Spring Semester Grading Guidelines, Explained

Due to the extension of online schooling, otherwise known as TeleSchool, until the end of the school year, Fulton County Schools (FCS) has released new grading guidelines for teachers to follow regarding their students’ class averages.

The first major change is that all seniors end their academic school year on May 1. All other grade levels, however, will remain until the scheduled semester end date of May 22.

The second major change occurring in these new guidelines is that work submitted by students will only count if it raises the students’ cumulative average.

Essentially, a student’s overall average cannot go lower than the one they had on March 12, so any assignment that drops a student’s average lower than the one they had on March 12 isn’t counted.

The assignment can still be seen on Infinite Campus, but it won’t impact the student’s grade at all. This is done through Infinite Campus in which teachers can uncheck a box that says “Include in grade calculation.”

Now, this doesn’t mean students are allowed to not do work and have their grades completely unaffected. Teachers can mark an assignment as missing and the student must eventually complete said assignment, or the student’s parents are called and summer school is required to recover the credit for the course.

The grading system, however, is not affected by these changes. The current numeric and alphabetical system still remains.

An A is reflected by 90 and above, a B is within the range of 80 to 89, a C is within the range of 70 to 79, and anything below a 69 is considered failing and summer school is required. An “I” stands for incomplete, meaning summer school is needed for graduation, and an “NG” means no grade.

Along with the grading system, all teacher workdays and holidays are still ongoing unless a change is announced.

Furthermore, FCS is adopting a “No Zero Policy” during remote learning, meaning no zeroes can be put into the grade book and students are allowed to retake any assignments.

For students failing courses prior to March 12, their teachers will provide opportunities to increase their grades and those who have shown mastery of content can raise their grades.

As for testing, all state-required tests, such as the Georgia Milestones End Of Grade (EOG) and End Of Course (EOC), are canceled.

For Advanced Placement (AP) exams, the College Board will be conducting 45-minute exams consisting of only free-response questions.

These exams will take place on May 11-22 and June 1-5. The test will also be open-note, meaning students can use any notes, textbooks or other learning materials available to them.