Dear Fort Logan Northgate Families,
Starting second semester, the staff of Fort Logan implemented a “No-Zero” policy. We wanted to explain what this means and why we have chosen to move in this direction. “No Zero” means the lowest grade your child can receive is a 50% even if the assignment is missing. Some may argue that grades will be false or inflated if a teacher gives 50% for nothing; however, we argue the zero is damaging and unfair.
Our grading scale is as follows:
90-100 = A 10 pts
80-89 = B 10 pts
70-79 = C 10 pts
60-69 = D 10 pts
0-59 = F 59 pts
With this grading scale there are 10 points between each letter grade, but 59 points for the F range. This makes it extremely difficult for students to recover and/or improve their grades. Let me illustrate: A=Assignment
Assignments | A1-10 | A2-10 | A3-10 | A4-10 | A5-10 | A6-10 | A7-10 | A8-10 | A9-10 | A10-10 |
Points | 10 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Overall % | 100% | 50% | 67% | 75% | 80% | 83% | 86% | 88% | 89% | 90% |
If a teacher assigns two assignments and our sample student earns a 10/10 on one and 0/10 on the other. He would have a 50% in the class, which is an F. Some may argue that’s fair because the student did half the work; however, that same student would have to receive 8 additional perfect grades to bring his overall average back to a 90%, which is the lowest A. In this example, one missed assignment doesn’t reflect the student’s overall performance and effort, and the damage is ongoing which leads to frustration and, in the worst case, leads to defeat.
Some of the best schools in the Nation have moved to a “No-Zero” policy, and we want the best for our Fort Logan Northgate students. We want to level the playing field and give all of our students the opportunity to find success. Your child still needs to work hard and complete every assignment so that we can make our Vision a reality.
Fort Logan Northgate Vision
In a changing world, all Commanders believe in their singular power to better themselves by engaging in learning, having high standards, and owning their future!
Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions.
BJ Jeffers
Fort Logan Northgate, Principal
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