On Nov. 10 at the school board meeting, it was decided the passing grade would change from 65 percent to 60 percent. Originally back in 2016 the district used standard based grading meaning your grades were either a 1-4. Then the teachers and families decided that they wanted to bring back percentages while keeping rigor in the grading system. They decided that the only way to do that was to make the D a higher percentage so teachers knew that kids were passing because they were understanding the curriculum and not just given an easy pass. 

“I believe as a teacher I set high expectations for my students because I feel like if you set the expectation there, they will try to strive to achieve that,” business teacher Judith Simmons said. 

With the passing grade changing, teachers aren’t seeing any changes in their students’ behavior towards getting things in, but they have noticed it is going to be easier for the students whose grades are almost passing but are only 5 percent or so off. 

“I get that side is more rigorous, but when we’re giving most of our credit, most of our ranking to summative tests, the bigger issue to me is really how to get kids to do all of the formative stuff, all the worksheets and stuff to actually grasp what’s being taught,” English teacher Matthew Lenger said. 

Students haven’t really been affected by this change as much. There are a few individuals that this change helps out, but overall there isn’t a huge impact. 

“It doesn’t affect me at this moment but I like that it has changed for when I am struggling and can’t quite reach 65 percent. I bet it’s going to be helpful for other students too, it really just depends on your situation,” junior Riley Chavers said.