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State Approves New Uniform Grading Policy

Published August 4, 2017

High school students will see some changes in the way grades are calculated for some courses during the 2017-18 school year.

In late spring, the Tennessee State Board of Education approved a new Uniform Grading Policy. The new policy dictates the way percentage points are added to semester grades for students in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes. Additionally, the policy includes guidelines for adding additional points for dual credit courses and courses including opportunities for industry certification.

Over the last seven years, Williamson County Schools has managed to increase student participation in AP courses by 144 percent and maintain very strong passing rates.

Participation in the IB program has also grown. District teachers and leaders have reasoned that WCS students benefit from participating in highly rigorous, college-level courses regardless of whether they take the AP or IB exams. The steadily climbing ACT scores support the effectiveness of this approach.

According to the new state policy, students must participate in the AP and IB exams to receive the additional percentage points on their grades.

Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney requested a waiver from the Tennessee Commissioner of Education, since this approach does not support our efforts to encourage students to take a chance on the most challenging work possible. The commissioner denied that request.

Here is a summary of the state-required changes in percentage points for advanced coursework and local GPA quality points:

Percentage Points for Advanced Coursework

  1. Students enrolled in honors courses will have 3 percentage points added to their grade each semester. This is no change from past practice.
  2. Students enrolled in local and statewide dual credit courses will receive 4 additional percentage points added to each semester grade. The state requires statewide dual credit students to take a challenge exam, and students must take the final required for local dual credit courses.
  3. Students enrolled in industry certification courses may earn 4 additional percentage points added to each semester grade. For the first semester, the teacher will add the 4 points. For the second semester, students must sit for the appropriate exam in order to earn the 4 additional percentage points.
  4. Students enrolled in AP and IB courses may earn an additional 5 percentage points added to each semester grade if they sit for the AP or IB exam. For the first semester of an AP or IB class, the teacher will add the 5 percentage points to the grade, as always. For the second semester, the student must sit for the exam in order to earn the additional 5 percentage points.
  5. Dual enrollment courses will remain pass/fail. This is no change from past practice.

Quality Points for the Local GPA

  1. One-half quality point will be added to the numerical point value of the letter grade received for students in an honors course or an industry certification course.
  2. Three-fourths quality point will be added to the numerical point value of the letter grade received for students in a statewide or local dual credit course.
  3. One full quality point will be added to the numerical point value of the letter grade received for students in AP or IB courses.