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Friday, May 08, 2009

Fairfax County School Board Approves New Grading Scale

The Fairfax County School Board has voted to approve a new grading scale for all Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students that will go into effect beginning with the 2009-10 school year.  The new grading scale is as follows:

            A         (93-100) = 4.0
            A-        (90-92) = 3.7
            B+       (87-89) = 3.3
            B         (83-86) = 3.0
            B-        (80-82) = 2.7
            C+       (77-79) = 2.3
            C         (73-76) = 2.0
            C-        (70-72) = 1.7
            D+       (67-69) = 1.3
            D         (64-66) = 1.0
            F         (below 64) = 0.0

“After extensive research and discussions—internally as well as with community groups, parents, and students—the Board has adopted a slightly modified version of the College Board grading scale.  We believe this new scale benefits the students in the competitive world of academics as well as maintaining Fairfax County Public Schools’ nationally recognized high academic standards,” said Dan Storck, School Board chair.    

In January, the School Board voted to increase the grade point weight for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), designated dual enrollment college, and honors courses.  A student enrolled in an AP or IB course was granted an additional .5 weight—for a total of 1.0—added to his or her grade point average (GPA) for each course.   The transcripts for current seniors, which were sent to colleges in early February, included the additional weights for all applicable courses. 
 
Beginning with the 2009-10 school year, a student who takes an honors course will receive an extra .5 weight to his or her GPA for each honors course taken.  A task force has been formed to review all higher level courses and corresponding curriculum and, by the end of the summer, the group will forward a recommended list of honors courses to Superintendent Jack D. Dale and the School Board. No decision has yet been made as to whether or not the .5 weight for each honors course will be retroactive for all current high school students. 

High school students and their parents can view student GPAs in Family Connection through FCPS 24-7 Learning.  A parent must have a Parent View account; students already have their own FCPS 24-7 Learning accounts.

For complete information about changes to the grading scale, visit http://www.fcps.edu/news/grading.htm .

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