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Board narrowly approves switching elementary grading scale from 7‑point to 10‑point, 4–3
Summary
After more than an hour of debate, the Lenoir County Board of Education voted 4–3 to change the elementary grading scale from a seven‑point system to a 10‑point scale to align with middle and high schools and a new student information system.
The Lenoir County Board of Education voted 4–3 on May 5 to change the elementary grading scale from a seven‑point system to a 10‑point scale, making grading continuous from elementary through high school.
Missus Harris presented the recommendation, saying the district is moving from PowerSchool to a new student information system (SIS) and that implementing a 10‑point elementary scale now would align configurations across grade spans. "If we're going to change our grading scale, we're at a point where we... need to do it so that we need it to be able to set up in the new SIS," she told the board.
Board members debated the academic effects. Board member Murray opposed the change, saying, "When we lower from 7 point grades to to 10 grading scales, I think we're moving in the wrong direction," and arguing the seven‑point scale provides finer granularity for formative years. Other members favored alignment with middle and high schools and noted that the state adopted a 10‑point scale for high schools when many students take college courses, creating consistency concerns.
The board discussed technical differences: under the seven‑point scale an A is 93–100; under a 10‑point scale an A is 90–100. Supporters said consistency across grade spans simplifies GPA conversions and course averages, particularly for students taking coursework across levels.
Following debate the board voted to approve the change. The transcript records the motion passing 4–3; individual roll‑call votes were not recorded in the public transcript.
