Oregon parents sign petition to oppose grading system changes
Want to keep letter grades for this interrupted school year, not 'pass-incomplete'
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Oregon students and their families, like many others across the nation, are experiencing a disruption right now. The Oregon Department of Education decision to administer only pass or incomplete as grades for student in grades 9-12 is concerning many families, thousands of whom have signed a petition to keep letter grades.
ODE officials say that the distance learning and lack of technology for some families has made grading a challenging and possibly unfair practice during the extended school closures.
Many parents and students are concerned that this temporary change will affect post-secondary transitions, as many colleges and universities use a grade point average scale system when considering new admissions.
State school officials assure the shift to pass/incomplete in the face of a worldwide pandemic will be described and accepted without penalty, and will be explained in a document called the school profile.
Many parents are signing a petition for ODE to reconsider this temporary change.
One father of four, who has two daughters in the 11th grade and two daughters at the University of Oregon, signed the petition. Asked to only give his name as "Mr. Jones," he says this decision hampers his daughters' ability to have a competitive college resume.
“Both of the girls are looking at academic merit scholarships that require GPA and test scores," he said. "Not only is the GPA bonus points suffering by not having a grade, but also not being able to take standardized tests. Both of the girls have already taken it this summer, so we are ahead of the curve there, but this was a surprise to us.”
So far, the petition has been signed by over 3,000 people. Once the petition reaches 5,000 signatures, it will be submitted to local and state officials.
