The Mycenaean

Big changes are coming to North Carolina public schools grading scales, including the scale used here at Leesville Road High School.

The State Board of Education last Thursday approved switching to a 10-point grading scale, similar to most states in the U.S.

As it is now, the grading scale is based off of a seven point scale. For example, an A is a 100-93, a B is a 92-85, etc.

As to why this change has finally been set in stone, school boards have been pushing for this for years — especially the larger systems such as Wake County and the even larger Mecklenburg County system.

These school systems believe that the 10-point grading scale not only makes things simpler in the system, but will supposedly will help students as well when submitting applications.

“I think the new grading scale will be great for people like my sister, who will be a freshman next year. She is gonna have it easier than us to be honest, and I’m a little annoyed that it won’t impact us,” said junior Cole Chance.

Students and parents in Wake County can say thanks to the Mecklenburg County system, simply because they have been the ones at the lead of this recent push for the scale.

To put it in perspective, the new grading scale makes perfect sense,and not only because most other states use it.

A student in say, Atlanta, could receive a 69 in a class and be allowed to move up to the next class. However, in Raleigh, if a student receives a 69, the student is held back because unlike the 10-point grading scale in Atlanta, they would receive an “F”.

Subsequently, the 70 failing grade that is enforced in NC schools is a con to the 60 failing grade that would be implemented next year. Why? Because people are more likely to drop out with the 70 failing grade that is currently implemented in NC. Just another reason for the change.

“I have relatives in Georgia, and they have been used to the 10 point grading scale for many years, and I always wondered why we didn’t have this. The new kids next year to high school are going to love this; they need to be thankful,” said junior Brett Finger.

The change is expected to begin in the 2015-2016 school year, starting with the freshman class that year.

Whether or not returning high school students for next year will be converted to the new scale is unknown at this point in time.