At the start of the third quarter, 2010, the controversial grading policy for Prince George’s County Schools changed. No longer is a 50% the lowest possible grade a student can receive as it was at the beginning of the school year. With this policy a student could score badly on a test or assignment or simply not turn in an assignment and still receive a 50% for that grade.
All assignments given during the first two quarters of the 2009-2010 school year must be scored according to that grading scale. As of the beginning of the third quarter, though, teachers are allowed to give students a 0 on assignments that were not attempted. So if a student does not turn in an assignment or turns in a blank assignment with no attempt, the teacher is able to give the child a zero for that assignment or test.
The concern with this new scale is the gray area of what constitutes “attempt”. If a student puts his or her name on the paper and turns it in does that count? If a student puts nonsense answers does that count?
On the other hand, a child who does poorly on one or two big assignments still has the ability to pull his or her grade back up. What do you think? Should the minimum score a student receives be a 50%?
That one bright smile makes it all seem worth it.”
