What will happen with grades?
The California Education Code gives recommendations on possible grading systems, but can not govern what schools decide. The options of grading include: pass/fail, credit/no credit, no harm academic grading or a regular grading scale. Another option would be changing the range of the grading scale, for example an” A-C” scale.
At the meeting, there was discussion that since students are taught to be motivated by good grades, some may be disappointed not to see their “A” present on their transcript.
Another point brought up was that there should be a grading system that can only raise the student’s grade, not lower it. This would be beneficial to students, especially those who have extremely difficult conditions during this quarantine. However, the main issue with this idea is that it could possibly cause student’s to purposely not turn in assignments due to lack of consequences.
The final decision is “Do No Harm” grading. This decision was not made during the board meeting, but was announced shortly after. The policy is in effect as of Monday, April 27 2020. The reasoning for this policy is to ensure that the student’s grade is reflective of their academic mind and not their conditions during self-isolation.
This Policy means that it is not possible for a student to receive lower than their quarter three grade. All high school students will be receiving a letter grade at the end of the school year on their transcript.
When will graduation happen? Or will it ever happen?
A survey was recently sent out to all senior families to help decide the best way to have graduation, on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, and it received over 500 responses.
The most popular response was to postpone graduation to a later date, while another option was a virtual graduation. Other options included car parades or a “senior week”.
Lawn signs were already passed out at Thousand Oaks High School, among others, which is one way the district is celebrating our 12th grade students across the Conejo Valley Unified School District.
The final decision was announced on the April 22, 2020 Green Sheet, sent out by Dr. Bergmann. There will be a virtual graduation ceremony occuring on the original date of June 11, 2020. The ceremony will include performances and speeches by our students and faculty. There will also be a curbside diploma ceremony, as a final farewell to the graduating students.
More information on the virtual graduation will be available as we get closer to the date.
The school board will also have other presentations throughout the month of May, as well as a COVID-19 check-in on Tuesday, May 19, 2020.
To watch the board meeting that took place on April 21, 2020, click here.