In March of 2020, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools implemented Policy 3400, which made the minimum grade on any assignment a 50. The district revised the policy prior to the start of this school year, applying the 50 floor to quarter grades only, leading teachers with the discretion to assign zeros on assignments that students did not turn in. At the school board meeting on October 20, the board voted to reinstitute a “no zeroes” policy on individual assignments. Staff writer Elea Haskell opposes the school board’s decision, while staff writer Oleksiy Fitel supports it.
In March of 2021—one year into the pandemic, with the vast majority of students learning remotely—the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board instituted a new grading policy, eliminating zeros and ensuring the lowest grade a student can receive on an assignment is a 50. The policy was intended to provide students with opportunities for grade recovery and make sure that the grading system was fair and equitable.
The decisions caused mixed opinions, with lots of support from students and lots of opposition from teachers.
At the beginning of this school year, the policy was changed—teachers were allowed to assign scores below 50, including zeros for assignments not turned in, but the 50 floor stood for final quarter grades—only to be reinstituted at the October 20 school board meeting, when the board once again set a floor of a 50 on individual assignments.
The pivot away from zeros will have unintended negative consequences for students, dissuading many from doing their best to maintain passing grades.
The goal of the half credit policy was to ensure that all students, regardless of their personal lives, had the ability to succeed academically. While this intention is great, the policy has created many unforeseen consequences. Raising the minimum grade only causes students not to learn and hurts many more than it was supposed to help.
The 50 percent minimum has led to many students not completing assignments, with some students scraping by without trying. If students believe there are fewer consequences for their lack of effort, they will not try as hard to learn the material.
Some students calculated how many tests they could fail or how many assignments they could leave blank in order to still end up with a satisfactory grade. Others did not care if they missed a day—or days—or forgot to complete an assignment. The guaranteed 50 in the grade book allowed them to miss these things without their grades being affected too adversely.
A 50 does not show that a student understands anything, but it still gives them half the credit for that assignment. Teachers are disappointed by this and truly want their students to learn in the classroom.
Spanish teacher Thomas Soth understands why the board implemented the policy but is frustrated with what it means.
“I don’t like misrepresentation of grades because a grade is a representation of performance. A 50 doesn’t represent anything,” Soth said.
It is a school’s job to equip students with knowledge to use after their time in high school; students need to be able to apply their knowledge in a working environment. If schools let students believe they have a free pass, they are not doing their job to prepare pupils for what is to come.
The “no zeros” policy instills in students a false sense of security and does not accurately represent the real world. In any path taken after high school, especially in higher education, deadlines will have to be met and work is expected to be of high quality. If students are used to being able to do late assignments or not apply themselves, their attitudes will not suddenly change overnight. As young adults, these students will have a difficult time with this transition and will not feel adequately prepared.
All zeros that students may have earned from first quarter have been changed to 50s. While the policy may have benefitted students’ GPAs, it did little to ensure students put forth their best efforts truly learned the material presented to them.
