A” for two quarters will pass the course for the year.
Students in grades 6-12 receiving three “N/As,” including on the midterm exam, will not receive credit for the course.

Please refer to 2019-2020 Fourth Quarter Grading Protocols for additional information.