“I had 2 B’s first semester which I brought up to A’s third quarter,” said sophomore Ben Esther after the release of the initial April 9 grading policy. “And the district is basically throwing away all of that hard work and hurting my GPA.”
Many students in North Carolina found themselves disappointed in the primary decision made by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), which would have made all of second semester pass/fail grading due to concerns about equity in access to technology and home situations. Students counting on second semester to raise overall averages worried that their GPA may suffer with no numerical grade or opportunity to improve.
Now after the May 12 decision, many students like Esther are relieved to see the final policy. In response to students’ concerns, the district, based on guidelines from the NCDPI, released more options for students to positively impact their grades, including opportunities to receive full GPA credit for year-long courses. For students who completed coursework during distance learning, second semester grades will be automatic 100s, which will also be averaged with grades from first semester to boost first semester scores. Students who do not participate in grade improvement would not be negatively impacted either, rather having a pass or withdraw option and keeping previously-entered grades.
“It’s helping my grades,” said freshman Maleehah Ward. “I’m not the best at keeping up with assignments or time management, so the option to choose my grades from before March 13th will improve my GPA.”
Still, some students, especially those anticipating the competition to get into colleges and who felt that their grades distinguished them from others, think that their hard work in the school year is somewhat lost.
“I feel like now everybody has an A in everything,” said a junior who wished to remain anonymous. “So the A I worked really hard to get last semester doesn’t look that good anymore.”
History teacher Stephanie Nally said some of her students told her they feel the same way.
“The people who felt like they got a free boost were happy,” said Nally. “And then I do have a couple of students who have worked extremely hard from day one, and they voiced some disappointment in the fact that, the difference between the students who really did put in the effort and the students who did not, that difference seems to have disappeared with respect to this grading policy. I think that frustration is valid.”
School administration also emphasizes relieving some stress that comes from the pressure to keep up with schoolwork.
“At this time, we really have to be cognizant and aware of our students’ social and emotional well being, because some students may be affected by the virus itself, have family members affected or who have lost jobs that brings stress into the house, or other responsibilities that students may have,” said principal Ken Proulx. “So we really want to find that balance between giving students the opportunity to have some academic work. For some students it’s actually what brings them a feeling of somewhat normalcy or consistency… but at the same time we don’t want to give too much that it’s adding a burden through what is already a trying time for us.”
Students do voice lower stress levels, but still, one remaining concern is how this may impact their motivation to finish schoolwork at a high standard. With a grading system that essentially looks for completion, quality may seem less significant, and optional work seems very, well, optional.
“If anything, I’ve lost motivation,” said sophomore Zoe Chu. “The [policy] makes it seem like I can just do the bare minimum and get it over with.”
For students who are already passing, either earning a 100 or a P for the second semester, schoolwork is pretty much out of the picture.
“My motivation has gone down because I’m relying on my Quarter 3 grades for me to pass,” said Ward. “So to me, none of the work further on matters grades-wise.”
Teachers have also noticed that without traditional nudges and incentives like grades and bell schedules, many of their students have decreased participation in distance learning.
“Once you take that framework of grading away, all of that familiarity and those pressure points that students have conditioned themselves to respond to, they’re a little lost, and the motivation is gone,” said Nally. “It’s not that they just don’t care anymore, it’s that the motivation is gone. And without motivation, there’s just too many distractors in this world to be really effective.”
Nally believes that in order for distance learning to be effective, some form of grading and testing will have to be brought back, to hold students accountable and increase motivation.
“If this happens again, we need to be prepared,” said Nally. “We need to have something that is meaningful, consistent, rigorous and testable. We have to be able to test kids because they don’t perform unless there’s that carrot in front of them.”
Nevertheless, for the remainder of this school year, students and teachers will continue to work together in achieving some kind of normalcy in this situation.
“We’re all in it together,” said Proulx. “There’s going to be an impact on every single class, every single content area. And what we’ll do when we get back is we will steer the ship in the right direction.”
Photo by Caroline Chen/The ECHO
