The only other proviso was a “residency requirement.” The student had
to earn at least half of her credits at the school. This was intended to dis-
qualify a transfer student who had earned the bulk of her grades in another
school with another staff using different grading criteria.
A few years after this policy was agreed to, a question arose when the
valedictorian was a student who entered the school as an English language
learner (ELL) who had many ESL (English as a Second Language) classes
during her ninth and tenth years. Some members of the committee felt that
these classes were somehow easier than “regular” classes, giving ELL
students an advantage. This, of course, led to other comments regarding
students in honors or advanced placement classes being penalized for tak-
ing harder classes.
The principal did not feel any class should be considered more or less
difficult than any other. In addition to being wrong academically, it would
open up whole new areas for discussion, as making adjustments for teach-
ers who are easier or harder markers. He was able to nip this whole discus-
sion in the bud by doing some research on grades given over the past few
years and presenting these results to the committee:
- Students who transitioned from ESL classes to general education classes
maintained the same grades, which would indicate that they were not
receiving higher grades in ESL classes. - Students in honors and advanced placement classes scored marks
higher than 85 percent at a significantly higher rate than students in
regular classes. Therefore, it made no sense to give them an even higher
weighted grade. - Good students received good grades even in classes taught by teachers
others regarded as hard markers. Without naming names, he checked
the grades earned by the best students in classes taught by teachers who
had reputations as hard markers.
All this showed that the top students in the school eligible for the
valedictory and other graduation awards consistently maintained high
grades regardless of the class or teacher. Isn’t this the mark of a truly
good student?
Fair grades are important to students and impact on their futures. Any
discussion about adjusting grading and crediting procedures must always
keep this in mind. Schools that give students in advanced classes weighted
190 Chapter 14