Grades are arguably the most prevalent aspect of an average student’s life at Piedmont High School. Students use grades to get into college and unlock their future. Teachers are quite cognizant of the fact that grades are incredibly important. Teachers need to be willing to round up a student’s grade if you are at least within half of a percent of the grade you desire.
Since grades are so essential, all teachers should be consistent with their protocols on rounding up grades. I have personally experienced this situation two times and was very thankful when my teachers rounded up my grades. Since I was only half of a percent off of the grade I desired, my teacher saw that I had worked hard in the class and rewarded me for that. If a student works hard in the classroom and is only off by half of a percent, the student deserves to have that grade rounded up. The majority of students at PHS work hard in their classes. It seems a bit illogical that a student would not receive the grade they are so close to because of a couple of test questions. Some teachers are flexible with their grading scale. This means that some teachers are willing to have a discussion with a student about their grade. Other teachers may not be so accommodating.
Some teachers argue that if a student does not actually have the grade, then they do not deserve it, even if they are only a tenth of a percent off. Some might argue that if you help a student out and give them a grade they technically did not receive, then the teacher would not be preparing the student for the real world. I do agree with this argument to a certain extent. A full percent or more in a student’s grade is composed of many assignments. In other words, if a student is off by this margin, that probably means that the student did not complete a few assignments. If a student is off by about a percent or more, then they should not receive the higher grade. However, most students will have a conversation with their teacher only if they are within half of a percent of the grade they desire.
While it is obvious that students need to be prepared for the outside world, I do not think that this rule should be applied when a student is only off by half of a percent. Teachers are not consistent with rounding grades at Piedmont High School, and there needs to be a policy dictating that teachers must round up a student’s grade if he or she is within half of a percent. At our rigorous high school, students have enough to worry about. The faculty needs to help alleviate student stress by setting this policy in stone, so students have a consistent idea of what their grades will look like. As hard as it is to believe, there is an immense difference between one percent and half of a percent.
