Grading Scale: Rebuttal in Favor

This week I've been bringing you opposing perspectives on the question of the LCPS grading scale. First from a parent in favor of the change, then from a parent opposed to it. I'm very grateful that each of these parents is engaged enough in the issue to take the time to write about it at length. One of the frustrations of policy debates is often that we only hear from one side at a time, so each side can sometimes talk about an entirely different set of issues than the other.

At my request, each of the parents who wrote on the opposing side was given a copy of the other's analysis, and I asked them each to respond to the other's poins of view. In my experience this is where the most substantive discussion happens, and I definitely found it to be the case in this instance as our two debaters found something to agree on. Today I offer the response of the parent in favor of a 10-point grading scale to the letter opposing the scale that was featured yesterday. Excerpts are below, the full rebuttal is here. Each writer put considerable time and thought into their positions and I hope that everyone who is seriously engaged in this issue will take the time to read the full documents and understand the opposing point of view.

*CON’s concern applies only to high performing students, when in fact we can help all Loudoun students by using the 10 point scale and publishing numeric scores, or just publishing numeric scores. This will facilitate national and international comparisons and distinguish excellence.

CON’s complaint: The “Fairgrade” scale is about pursuing college admissions, but college admissions committees already make adjustments to compensate for Loudoun’s divergent grading scale.

Reality check: INCORRECT. Nothing could be further from the truth. Few schools have any means of converting grades; most admit that they take grades right from the transcript; and those that say otherwise, but nonetheless offer minimum GPAs for admission/scholarships, either aren’t being accurate, or don’t understand the question. As I explain at length in my PRO submission, there is no incentive for college admissions committees to know of, or figure out, differences in grading systems. There is simply no incentive to figure out, or convert, grades on a Loudoun transcript.

The spirit of CON’s concern is entirely addressed by moving to the 10 point scale and publishing numeric scores, or just publishing numeric scores. Indeed, this gives us harmonization, which is crucial if our students are to be compared fairly to their real (versus within-district) cohort, and the kind of differences within each letter grade bracket that CON is worried about. That’s why either solution is win-win.

The good news is that there is a solution that will address both CON’s concern and help all Loudoun students in the process: switch to the 10 point scale and publish numeric scores, or just publish numeric scores. I am delighted to see CON agree with me on this point. To quote CON’s submission, “If a change is made, my suggestion is that it be replaced by one in which no letter grades are given.” Indeed, such a system would go to the heart of CON’s misguided concern about grade inflation, and thus presents us with a win-win proposition. True, CON still pleads to retain the status quo, but this is because CON has mistakenly identified the numeric score-only grading system as a compromise, when in fact it is an optimal solution to the problem facing Loudoun.