This file photo shows Whiteland Community High School. Students there will see a new grading scale next school year.
Daily Journal file photoStudents at Whiteland Community High School will see a new grading scale beginning the 2024-2025 school year.
The school board approved the new grading scale 5-0 at the May 20 meeting to change the grading scale from a 90% assessment weight 10% homework/practice weighted grading scale to a 70% assessment, 20% homework/practice and 10% final exam weighted scale.
The 90% assessment weight is broken down into essential learning, which has created confusion among students, said Duke Lines, Whiteland high school principal.
“We see a need to have more clarity and clearer communication with our students and our parents on what constitutes a grade and what that looks like in the grade book,” Lines said.
The high school will eliminate essential learning weights and adopt the new grade scale to clear up that confusion. With the elimination of weighted essential learning, items will be scored as total points within the weighted category.
Teachers will work together to break down what will be included in the 70% assessment category. The 20% homework/practice category will be up to each individual teacher’s discretion, Lines said.
Teachers reported that a lot of students do not complete their homework because of the 90% assessment weight. Students realized they could do well on tests, not do the homework and still pass the class, Lines said.
Upping the homework/ practice category to have more weight on the grading scale will increase the incentive to complete the homework. In turn, students will get the practice they need from the homework to do well on assessments, Lines said.
WCHS will also bring back final exams, with an option to be exempt, for the final 10% of the grading scale, Lines said.
The final exam can be in the form of an assessment, project, presentation, et cetera. Students can be exempt from the final exam if they have an overall school attendance of 94% and have at least a 79.5%, which is a B-, or better prior to the final exam, according to the plan approved by the school board.
Opting out of the final exam will be a “nice incentive” for students and easy for teachers to communicate to clear up the confusion, Lines said.
An official grade check for eligibility purposes will also be run every nine weeks. Lines said this is not a report card, but will be used to measure students progress and eligibility for the final exam.
Implementing the official grade check will also allow students to rejoin an athletic team for competition. It could also disqualify them from competition, allowing greater accountability for students, Lines said.
A majority of schools in Clark-Pleasant’s mid-state conference already do something similar, Lines said. The Indiana High School Athletic Association will recognize the official grade check, he said.
Superintendent Tim Edsell said the new grading scale provides four different opportunities to improve instead of two.
“It is important to give them more chances, not just run by two-semester grades,” Edsell said.
The grade level team will track attendance rates and communicate them with teachers so no extra work is put on them. Bi-weekly reports about their classroom will help teachers help students have an idea on a bi-weekly basis if they will have to take the final exam. Reports from the grade level team, which teachers already receive, will help students know on a bi-weekly basis if they are on track to be exempt or not, school officials said.
