No more zeros? Somers High School considering major grading change

SOMERS, N.Y. - Students at Somers High School could no longer receive zeros for missed assignments under a proposed grading system overhaul.

The new system would replace the school’s traditional 100-point scale with an A-F system designed to lessen the impact of failing grades on student averages.

District officials say the change would reduce the disproportionate effect a single missing assignment can have on a student’s GPA. Critics argue it could weaken academic accountability and make student performance harder to measure accurately.

SHS Principal Pete Rodrigues is scheduled to make a presentation on the initiative at the Board of Education’s May 26 meeting. Faculty members have already provided feedback, and the change is expected to be rolled out between August and September.

District's Reasoning

At the center of the debate is how failing grades are calculated.

Under the current 100-point scale, anything below 65 is considered failing, meaning a zero can sharply drag down a student’s overall average. District officials argue the proposed A-F system would reduce that imbalance by giving failing grades proportional weight within the grading scale instead of allowing a single zero to become mathematically overwhelming.

In a video presentation posted to the district's website, Rodrigues said the goal behind changing to an A-F system is to make grading more accurate, consistent and fair.

"A single zero on a 100-point scale doesn't carry the same mathematical weight as a zero on a 0-4 scale," Rodrigues explained. "The distortion can be dramatic. One zero can overly impact a student's average, meaning grades end up reflecting those mistakes more than what a student actually learned."

Rodrigues emphasized that course rigor and expectations remain the same and the new system aligns with how colleages already measure student performance.

“We believe that grades must communicate, as accurately as possible, what a student knows and is able to do,” administration officials wrote in a written presentation, also posted to the district's website.

District officials said the A-F system is “mathematically balanced” because zeros carry proportional weight.

"Under the A-F scale, a failing grade represents exactly one-fifth of the scale, ensuring that zeros carry proportional weight and do not become insurmountable obstacles to recovery," officials said.

It also “encourages conversation on learning and mastery,” “reflects what students know at the end, not early on,” and “aligns with college GPA scales.”

The educators proposing the change apparently did not come to those conclusions overnight.

The process harkens all the way back to last November when the committee tasked with reviewing grade reporting practices and evaluating systems started its work.

From January to March, the proposed A-F system was presented to the faculty and its feedback solicited.

In April, the district engaged with its technology department to evaluate the feasibility of the plan.

In May and June, it was working on collecting feedback from - and fielding questions posed by - families and students.

Next on the agenda was to implement a system conversion to A-F grading in Infinite Campus, a district-wide information system used to manage student data, including grades, schedules and assessments, and in Schoology, a cloud-based system used to manage online learning, assignments, grades and communications.

District officials said the ultimate goal is to create “clear, consistent language around grading that students, parents, colleges and employers can easily understand.”

“By moving away from incremental number chasing, we shift the conversation to what students actually know and can do,” officials said.

Grades will reflect performance “across broad proficiency levels rather than single digit variances.”

And stress is reduced by “eliminating the focus on 'point by-point' improvement and reducing the anxiety associated with exact numeric grades.”

The district also noted that the change will better prepare students for “standards-based college practices” and will ensure “our reporting speaks the exact same language as university admissions.”

It pointed to colleges and “high-performing” high schools that already “interpret performance in broad bands (A,B,C),” adding that “most university admissions processes explicitly convert high school percentages back into letter grades when reviewing transcripts.”