FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 30, 2020 • KIDS & EDUCATION • THE QUEENS COURIER 25
kids & education
City announces new
grading policy for
public school students
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
New York City school grading policy is about
to change, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on
Tuesday.
“Everyone is feeling this moment, everyone
is devoted to our kids, but everyone has
that sense that our kids are going through
a lot right now,” said de Blasio during his
daily coronavirus press conference. “I want
to make sure that we are all sensitive to
them.”
Success Academy to keep letter grades
despite DOE’s new grading system
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@QNS
Success Academy Charter Schools will
continue to use traditional grading, while
the Department of Education is implementing
a new grading system for what
remains of the school year during the
novel coronavirus pandemic.
“Th e world has fundamentally changed,
but the benefi ts and requisites of education
have not,” wrote Success Academy
Charter Schools CEO Eva Moskowitz in a
letter to families of the system’s 18,000 students.
“Now is not the time to throw out
standards and give up on kids.”
Moskowitz cited San Francisco and
Seattle as examples of cities that have eliminated
grades. In mid-April, the Seattle
school board announced that high schoolers
would either be given grades of either
A or Incomplete for courses taken during
the spring semester as teachers deal with
unprecedented challenges of remote
learning.
Education offi cials in San Francisco are
pushing for the same policy.
“Th ese decisions are made in the name
of equity, but the outcomes for children
will be far from fair,” wrote Moskowitz.
“True equity honors the integrity of learning.
It ensures accountability for students
and educators alike.”
Th e letter acknowledges challenges
faced by students, teachers and parents
alike aft er the charter school system, made
up of 45 schools, transitioned to remove
learning on March 13 and recognizes that
not all students have been able to adapt
equally.
“Th e pain and suff ering brought on by
coronavirus are real, and the hardships
families have endured cannot be overstated.
Despite this, we cannot wave a magic
wand and declare all children achieved
mastery,” Moskowitz adds. “Th at
would cheat students with real
gaps in the education they
deserve. Instead, we are
being practical: revising
and simplifying our academic
priorities, while
also aiming high and
being ambitious for our
students — loving them
dearly and doing everything
we can to help them achieve
their full potential.”
Photo by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech
Kindergarten through fi ft h-grade students will
not receive letter grades and instead will either
receive fi nal grades of “meets standards” or “needs
improvement.”
Elementary school level students who do not
show a mastery of a subject area in a class will be
enrolled in a summer course.
Middle school students will also receive either
a “meets standards,” a “needs improvement” or a
“course in progress” if students need extra time to
complete a class.
High school students will continue to receive
letter grades but will not be issued failing grades.
Instead, a “course in progress” for students who
need more time over the summer to complete
course requirements.
Aft er fi nal grades have been given out, students
and families will have the option of converting any
passing spring semester grades from a letter grade
into a “pass.” “Pass” courses will count toward a student’s
grade point average.
Photo via Getty Images
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