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Friday, January 23, 2009

Fairfax County School Board Votes to Change Grading Scale

The Fairfax County School Board has voted to change Fairfax County Public Schools' (FCPS) grading scale by increasing the grade point weight for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), dual enrollment college, and honors courses and has directed Superintendent Jack D. Dale to recommend "variants on a basic ten-point grading scale with pluses and minuses" for implementation at the beginning of the 2009-10 school year.

The change means that students who take AP and IB courses will have an additional .5 weight—for a total of 1.0—added to their grade point average (GPA) calculation. Last night's vote makes this change retroactive for all AP and IB courses on current student transcripts effective January 2009. Seniors will get credit in the GPA calculation for AP and IB courses they are currently taking.  Since all students are expected to take the AP or IB exam that corresponds to the course(s) they are taking, FCPS gives the extra points in the seventh semester calculation for the courses students take as seniors.  Students enrolled in designated dual enrollment college courses will receive an additional .5 weight—for a total of 1.0—and students enrolled in honors courses will receive a .5 grade point weight, effective during the 2009-10 school year. This will allow the Superintendent time to determine consistency in what constitutes honors-level classes.

"The School Board received considerable feedback from the community about this issue," said Dan Storck, School Board chair. "We felt it was important to make the change so that our students can be judged comparably with students around the country when college admissions and scholarships are at stake while maintaining the high academic standards that Fairfax County Public Schools are known for."

The new grading scale will include pluses and minuses in an attempt to more accurately represent student achievement while aligning FCPS more closely with grading scales in other school districts and reflecting the high academic standards of Fairfax County Public Schools. Dale's recommendation for a new grading scale is due to the Board by the end of March.

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Note: For more information, contact the FCPS Department of Communications and Community Outreach at 571-423-1200.