The NC State Board of Education met on Thursday, April 23rd.  During the meeting, the State Board passed policies for grading for the 2019-20 school year.  We reviewed the policies and shared them with principals.  The state grading policies are:

RECOMMENDATION FOR GRADES K-5:

  • Students will not receive a final grade in grades K-5.
  • Instead of a final grade, teachers will provide year-end feedback for students regarding learning from the full academic school year.  This will be provided with the final report card.
  • Teachers will document individual student strengths and needs from both an academic and social/emotional perspective to ensure an effective transition from the spring 2020 remote learning process to the 2020-21 academic year.

RECOMMENDATION FOR GRADES 6-8:

  • Students will receive a Pass “PC19” or Withdrawal “WC19” for the final course grades for all middle school courses.  Numeric/letter grades will not be assigned.
  • A student’s grade will be held harmless after March 13.
  • PC19 will be assigned to any student who was meeting expectations and passing the course as of March 13.  Students who worked to improve to passing after March 13 through remote learning will also be assigned PC19.
  • WC19 will be assigned to any student who was not passing the course as of March 13.  Students who were unable to improve to the point of passing the course through remote learning will also be assigned WC19.  A middle school course grade of WC19 does not equate to a failing course grade nor does it indicate that a grade retention should occur or that the course must be repeated.  The grade WC19 simply indicates a lack of evidence of mastery of standards addressed in the particular content area.
  • Teachers will document individual student strengths and needs from both an academic and social/emotional perspective to ensure an effective transition from the spring 2020 remote learning process to the 2020-21 academic year.
  • High school courses taken in middle school will follow the grading options presented below for high school students, with the understanding that if there is a numeric grade on the transcript it will not be calculated in the high school grade-point-average (GPA) per SBE policy, Course for Credit, CCRE-001.

RECOMMENDATION FOR GRADES 9-11:

  • Students in grades 9-11 and non-graduating seniors will be subject to the following grading system for the 2019-20 school year. NCDPI encourages continued remote learning for all high school students until the end of the current school year.
  • Fall Courses: Students will receive the grades for fall semester courses. Fall 2019 grades will be calculated into a student’s GPA.
  • Spring Courses: Students will be given a choice for how each final course grade will appear on the transcript for the spring semester.
  • Students will determine how each course grade will appear on the transcript at the end of the semester after advising from the teacher/school and in consultation with the parent/guardian.  Students will have one of the following final marks for each second semester course:
    • Option One, Numeric Grade:  This will be the highest grade representing learning as of March 13 or as improved through the semester as remote learning continued.  The numeric grade will be calculated in the GPA.
    • Option Two, PC19 Grade:  A final grade of PC19 awards full credit for a high school course.  PC19 is not calculated in the student’s GPA.
    • Option Three, WC19 Grade:  A final grade of WC19 does not award credit for a high school course.  Schools will use WC19 for any student who was not passing as of March 13 and was unable to improve through remote learning opportunities.  WC19 is not calculated in the student’s GPA.  WC19 does not equate to failing a course but indicates a lack of evidence of mastery of standards addressed in the particular course and that the school is unable to award a unit of credit.
  • NCDPI encourages schools to use all means possible to support student learning impacted by COVID-19 in the future, such as Credit Recovery and Repeating a Course for Credit (SBE-CCRE-001).
  • Issuing a temporary grade of Incomplete may be used in instances when the student, parent/guardian, teacher, and school administration determine it is appropriate.   A clear, time-bound plan to complete all course requirements must be established.
  • Student, parent, and school conferences, using various and appropriate forms of communication, will be scheduled during the last two weeks of the semester.  These conferences will occur to determine the most appropriate grade as defined above.

On related school matters, high school principals are working on graduation options to share with seniors.  We are working on plans to reunify students with personal items that were left at school.  Student and employee calendars are being reviewed and options will be discussed with the Board. At this time, no calendar changes have been made.  If changes are made, those will occur in conjunction with the May 11th Board of Education Meeting.

Contact:  Dr. Bill Nolte, Superintendent