FCPS has changed their grading policies for the 2023-2024 school year. These new policies were made based on the feedback that was given by students and the information that was said at a county committee. 

“Last year there was a county committee that was composed of parents, teachers and administrators,” Director of Student Services Amy Parmentier said. “Last year we also had a lot of student feedback about grading in high school, and so the county came out with the revised secondary grading expectations.”

Last year for summative assessments, students who scored less than 80% had a chance to retake the assessment to improve their grade up to 80%. Some departments, schools, or teams may decide to allow retakes up to 90%. 

“I find this to be an extremely useful policy that a lot of students should be taking advantage of, mainly because I’ve had quizzes that I felt I could do better on, so a 90% is the perfect way to maintain a good grade,” senior Jasmin Giri said.

If a student originally scores an 80% on a summative assessment and a retake allows them to increase to a 90%, the retake could have a large impact on their final grade.

“I’m sure this was a necessary change, and it’s probably likely that this will encourage the students to try harder in their classes,” Giri said. “I would hear a lot of students talking about how it’s simply not worth it to retake a test last year, but I haven’t heard anything about that this year.”

Another policy change is that teachers are now able to put in zeros for missing assignments. The zero reverts to a 50% when students can no longer turn in the assignment for credit. The zero in the grade book can remind students that they have missing work. It also gives them a chance to redeem themselves when they didn’t complete it in the first place. 

“You know, I think it’s important that students not get into the mindset of ‘well, I know I can just retake something; I know I can get a 50 on it, even if I don’t turn it in ‘so they don’t put forth effort for their own learning,” Parmentier said. 

Last year, the school had a semester-long rolling grade book. This year they have changed it to a year-long rolling grade book, which is when a student’s grade does not reset and it just continues as the school year goes on. 

“I was fine with the rolling grade book, but the rolling grade book for the entire year is not my favorite,” senior Allie Dickson said. “I feel like if my grade is really low in the beginning, it’s going to be hard to get it back up.”