School closure forces adjusted grading scale

Grading scales at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School will be adjusted for the second semester of the 2019-20 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Principal Nate Hemiller and the building leadership team presented three grading options to the school board on May 18. The high school leadership group's recommendation for which plan should be adopted was accepted by the board.

The first option was to make no changes to the high school grading scale and use students' third quarter grades as their second semester grades. That scale requires students to score at least 60 percent in order to pass.

The third plan was to have all 9-12 classes be graded on a pass/fail basis, with all students being passed and all earning credits.

According to Hemiller, those two options reflect the range of responses by area districts to the effects of the state-mandated school closure that began on March 16.

"Some schools try to pass everyone, others try to keep as close to normal as possible," he said.

The plan approved at H-M-S will use students' third quarter grades as their second semester grades, and modifies the grading scale. The adjusted scale, which will only be in effect for the second semester of 2019-20, requires a 50 percent score in order to pass. Students' second semester grade point averages will be included into their cumulative GPAs.

"We believe [option #2] to be the fairest for students while considering the COVID-19 situation and the disruption in learning it has caused," Hemiller said.

If the standard grading scale were maintained, 26 high school students would have at least one failing grade. With the modified grade plan, only nine will fail one or more courses.

Hemiller said that the adopted scale "still holds kids accountable" while taking into consideration that they were unable to do anything to improve their final grades due to the school closure.

• Planning for 2020-21

As the abbreviated 2019-20 school year winds down, H-M-S faculty and administration are looking ahead to what they hope will be a traditional year in the fall. However, all districts are required to incorporate options for transitioning from continuous to virtual learning experiences if the COVID-19 pandemic continues through the summer.

Superintendent Patrick Carlin said the pandemic threat will impact all areas of the curriculum moving forward, which leaves more questions than answers for educators. He also expressed real concerns about how lower elementary students will learn to read at a high level if they cannot attend classes onsite.

"There will be a lot of logistical problems if we are not able to return to traditional learning in the fall," Carlin said.

Elementary staff has been working on their return to learning standards checks for all grade levels. The checks identify which standards were taught, which were assessed for mastery and which were not taught in 2019-20.

"We are very pleased with the number of standards that were taught and assessed prior to the school closure," said Elementary Principal Cathy Jochims. "I am confident teachers will be able to use this information, pretesting and beginning of the year screening results to guide instruction next year."

H-M-S staff is also planning to initiate the Illustrative Math program at all grade levels. According to the Illustrative Math website, "Students learn by doing math, solving problems in mathematical and real-world contexts, and constructing arguments using precise language. Teachers can shift their instruction and facilitate student learning with high-leverage routines to guide learners to understand and make connections between concepts and procedures."

Principal Mark Dorhout said the program is relatively new at the elementary level but has been used for some time at the middle school and high school levels. Building level math standards at the elementary school will be fully implemented next fall.