LYNN — Final grades for Lynn Public Schools students will be determined by work that had been completed before the coronavirus-induced class cancellations, according to Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.
All Massachusetts schools have closed for the remainder of the school year due to an order from Gov. Charlie Baker.
Lynn students will be graded up until the last day the city’s schools were in session, which was March 12. By that date, the second trimester was nearly complete for elementary schools and there were three weeks remaining in the third quarter for secondary schools, Tutwiler said.
“The official grades for the year essentially stop when we stopped attending physically,” said Tutwiler. “The idea with our approach to the grading procedure was to be responsive and considerate at the same time.
“We know that this is in the context of an event that has never happened before. We really wanted to angle toward being fair with actual letter grades, but then also make sure there’s a message around our commitment to learning for the remainder of the year and our expectation that students remain engaged.”
For elementary students, grades resulting from the first two trimesters will remain final, while the first, second and third quarter will be weighted equally to determine the final grade for secondary students, Tutwiler said.
It has been determined that no students will fail the shortened third quarter — students will only be eligible for an A, B, C or P (pass). At the high school level, the quarter will be GPA neutral, according to a district memo that is posted on the school website.
Tutwiler said he does not think the decision to close grades early would make a difference in whether a secondary student would fail a year-long course or not.
“If a student had performed miserably in the first two quarters and in the third quarter, I don’t know if they would have been able to turn it around in the fourth quarter,” said Tutwiler. “It becomes very, very challenging to recover that grade, but for those students who are in that unique situation, we still have credit recovery. If they fail that course, they can make up the credits for that course.”
Although students will not be graded on the remote work that has been assigned by the district, if they do not complete the work or stay in touch with their teachers, students run the risk of receiving an incomplete grade for the year, Tutwiler said.
“A determination of ‘incomplete’ will only be made with ample evidence that the school afforded the student considerable flexibility with respect to whether the student had equitable access to learning opportunities during remote learning, taking into account technology, health, disability, and language challenges that may have adversely impacted academic performance,” reads the district memo.
Tutwiler said school administrators are aware of potential circumstances brought on by the virus that may hinder some students’ ability to complete the remote activities and resources that have been assigned.
For instance, he said some students have lost parents to the virus, some are taking care of siblings because their parents are essential employees, and others have had to take on jobs to keep their homes stable during the economic downturn.
Students who do receive an incomplete will be expected to complete work in the fall to change that grade. And secondary students who were failing the third quarter had an opportunity to make up missed work and assessments during the extended break from school, Tutwiler said.
“We’re giving them the benefit of the doubt and giving that student a P for that (third) quarter to pass,” said Tutwiler. “We felt that was the only fair way to address that. We feel this is a balance between support and (pressure). There are expectations in there, but we also know we are in an unprecedented time, a unique situation, and we wanted to make sure we gave students the most benefit possible.”
