Grading study under way
By Kali Schumitz
The group backing a change in Fairfax County Public Schools' grading scale got a boost Monday as four college admissions officers acknowledged that the more stringent scale may make the admissions process harder for Fairfax students, particularly for receiving scholarships, many of which require a minimum grade point average.However, admissions decisions are complex, so shifting to a standard 10-point grading scale may not have the desired effect of making the process easier, either, the admissions officers told parents.
"I think there is a real danger ... in thinking that it's going to make a dramatic difference, that there is some silver bullet," said Andrew Flagel, dean of undergraduate admissions for George Mason University.
School officials are in the midst of an extensive study of how a change in the grading scale would affect county students. The panel discussion, which also included a parent, a student, a teacher, a guidance counselor and a representative of the advocacy group FAIRGRADE, is part of that process. Assistant Superintendent Pat Murphy said he expects to give a report of his research to Superintendent Jack Dale by November.
Officials are conducting a survey of the top 100 colleges that Fairfax students attend, collecting grade distribution data from other school systems and examining public school districts that have made a similar switch in the past. School officials are also looking at 1,000 student transcripts to see how a 10-point scale, plus the addition of more "weight" for taking advanced classes, would affect actual student GPA.
FAIRGRADE often cites an example in which a student could get a 3.5 GPA in Fairfax County and end up with a 4.6 GPA in Montgomery County, Md., with the same percentage grades, but Murphy said the 19 actual transcripts they have examined so far show a GPA boost of 0.3 to 0.5.
While they are supporting the school system's research, FAIRGRADE members and supporters say they have seen no evidence that supports keeping the current six-point grading scale.
"I want to level the playing field and I want to do it this year," said Catherine Potter, Woodson High School PTSA president and the mother of a Woodson senior. "It's not just a matter of getting into these schools, it's a matter of affording these schools."
Many students are also advocating change. Junior Rachel Park and sophomore Jennifer Kim are among the members of a FAIRGRADE supporter group at McLean High School that has collected about 300 student signatures on a petition supporting the grading scale change.
"We're working just as hard as people in other schools and we're not getting as much credit for the work," Kim said. "It's unfair."