We're taking away letters from the cheerleaders next. In another politically correct triumph, this means all grades are now completely subjective. Welcome to Dr. Phil academia! No concrete right or wrong
ADAMS COUNTY - A Colorado school district plans to stop giving "As" to its students. It will also stop giving "Fs."
Adams County School District 50 is replacing letter grades and grade levels with a new evaluation system. The district says students will be required to meet new skill levels in order to pass a course.
The director of secondary schools for the district, Copper Stoll, says students would learn more from a hands-on approach, applying what they've learned, as opposed to barely passing a class with a "D" for a letter grade.
"That means they are able to show what they know and are able to do it at a proficient level, the way that we taught it to them," said Stoll.
The district has yet to determine how the new skill levels would be measured, but the transition process is already beginning in some classes.
Stoll says changes would take place across the district for students from pre-K through eighth grade in the fall of 2009, and for students in grades nine through 12 in the fall of 2010.
According to Stoll, with the new evaluation process, students would be able to learn at their own pace.
"It could mean graduating earlier, it could mean graduating later. But if they graduate early, we're not saying we want 15- or 16-year-olds going off to college. What we want them to do is start accessing college level classes," said Stoll.
The director of admissions at the University of Colorado Denver, Barbara Edwards, says without letter grades, students applying for college would then be defaulted to a grade point average of 3.3, the state average.
Edwards says admissions offices would then place more emphasis on ACT or SAT scores.
"In this situation, the students wouldn't have letter grades, nor would they have class rank. So we would have to heavily look at test scores and the kind of courses they took," said Edwards.
Edwards also says without a grade-letter system, it could become more difficult for students applying for merit-based scholarships that include a GPA as part of the application process.
The district says parents have already been notified about the impending change through meetings and newsletters.
