Dear FAIRGRADE Supporter,
Since Thanksgiving, the FAIRGRADE leadership team has dedicated over 60 hours editing FCPS drafts and submitting our suggestions to FCPS administrators for inclusion in the final report about the FCPS Grading Policy. In our comments, FAIRGRADE repeatedly asked FCPS to clearly identify the negative impacts of the current policies, as demonstrated by the data.
Because FAIRGRADE was sufficiently troubled by the December 12th FCPS draft we were shown, we asked FCPS to remove the names of FAIRGRADE's leadership team from the FCPS report. We do not know the extent to which FCPS subsequently changed its draft report, because FCPS will not provide FAIRGRADE with a copy of the draft report sent to Superintendent Dale earlier this week. (We have been told the report will become publicly available online at www.fcps.edu on January 2, 2009.) Thus, FAIRGRADE’s comments are based on the December 12th FCPS draft report.
Despite FAIRGRADE’s concerns that the December 12th FCPS draft report UNDERSTATES the magnitude of the negative impacts of FCPS grading policies, we believe that the research gathered over the last eight months overwhelmingly supports FAIRGRADE’s original findings that:
1. The existing FCPS grading policy disadvantages students for admissions, merit scholarships and honors program placement,
2. FCPS provides less weights for advanced courses than most comparable school districts,
3. A majority of colleges surveyed do not recalculate GPAs,
4. Nationwide, high school grading policies are trending towards the use of a 10-point scale with pluses, minuses and extra weighting for advanced courses, and
5. It still remains to be seen what evidence supports current FCPS grading policy.
FAIRGRADE will issue its own Executive Summary of the research findings for the School Board’s consideration in early January. We will also post on our website the data, analyses and background research literature requested by FAIRGRADE, but not included by FCPS in its final report.
According to FCPS officials, the January 8th regular School Board meeting agenda will include the grading policy issue, and the public can sign up in advance to speak about the FCPS report and the FCPS grading policy. On January 12th, Superintendent Dale is expected to present his recommendations at the School Board work session where the public may observe the proceedings, but may not comment. And it’s possible that the School Board could vote on Dale’s recommendation(s) at the January 22nd Regular School Board Meeting. Because this is a regular meeting, the public may sign up to speak and address the Board.
Your support during the first three weeks in January is critical. While extensive research demonstrates the need for changing to a 10-point grading scale (with pluses and minuses) and increasing the weights for honors and AP/IB courses, SCHOOL OFFICIALS APPEAR UNCONVINCED.
The two most effective things you can do are to attend the three January School Board meetings (Jan. 8th, 12th & 22nd), and email Superintendent Dale, your individual School Board Member and all three Members-at-Large for the School Board.
SCHOOL OFFICIALS NEED TO HEAR YOUR CONCERNS AND YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR CHANGE. If you have personal experiences about lost opportunities for admissions, scholarships or honors program placements, please email FCPS officials and/or sign up to speak at the regular School Board meetings and tell Board Members your story. (Go to
http://www.fcps.edu/schlbd/requestspeak.htm) Your personal testimony may be the single most important factor in persuading the School Board. Don’t leave action to others. Please get involved and convey your personal story of lost opportunity.(Please send a copy of your story to:
fairgrade.anecdote@gmail.com.)
Finally, we remain closely engaged with our Business Alliance for FAIRGRADE team, receiving advice on a daily basis. The Business Alliance for FAIRGRADE will also be launching some additional lobbying efforts of their own and we'll keep you informed of these activities as they unfold.
Sincerely,
FAIRGRADE