Some community members are urging Fairfax County Public Schools to change the grading scale . They say it puts students at a disadvantage when applying to college.

Jessica Forres reports...


Kenzie McDonald attends San Diego State University in California.

I WAS LOOKING TO GO TO A UC SCHOOL BUT I ENDED UP GOING TO A STATE SCHOOL BECAUSE I ENDED UP HAVING A 3.5 WHEN I FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL.

She blames the six point grading scale at Oakton High School in Vienna. When she transferred there from the Montgomery County school system in Maryland, her G-P-A dropped from a 3.66 to a 3.25...

THEY CHANGED IT I KNOW IF I HAD A HIGH B THEN THEY COULD CHANGE IT TO A C-PLUS.

Catherine Lorenze is with Fairgrade, a local group that supports a 10 point grading scale where an A requires a percentage of 90 to 1-hundred instead of 94 to 1-hundred.

She says Fairfax County Public Schools and Fairgrade conducted reasearch on how the current grading system impacts students applying to college....

THEY DON'T TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT WE'RE ON THIS ABNORMAL SIX POINT SCALE. THEY COMPARE OUR KIDS TO EVERYBODY ELSE WHETHER THEY'RE ON A 10 POINT SCALE OR A NUMERIC SCALE.

Paul Regnier, a spokesperson for FCPS, says the County's Superintendent, Jack Dale, supports adding weights to advanced courses but disagrees with changing the grading scale....

THE READING OF THE REPORT INDICATED THAT THE GRADING SCALE AND THE WEIGHTING DOES NOT REALLY CLEARLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ADMISSIONS TO SELECTIVE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.

Fairgrade's Lorenze says community members are also urging Loudoun County Public Schools to change their grading scale from seven to ten points.

Fairfax County School Board members will take up the issue tonight.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

__________________________________________________

Hundreds of parents and students in Virginia are asking the Fairfax County School system to change its grading system.

Jessica Forres listened last night as many of them voiced their concerns at a school board meeting....

Inside a packed auditorium at Luther Jackson Middle School, Emily Goodnight addresses the school board...

I'M HERE TONIGHT TO SHARE MY PAINFUL AND FRUSTRATING STORY IN AN EFFORT TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THE COUNTY'S GRADING POLICY ON ME.

She says her 3 point 3 Grade Point Average… would have been 3 point.5 if the county had weighted her Honors classes and used a ten point grading scale rather a six point one....

NO MATTER HOW MANY LETTERS MY GUIDANCE COUNSELOR WRITES ON MY BEHALF EXPLAINING FAIRFAX COUNTY'S GRADING SCALE IT IS UNCLEAR IF I WILL ACTUALLY BE ELIGIBLE FOR ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS.

Hundreds of frustrated parents and students wearing white shirts stand during her speech.

Marcy Newberger...with a local group called FairGrade..helped organize the protest against the policy that requires a grade of 94 to 100 to warrant an "A"...

WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS AN UNDERSTANDING OF OUR SOLIDARITY.

Much of the anger has been focused on Jack Dale...the School Superintendent...who supports weighting advanced courses but opposes changing the district's grading scale...

I THINK OUR SCALE ARTICULATES HIGH EXPECTATIONS, HIGH STANDARDS FOR OUR STUDENTS AND IF IT'S WORKING WE'RE VERY SUCCESSFUL WHY WOULD WE WANT TO CHANGE THAT. IF WE DID WANT TO CHANGE OUR GRADING SCALE THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO SAY OKAY WHAT IS THE BEST.

The school board is expected to vote on the superintendent's recommendation at the end of this month.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News