North Carolina Department of Public Instruction recommends new grading policies for students

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction announced its recommendations for how all students other than high school seniors will be graded for the 2020 spring semester.

The plans have yet to be approved by the North Carolina Board of Education.

Under the recommendations, no students will receive a failing grade for the spring semester. However, how each student will be graded depends on the grade level of that student:

Grades K-5

Students in Kindergarten through fifth grade won't receive a grade for the spring semester. Instead, teachers will provide feedback for students based on their learning for the full academic year, including student academic, emotional and social strengths and needs. Individual schools will decide how to format their evaluations.

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Grades 6-8

Students in the sixth through eighth grade will receive either a pass or a withdrawal grade for their spring 2020 semester. Any student who was passing their courses as of March 13 or who worked to improve their grades to passing after March 13 through remote learning will receive a passing grade marked "PC19".

Any student who was not passing their courses as of March 13 and did not improve their grades will receive a withdrawal grade, marked as "WC19." The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction specified that a WC19 grade is not equivalent to a failing grade, nor does it indicate that the course should be repeated.

Any middle school students taking high school courses will be graded on high school standards. In addition, teachers will provide individual student feed back on their academic, social and emotional strengths and needs.

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Grades 9-11

High school students other than graduating seniors can choose whether they want to be graded on a numerical scale or on a pass/withdrawal basis.

Students can choose to report their numeric grade as of March 13, their improved grade throughout the semester during remote learning, or a PC19 or WC19 grade.

If a student chooses to have a numeric grade reported, it will factor into their GPA. PC19 and WC19 grades won't affect a student's GPA. If a student in a year-long course asks for a PC19 or WC19 grade for the spring semester, their fall term grade will be factored into their GPA.

A grade of PC19 will equal a full credit for a high school course, while a WC19 grade will not award any credits. Schools can decide whether to give students an "incomplete" grade if they feel that they can develop a time-bound plan for the student to finish all of the course requirements.

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School principals and staff members will determine whether students should move to the next grade for the 2020-2021 academic year or repeat their current grade, however, NCDPI recommends that schools only recommend retention of students if that consideration process was already underway before March 13.

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