By Ali Tadayon, EdSource
While many high schools and middle schools adopted pass-fail grading at the start of the pandemic in order to hold students harmless as they adjusted to distance learning, districts have largely reverted back to the traditional A-to-F system.
But now that students are receiving their fall progress reports, it appears as though in at least some districts, many students’ grades are slipping. Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner announced Monday that the number of middle school and high school students receiving Ds and Fs so far this year has increased compared to last year. In Sonoma County, the number of high school students failing classes is so much higher than previous years that Steven Herrington, the county schools superintendent, convened a summit of district leaders last week to discuss the issue, and will meet again this Thursday.