Gibraltar Set to Change Grading System

Students made thoughts known through Viking Voice journalism

High school principal James DeBroux cited several reasons for the Gibraltar Area School District to break away from a 92% cutoff for As on tests and report cards.

Just one of those was a journalistic report by the Viking Voice student newspaper, along with an appearance this summer by high school junior and Viking Voice reporter Anna Jarosh at a meeting of the school board’s Policy Committee.

Regarding the student input, Superintendent Brett Stousland informed the school board that students – in addition to parents – had raised concerns about the Gibraltar grading scale. Among those are a lack of consistency, increased amounts of anxiety and even changes in a chosen program that resulted from the current scale. 

The Gibraltar school board on Monday approved the first reading of a new grading scale that would use 10% increments for grades: 90% for A, 80% for B, 70% for C and 60% for D. The board can vote Aug. 28 to enact the change.

Currently, Gibraltar grades As for 95% and above and A-minus between 92% and 94.99%. For students further down in the rankings, the proposed scale puts D-minus between 60% and 62.99%, while the current scale makes 64.99% an F.

DeBroux said he has served at other schools that switched to the 10% increments, and it went well without lessening the rigor of student education. He noted that districts are not judged as underperforming or high-performing based on letter grades, so the way the state scrutinizes the district and high school will not change.

DeBroux and Stousland said district officials and educators will continue to strive for rigor in the curriculum and grade students on learning and performance more than behavior. 

“Our bigger change will be how we look at grading: Are we grading for learning and understanding?” DeBroux said.

In addition to making calculations more uniform, the 10% increments help students to better understand expectations, the principal said. When college-bound students “internalize” that they could miss out on an A with a 91% score, “that is creating a great deal of anxiety,” he said.

“If you give a 10-question quiz, and I get nine right and I get a B – that’s a stress inducer,” DeBroux said.

Some universities continue to include grade-point average as a high priority when it comes to admission requirements. Many universities also continue to have scholarship qualifications based in part on grade-point average, and DeBroux said for a student who barely misses an A in one class, it could mean a loss of “thousands and thousands”of scholarship dollars.

DeBroux said other area schools have the 90% cutoff for As, as well as “high-performing” schools throughout the state. 

School board member Karen Nordahl questioned how requiring only 90% for an A would affect high-performing students, and she asked whether students in Advanced Placement (AP) courses would be held to the same grading scale. She also asked whether the districts would “weight” their grades. Stousland said that most universities today throw out high school “weighting” of grades during admissions and scholarship analyses, but completing AP courses continues to help students’ chances.

Nordahl also asked how a change would affect college-bound students who were scored on different scales during different years in high school. Stousland said the change will appear on their transcripts.

Two Discoveries

Stousland reported that while removing lockers from one of the locker rooms to make way for more privacy in dressing rooms, workers discovered an old basement beneath the locker room. 

Alterations to the locker rooms and restrooms should be completed before students return to school, Stousland said.

Also, the school board’s Finance Committee chair, Jeremy Schwab, said a projected $400,000 budget surplus has grown to $958,000. More detailed budget information will become clear after enrollment figures are collected on the third Friday in September.

Activities

Nordahl said the trap-shooting team will continue after high interest and turnout this year. Also due to high interest in surveys, the Activities Committee is considering an “e-sports” program that could engage students who are not currently involved in many activities. She said it would require an investment in technology that could be shared by the IT and athletic departments.