High schools in Nashville are trying to encourage students to sign up for harder classes. Some don’t, for worry that tougher courses will hurt their grade point average. So Metro will use a different grading scale this fall for honors and advanced-placement classes.
Weighted systems aren’t a new thing in other districts such as neighboring Williamson County. Metro’s new scale makes earning a ‘B’ in an advanced-placement class count the same as an ‘A’ in a regular class.
Associate Superintendent Jay Steele says it’s impossible to know how many students had been sidestepping harder courses just to protect their GPA.
“We hope to see an increase in the number of students from day one that want these advanced-placement courses, international baccalaureate courses, because this will build that safety net for those students: it’s okay to get that B in an advanced placement course, it’s okay to get that C, because it’s going to help your GPA and help your college future.”
The new grading system goes into effect for all Metro high-schoolers this fall except seniors. Officials say it’d be unfair to spring the change on seniors just before school starts, so that part will wait until next year.
Making challenging classes seem less scary is one reason for the change, says Director Jesse Register. He also sees a connection between taking harder classes and doing better on college-entrance tests:
“What we want is to encourage a much higher percentage of our students to take those advanced courses in high school. That’s a way they can leave and be successful at whatever else they choose.”
In the last couple school years slightly more than half of Metro graduates went on to college; some charter-school proponents have been saying Metro’s traditional schools don’t do enough for advanced students. Asked whether that’s added pressure to act, Register says not really, calling the new grading system a “natural progression” and a response to parents demanding “academic rigor.”
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