It’s a new school year and with a new school year comes the pressure to make good grades. This school year, BCPS has put a new grading policy in place, that students and parents need to be aware of that changes the minimum of what grades students need to make to be on track to pass a class and be on track to graduate.
This school year major assignments will make up 30% of a student’s grade and minor assignments will make up 70% of their grade. Assignments are expected to be graded and returned to students within two weeks. If a student is not satisfied with their grade, they are to complete a redo request form with that teacher to request a redo of an assignment.
As it states in BCPS Rule 5210, “Teachers are not required to provide make-up work to
students absent for unlawful reasons,” reinforcing the importance of student attendance in class every day. If a student is absent for appointments, illness, or family emergencies such as a death, please inform the school of this reason so the student’s absence will be marked as excused.
The awarding of credit has changed this school year for BCPS students. It has changed as follows:
“For SY24-25 high school students enrolled in courses awarding 1.0 credit will earn 0.5 credit after a
passing grade is achieved for Semester 1 (MP1 and MP2) and an additional 0.5 credit will be earned after passing Semester II (MP3, MP4, and final exam).”
– MP1 and MP2 will each be weighted 50% to calculate the Semester I grade.
-MP3 and MP4 will each be weighted 40% and the final exam will be weighted 20% to calculate
the Semester II grade.
What this means is students must pass and receive credit each semester. If they do not pass a semester they will have to retake that semester in order to get full credit! A D one quarter with an E another quarter will not pass a semester. Students need to receive a minimum of two Ds for the semester or at a minimum of a C one quarter if they fail the other. This is a big change for high school students and one students and parents should pay close attention to in order to make sure students are on track to receive their credits for graduation.
This Friday, September 27, is the first quarter’s interim deadline. As of Friday we will be halfway through the first quarter of the school year already so be sure to review your Interim Grades online on Friday.
With a new school year upon us, it’s a chance for a new beginning. Now is the time for students to set the goal of getting good grades all throughout the school year. Though school and balancing it with extracurriculars and jobs can get overwhelming, students should remember their resources when struggling. Senior Maya Scott shares, “Sometimes your confidence to do well just struggles and then you lose your motivation. But don’t give up. Seeking help from teachers can help you restore your confidence and motivation.”
Practice these strategies when struggling or needing help getting your grades up:
-Know your teachers’ coach class days and times and attend when needed.
-Redo an assignment when applicable.
– check your grades weekly.
-bring in notes for excused absences and make missed work up in a timely manner
Senior Z’yna B is ready to have her best grades yet of high school. “Of course school is hard but it’s suppose to be hard. It’s about perspective. If it was easy everyone would do the same. Hard is what makes it worthwhile because you have to push yourself and no one else is going to do it for you,” she shares.
Be sure to check those interim grades this Friday and get those grades up to peak performance by close of quarter 1 on Thursday, October 31.
