As the doors of all New York City schools closed in mid-March, classrooms have turned to bedrooms and living rooms, as the Big Apple took drastic measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.
More than one million NYC public school students have switched over to remote learning, completing schoolwork within the confines of their homes.
During the transition, many were left to ponder what school will look like going forward. This unprecedented time in history has brought about changes we couldn’t even dream of or imagine just a few months ago.
As the NYC Department of Education rolled out plans for the rest of the school year, there was one question that was not answered until recently. What policy will the DOE implement to distribute grades for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year?
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza recently unveiled their plan for all public schools students in grades K-12. Students in Pre-K are not affected by this policy as they do not receive report cards or grades.
For elementary school students in grades K-5, students will receive a “Meets Standards” for satisfactory performance, or a “Needs Improvement.”
Students in junior high school will receive a “MS,” “NI,” or “Course in Progress” grade on their report card. Both NI and Course In Progress grades are considered unsatisfactory, but are not considered a failing grade. Students who receive either of these unsatisfactory grades will be programmed for summer school where they will be given more time and assistance to meet educational standards.
For high school students, grading will continue as usual, but with more options. High schools will follow whatever grading system they currently use, whether that be alphabetical or numerical. However, the parents/guardians of students who receive a passing grade will be able to convert their student’s grade into a “Pass” or “P,” which will take the place of the alphabetical/numerical grade and will hold no weight. Hence, leaving grade point averages unaffected.
However, students who receive an unsatisfactory grade, whether that be below a D or below a 65%, will not be granted this option. They will receive a No Credit, or “NC” grade, which indicates this student needs more time to meet standards and will continue during the summer months.
Both Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza emphasized that no child will receive a traditional failing grade on their report card. Students who need more time to complete coursework will be given until January 2021 to do so.
“I’m glad that the NYC DOE adopted this policy because these times are rough for all of us, so knowing that we’re being given a little lenience is nice, because now I know that if I don’t perform as well as I would have liked to, my parents and I can opt to convert my grades to a P,” said World Journalism Preparatory School junior, Fatima Vega.
