How Northeast Florida school districts are grading students this year

Scoring policies differ among school districts and grade levels

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As the 2019-2020 academic year winds down, teachers and administrators are using different strategies in an effort fairly evaluate and advance students amid an unprecedented spring semester.

Last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education announced that public schools would continue distance learning for the remainder of the year.

The unique challenge of overseeing remote classrooms has led to stress among a majority of teachers and concerns that their students would fall behind, according to a survey by the Florida Education Association.

Below is a breakdown of the strategies utilized by some of Northeast Florida’s largest school districts:

Duval County Public Schools

The school district in Duval County launched ‘Duval Homeroom’ in late March in order to facilitate remote learning during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The district announced that the grading policy would not change under the new digital system. But when the Department of Education canceled state assessments, it impacted how final grades would be determined for middle and high school students.

Final secondary grades will be averaged across the four quarters of the school year with the formulas below:

  • Full credit (1.0 credit) = (Quarter 1 + Quarter 2 + Quarter 3 + Quarter 4)/4 = Final Grade
  • Half credit (0.5 credit) = (Quarter 1 + Quarter 2)/2 = Final Grade

For seniors, the only remaining requirements for graduation are that students pass all credits for their programs of study and earn at least a 2.0-grade point average.

Learn more about Duval County Public School’s grading, promotion and assessments here.

St. Johns County School District

The SJCSD directed teachers to score assignments and provide feedback to both elementary and secondary students on a weekly basis.

For elementary classrooms, that means interim grades won’t be issued. Also, the elementary grading system was transitioned from an A-F model to a binary, "P" for progressing or "I" for improvement needed model.

“Students are accountable for engagement, participation, and completion of assignments,” the district’s announcement said.

While there is no change to the progression plan for secondary students, the final grade on year-long courses will be calculated by giving equal weight to each quarter.

For second semester courses, scores will be averaged from the third- and the fourth-quarter grades.

Learn more about the grading policy for elementary and secondary students.

Clay County School District

Clay County elementary teachers will be sending grades and feedback to students each week through the Google classroom and FOCUS portal.

“Grace and compassion should be exercised, and participation and engagement should factor into these grades,” according to Clay County’s guidelines.

The school district is directing each elementary and secondary school to average each student’s first-, second-, and third-quarter grades to assess their fourth-quarter grade.

In secondary classes, final grades for second semester classes will be calculated by “matching the third-quarter grade or higher based on work completed during distance learning.”

More information on the Clay County School District’s grading policy for elementary and secondary students can be found using the respective links. Here’s the district’s Instructional Continuity Plan.

Nassau County School District

In Nassau County, district officials said teachers will use the same grading scales as the first three quarters, indicating little change to the established grading system amid the pandemic.

“Report cards for third quarter are available through Focus on both the student and parent portals,” a document on the district’s website says. "Report cards will not be printed and mailed for the 3rd quarter.”

That FAQ document can be viewed by following this link.

Baker County School District

The superintendent of Baker County schools also directed teachers to utilize a grade average system for the fourth quarter.

“We are not operating under normal conditions; therefore, we have revised our district grading procedures in the best interest of our students as we move through this unprecedented time,” Superintendent Sherrie Raulerson said in a statement.

Baker County students won’t receive a fourth-quarter grade that is lower than the average of the first three.

Under the district’s adjusted policy, if a student earns a grade during the distance learning period that is higher than the previous three quarters, that grade will not be averaged.

“If the fourth nine weeks grade is lower than the average of the first three nine weeks, then the fourth nine weeks grade would be overridden by the teacher with the average of the first three nine weeks,” the superintendent’s statement said.

View the notices from the Baker County School District.


About the Author:

McLean is a reporter with WJXT, covering education and breaking news. He is a frequent contributor to the News4Jax I-team and Trust Index coverage.