New NYC Grading Plan Comes Amid More Signs of Virus Recovery

By: AP

New York City schools will implement a new grading system for the remainder of the coronavirus-disrupted school year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.

Elementary school students will be graded “meeting the standards” or “needing improvement” while high school students will have a pass-fail grading option, de Blasio said.

Acknowledging that some students have struggled since schools were shuttered March 16, de Blasio said students who need help to catch up will be given academic support through the summer and into next fall.

“We have to recognize that some kids are having a tougher time because of this crisis, emotionally and academically,” de Blasio said.

Students in grades K-5 will be graded “meets standards” or “needing improvement,” de Blasio said, while middle school students will be graded “meets standards,” “needs improvement” or “course in progress.”

High schools will use traditional letter grades, but a student who receives a passing grade in a class can take a “pass” grade that won’t affect their grade point average, de Blasio said. High school students who haven’t mastered the coursework will get a “course in progress” grade.

De Blasio announced on April 11 that the schools would remain shuttered through the rest of the school year but Cuomo said the decision whether to reopen schools was up to him. Cuomo has not indicated that he wants schools in the city to reopen before the end of the academic year in late June.

De Blasio initially resisted closing school buildings and moving instruction online in part because many of the system’s 1.1 million students lacked internet access. He said that 247,000 iPads will be in hands of students who requested them by Thursday.

Educators around the nation have struggled with how to grade students after the coronavirus pandemic closed schools.

Officials in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest after New York City, announced earlier this month that no student would get an F and no one’s grade would be worse than what it was on March 13, the last day of on-campus classes. Philadelphia school administrators were looking for a way to give students credit for completing schoolwork without penalizing children for things that are beyond their control.

In other coronavirus news, jets from Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds flew over New York City in a tribute to the medical personnel, first responders and other essential workers involved in fighting the pandemic.

The planes from the two demonstration squadrons flew in formation over New York and Newark beginning at noon. The formation was set to fly over Trenton, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

“We are incredibly honored to have the opportunity to salute those working on the frontline of the COVID-19 response, we are in awe of your strength and resilience,” said Navy Cmdr. Brian Kesselring, U.S. Navy Blue Angels commanding officer and flight leader. “Thank you to all of those in essential industries keeping our nation moving forward. We will get through this. We are all in this together.”

  (AP)