​No grades in some east metro school districts during distance learning isn’t making all students happy

Grace Garrett says part of her education is missing.

Garrett, a 16-year-old junior, studied with distance learning, after coronavirus forced the cancellation of classes at East Ridge High School in Woodbury.

Then she was told that her work wouldn’t receive a grade. In fact, school district officials decided that all grades earned through distance learning would not be included in students’ GPAs.

Some students were unfairly disadvantaged by the pandemic, officials said, and they wanted to be fair to all students.

Grace launched a petition that now has 5,000 signatures, asking that the grades be included.

“It feels like a slap in the face,” said Grace. “All our hard work is going to waste.”

OTHER DISTRICTS NOT GIVING GRADES
Similar moves have been made by school districts scattered across the state, including St. Paul and Anoka-Hennepin. Officials say their decisions were supported by the state Department of Education.

“COVID-19 is magnifying inequities that were always present and too often overlooked,” said a seven-page memo from the department.

Some students, said the department’s memo, have been unfairly disadvantaged because of the pandemic.

They might not have computers at home. They might be unfairly impacted by deaths in their families, because coronavirus is known to affect racial minorities more harshly. They might not have access to food, because they aren’t eating breakfasts and lunches at school.

Therefore, the department said, grades should be considered in light of the pandemic’s impact

“This is a moment to seriously consider the prohibition of punitive terms like ‘failure’ and ‘unsatisfactory,”’ the memo said.

“A student should not be reported as a failure and retained or given an F during this unprecedented situation.”

‘WHAT IS FAIR OR ISN’T FAIR’
Department spokeswoman Wendy Hatch said the memo’s contents were recommendations — not orders.

“I’m not sure it’s our place to say what is or isn’t fair,” said Hatch. That is the role of individual districts, she said, to decide what is right for their students.

Pepe Barton, spokesman for South Washington County Schools, said the district’s three high schools will not include third trimester grades in students’ GPAs.

The school will still record the grades internally, in a way that protects students from the impact of poor grades:

• *Grades of A and B will be reported accurately, though internally.
• *A grade of C will be recorded as a pass.
• *A failing grade of F will not be recorded.

“We are looking at the challenges families have to face,” said Barton. “There is no way to compare work in trimester three with the other trimesters.”

With distance learning, Barton said, students get about 60 percent of the normal learning. Tests are often not taken at all.

He said colleges and universities know this, and have adjusted their systems to consider the impact of distance learning.

For St. Paul Public Schools students, fourth-quarter grades will be the same as the third quarter — no matter what the student actually learns.

“This plan holds all students harmless for these unforeseen circumstances that are beyond their control,” says the St. Paul website.

LOOKING TO BOOST GPA FOR COLLEGE APPLICATIONS
Garrett, the Woodbury student, says she now works 3.5 hours a day with her online studies.

Even though it’s difficult, she takes it seriously. She looked forward to boosting her GPA for her applications to the University of Wisconsin and other colleges.

She said not awarding grades hurts serious students — disadvantaged or not — who worked hard this semester.

“We are always told the junior year is the most important,” she said. “This puts me at a disadvantage for scholarships and college applications.”

But altered grading systems are a good idea in what is in many ways an unprecedented time, said Department of Education spokeswoman Hatch.

“We are asking districts to be thoughtful and equitable,” she said, “during this tough time for students.”

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