Florida finally caught up with the majority of the nation by adopting the ten point (90-100, 80-89, etc.) grading scale. No more disadvantages in college applications. No more “high B’s” when kids in other states would make the “A” with room to spare.
I know some people will say that it’s being too lax. They’ll say that these lower ranges will cheapen the education process. I feel it’s more of an issue with fairness.
FWIW, I’m entering my junior (aka “toughest”) year of high school. My lowest final grade recorded in the last two years has been a 95%, I believe. I’m not getting a lot out of the change, but this will prevent me from blowing out my brains if I were to get a 93.4% and lose the coveted valedictorian status I am on track to earn.
Sorry if this was covered. It just happened Friday. I haven’t been to the SDMB since and I did a search. Honest!
If valedictorian is determined only from the kids in your school, and your entire school is on the same grading scale, why would it matter what the scale is?
I know, you’ll get a B when it should have been an A and someone else will make straight A’s. But if you both have straight A’s, what’s the tie breaker?
My daughter just finished her freshman year in HS - she missed out on straight A’s by 1 point - she got a 93 in Honors Biology. When I told her the changed grade scale was approved, she was relieved - she’s shooting for the top-level Bright Futures scholarship, and this takes a bit of the pressure off. Still, with 4 of her 6 classes last year being Honors, she’s got above a 4.0 GPA to start off.
Have I mentioned she’s the Perfect Child[sup]TM[/sup]? Great grades, and she scoops poop too - what more could a mother ask?
I’ve been hearing about grading scale changes here in Florida for about a year now, and I’m glad it’s finally happening. I’m about to enter my freshman year, so it’s just in time. This’ll make the IB program so much easier.
Note: Yippee! I’ve got the whole link thang down on my first post. I guess a few months of lurking did me well.
Question: The entire state has the same grading scale?
How does that work?
It’s been a while since I’ve been in high school, but almost every single one of my teachers had a different scale. If you were lucky, they’d explain their personal one to the class on the first day (if you weren’t lucky, you just got an inexplicable mark on your paper.) But there was no standardization at all.
How does the state make that work?
First, EnderW, our school had 17 valedictorians in the class of '01. We have a ton of hard working beyatches. If I were to get a B, at least a dozen other kids would continue on their 4.0 streak and drop me like a sack of potatoes.
Second, FCM, your daughter sounds like a good student. Glad to hear it. Tell her you appreciate her efforts(though I’m sure you do it a ton as it is), as I luuuv it when my folks recognize the work I put into school.
Third, Spatula, OMFG! I’m IB too! That’s awesome. I’ll email you in case you miss this post. Good luck in the program.
Last (but not least), amarinth. The grading scale is basically seen as what I like to call a “mandatory guideline”. The state is either naieve and thinks everyone follows it or just wants to set an example. Either way, my classes have either followed it to the letter (or in this case, number), or edged a point or two off in the harder classes (pre-cal, for example). It obviously varies from class to class, but I’d guesstimate that 80% of classes follow the scale perfectly (in public schools, obviously).