Elser Family Blog

Virginia Parents Fight for Easier Grading Standards

Jan. 23, 2009

To the grade grubbers go the spoils. And the grade grubbers in this case are rabble-rousing parents in Virginia’s Fairfax County. Residents of the high-powered Washington suburb have been battling the school district’s tough grading practices; chief among their complaints is that scoring a 93 gets recorded as a lowly B+. After forming an official protest group last year called Fairgrade and goading the school board into voting on whether to ease the standards, parents marshaled 10,000 signatures online and on Jan. 22 gathered nearly 500 supporters to help plead their case. After two hours of debate, the school board passed a resolution, a move critics consider a defeat in the war on grade inflation. (Read about students getting paid for good grades.)

At most schools in the U.S., a score of 90 earns you an A, but in Fairfax County, getting the goods demands a full 94. Merely passing is tougher, too, requiring a 64 rather than a 60. Nor do students get much help clearing those high bars if they take tougher courses. Compared to how many districts weight GPAs for Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, Fairfax County’s half-point boost is peanuts. The result, protesters say, is that Fairfax kids are at a disadvantage on multiple fronts: snagging good-driver insurance discounts (which often factor in a student’s GPA), earning NCAA eligibility, winning merit scholarships and – oh yeah – getting into good colleges.

[parental boasting] Hannah got all A’s this semester.. her average for the year is all A’s too. (and for the record.. an A=94 or better in our school district! 🙂 )
Melinda Got all A’s and one B, and Rockwell is doing great in Kindergarten.. (although we need to work on his “sight words” more.)
Way to Go Hannah and Melinda! and keep up the good work Rockwell, your doing great!
We are so proud of our kids.[/parental boasting] And you are right, Shel.. Hannah did not get her spelling ability from me(!).