<p>Zero grades have been made obsolete at some high schools, with an "F" now being scored at 50.</p>
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"It's a classic mathematical dilemma: that the students have a six times greater chance of getting an F," says Douglas Reeves, founder of The Leadership and Learning Center, a Colorado-based educational think tank who has written on the topic. "The statistical tweak of saying the F is now 50 instead of zero is a tiny part of how we can have better grading practices to encourage student performance."
<p>But seriously, it would seem fair to me that if someone gets a 38 on a test, it would be recorded as a 38. If someone flat out doesn’t hand something in, it’s a zero. But what do I know about fair…</p>
<p>Versions of this plan have been floating around my school system for a couple of years. Administrators seem to favor it, while most teachers, parents, and even students oppose it. The logic is hard to sustain–for example, if a student who does nothing gets 50%, shouldn’t a student who does half of an assignment get 75%? A more equitable way to deal with the issue would be to adopt a system based on a maximum of 50, in which 40-50=A, 30-39=B, 20-29=C, 10-19=D, and <10=F.</p>
<p>At our high school, students cannot receive anything lower than a 50 on the first two (out of four) marking periods. The theory is that if the really low grades were counted, it would be practically impossible for the student to pass the year, and he/she wouldn’t even try. However, the kids are very aware of this, and there are kids who sleep for the first semester, take their 50’s and then pull the 75’s they need for the last two quarters and final to average to the magic 65. (Actually, teachers are required to pass a student if he/she has a 63.5 average. Close enough is good enough for us!)</p>
<p>However, if you make <70 in a class, although you don’t pass you will have a GPA. If you have a <70 in a standard class, you get a 1.0, <70 in an honors class you get 2.0, if you make a <70 in an AP class, you get a 3.0.</p>
Mine too. My school is set up in such away that class>>> grades. Ironically, when we start an honor society next year… we’ll probably set the minimum GPA at 4.5… with 2/3-1/2 the class in it. (And we don’t have AP classes)</p>
<p>however, my school does something similar…they grade out of 100 w/1.1 weight at the end of the year (ie, an honors/AP math class 100 x 1.1 = 110 final average)…but EVERYONE over 95 gets a “4.0”</p>