Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Grading Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents and board debate Morton High School GPA and transcript changes; trustees approve revised guidelines
Summary
After public comment from a parent whose children attend district schools and detailed trustee discussion, Morton CUSD 709 approved revised GPA and grading guidelines for Morton High School. Trustees agreed to explore retaining percentage scores on transcripts to assist college and scholarship review.
A parent urged the Morton CUSD 709 Board of Education not to apply changes to GPA calculation retroactively for students already partway through high school, saying the proposal would lower the GPA of a current sophomore and remove the detail colleges use to award merit scholarships.
Mr. Brooks, speaking during the agenda‑related public comment segment with his wife Kara and daughter Abby present, said his family supports many proposed changes but objects to applying them in the middle of a student’s high‑school career. He asked the district to keep percentage scores on transcripts — a change administrators said is feasible for cohorts where percentages were used — so colleges could still see high percentage results even if the GPA calculation changes.
Board members acknowledged the committee and staff work that produced the recommended revisions and debated the tradeoffs. Trustees raised concerns about student motivation if the new scale collapses ranges (for example, removing pluses and minuses so a 90% and a 99% both become an A), and about how scholarships and college admissions will interpret the new GPAs. Administrators said colleges look at multiple factors, including standardized test scores, and staff noted districts with similar grading scales show comparable outcomes.
After discussion the board approved the revised Morton High School grade‑point average and grading scale guidelines and directed staff to pursue the transcript‑percentage compromise where possible and to notify colleges of the change.
