WA teachers can assign letter grades or ‘incomplete’ during pandemic; Fs not an option
The state released new directions late Tuesday for how school districts should go about grading more than a million students amid school shutdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The guidance directs districts to provide a letter grade (such as A, B or C) or an “incomplete” to students in grades 9-12.
No student will receive a “pass,” “fail” or “no credit” grade for any course, the guidance states. Fs cannot be given.
“Fs will not be allowed — there will be no failures this term,” Reykdal said in a media conference on Wednesday.
Deploying a pass/fail grading system is not an option due to concerns that it is not equitable and does not guarantee students will receive future credit, including college or scholarships, according to OSPI.
If students earn an “incomplete,” they will be given opportunities by districts to make up the credit through summer school, courses in the following term or year, independent study, competency-based courses or online courses.
Reykdal anticipates there won’t be many “incomplete” grades for seniors as districts work to ensure they graduate.
The state also will provide a COVID-19 designation on student transcripts for classes taken during the closure so colleges are aware of the “unique environment in which the course was taken,” according to the guidance.
The changes mostly lie with grades 9-12. Middle and elementary school grading largely will remain the same, Reykdal said, since they are either not issued letter grades or those grades do not impact high school crediting-bearing courses.
K-8 students will “move on to the next grade, unless by mutual agreement between parents/guardians and teachers they agree to repeat a grade or a portion of learning missed,” according to the OSPI guidance.
The grading system is not a “perfect” system, Reykdal said, but the goal is to “do no harm,” first and foremost.
“Do no harm for us means students won’t move backwards,” Reykdal said.
In Pierce County, Tacoma Public Schools has not yet approved a grading system. Officials said they were waiting on guidance from OSPI.
“We’ll spend today and tomorrow discussing what options within OSPI’s guidance will work best for our students,” TPS spokesperson Dan Voelpel told The News Tribune on Wednesday.
Puyallup School District is in the same boat. Currently, no grades are given, but performance feedback is expected at all levels.
“We could move towards letter grades at secondary level but no final decision yet,” Puyallup School Board president Kathy Yang told The News Tribune.
Seattle Public Schools passed a grading system on Monday that allows students to earn either an A or an Incomplete.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 1:07 PM.
