The Pittsburgh Public Schools board will vote Wednesday on grading guidelines for students now participating in remote learning because of the COVID-19 shutdown.
But several school board members and numerous district parents believe more work is necessary before the plan is finalized.
“I think it’s going to be a very tricky vote,” board member Terry Kennedy said Monday evening in a phone interview. “We’re not going to satisfy everybody.”
Over the weekend, the district published a survey asking parents to choose one of two options: A and B.
Option A mandates that for students in grades 6-12, all classes will be graded and credit bearing if applicable. Students who are engaged in remote learning would receive the grade earned for the fourth report period, or a 70% — whichever is higher. Those who are not engaged in remote learning would receive an incomplete grade, which could be remedied with intervention in the summer or fall.
Option B includes credit but not grades. Students would receive the higher grade between their third report period or a 70%. Students could increase their grade through assignment completion and engagement.
The only difference between plans for children in K-5 is that Option A would place students who do not engage in remote learning on a support system beginning in August, while Option B would not.
“I don’t like either [option],” school board member Cynthia Falls said Monday in a phone interview. “I think we need to have more discussion on this.”
Ms. Falls and Ms. Kennedy both said they liked the plan devised by Seattle Public Schools that would see students receive an A or an incomplete. That way, students would receive a high grade or have a chance to earn a better grade when circumstances improve.
Ms. Kennedy also proposed the idea of allowing students to choose between receiving a pass/incomplete or a letter grade.
Board member Pam Harbin said she was more comfortable with the grading options that the district proposed.
The district, Ms. Harbin said, should not make the system too complicated, and it should recognize that students are working under difficult conditions.
“I’m not concerned so much with having to fail anybody,” she said. “It would be really cruel and harmful to take the COVID situation and say ‘you failed.’”
More than two dozen parents spoke about the district’s grading and remote learning plans at a public hearing Monday evening in which statements from the public were read by various school administrators in a video conference.
Some of the parents said they favored a pass/fail system, while others suggested assigning no grades at all.
Michele Jury, a parent of two Allderdice High School students, advocated for a pass/fail/incomplete grading method.
“Both Option A and Option B have the potential to create artificial grades for the fourth quarter,” she said. “Option A creates a minimum of 70%. Option B creates a minimum of third-quarter grade or 70%.
“While I understand these minimums were created to reduce the tension for and negative impact on students ... letter grades can be issued that have little correlation to the actual work in the fourth quarter,” she continued. “This does not align with the goal of providing accurate feedback to our students.”
Trina Kyte, a parent of students at Liberty K-5 and Obama Academy, suggested an opt-in/opt-out policy for families presently facing barriers to remote learning.
“With all the things that are currently happening with this health crisis, I’m encouraging board members to take it easy on students when it comes to grading policies,” she said. “A lot of parents like myself don’t have time to work through the current process and give our full attention to our kids.”
Andrew Goldstein: agoldstein@post-gazette.com.
First Published: April 28, 2020, 2:14 a.m.
