Grading Scale for WCPSS (2014, school district, university)

[DARIUSM]

So, not being from NC, I have a very hard time with the grading scale for the Wake County Public School System. It goes as follows:
A 93-100
B 85-92
C 77-84
D 70-76
F 0-69

I believe that NC students are put at a disadvantage. THey work just as hard as everyone else but their GPA is lower because of the stupid scale. I say we change to the 10 point scale. What do you guys think? Is this fair?

[attrapereves]

I hate it too. Many times in school, I would get 90-92 which counted as a B. I had a decent high school GPA, but if we had a 10pt scale, it would have been a lot higher.

The school district I teach at uses a 10pt scale with plus and minus. Our scale is as follows (and matches most university grade scales):

A 100-95%
A- 94.9-90%
B+ 89.9-87%
B 86.9-83%
B- 82.9-80%
C+ 79.9-77%
C 76.9-73%
C- 72.9-70%
D+ 69.9-67%
D 66.9-63%
D- 62.9-60%
F 59.9-0%

[ScarletG]

Originally Posted by DARIUSM

So, not being from NC, I have a very hard time with the grading scale for the Wake County Public School System. It goes as follows:
A 93-100
B 85-92
C 77-84
D 70-76
F 0-69

I believe that NC students are put at a disadvantage. THey work just as hard as everyone else but their GPA is lower because of the stupid scale. I say we change to the 10 point scale. What do you guys think? Is this fair?

You and your kids will survive. Many districts around the nation use this scale I didn't even realize that some still used the older 10 point scale any longer. This new one doesn't put anyone at a disadvantage.....do the best level work possible and go from there.

[poppydog]

Sophomore's New Grading Scale Would Make 90+ An A | WUNC

[twingles]

I agree. Personally I would like to see them do away with the letters andnjust put the number grade on the report card. My HS started doing that back in the day when I started there.

I did hear from a fairly reliabble source that wcpss is thinking ofnswitching to the 10 point scale. We shall see.

[goodbyesnow]

My kids here in Johnston Co have the same scale.
I am waiting for-especially in the younger grades, for more "performance based" grading and less of the strict percentage scales. It is what I was told they were doing in Wake-they did at the school I taught at last year, I think. My grading was different because I was teaching special ed, but I think they were using numbers and performance based grades, but I was told that wasnt the norm here.

[DARIUSM]

attrapereves, that grading scale is the one i'm used to, think it goes a lot better!

[DARIUSM]

ScarletG: Actually, most school systems use a 10 pt. scale. That is why they will be at a disadvantage. They can get a 90 in NC and be counted less than a person getting a 90 in where we're from, CT.

[CHTransplant]

Wake pushed for a 10-point scale this year as well:

Wake County may try to change high school grading scale | Wake Ed Blog | NewsObserver.com

The scale is set by the NC Department of Public Instruction as part of the standardized state transcript system:

Policy outlining standards to be incorporated into the electronically generated high school transcript

Is there some data to back up the claims that the 7-point scale puts NC students at a disadvantage in terms of college admissions, or is this just an imaginary problem?

I'd rather the grading scale focus more on educational attainment than value for college admissions.

[BarberryPl]

Another area that the 7 point grading scale puts NC children at a disadvantage is out of state college scholarships. Merit based scholarships are based on GPA and SAT. Many schools have tiered levels of GPA and SAT minimum requirements that lead to higher scholarship monies for higher GPAs.

My daughter qualified for merit scholarships to all of the out of state school she applied to. But, at one school in particular, she would have gotten more money if her grades were computed on a 10 point scale vs the 7 point scale. I wish out of state schools had a way to adjust for this inequity.