A big change will likely be made with the SFSD’s grading scale for the next school year. The Committee to review SFSD Policy IKA Grading/Recovery Systems has been pushing for the district to change the grading scale from a 7-point grading scale to a 10-point scale.

This reform would apply to all the high schools within the district. There are also discussions of amending the grading scales for the elementary and middle schools. Another option being discussed is if the grading scale should include a plus and minus element.

The school board will hear the committee’s final proposition in March of 2o20. There, they will decide if these changes will go into effect for the 2020-2021 school year. As of now, there is little to no opposition to the change to the 10-point grading scale, so it is likely that it will pass without obstacles. 

The committee leading the charge is made up of around 20 individuals in the local academic community. They include principals, counselors, parents and even admissions counselors at local higher-ed institutions like Augustana and USF. They came together specifically for this issue because it was time for the grading scale policy to be reviewed and they all wanted to see the 10-point adopted. 

Why the change? Changing to this type of scale will make it more of a level playing field for students going after scholarships and admission to selective schools. This is because it makes it slightly easier to get A’s and B’s in classes, ultimately raising students’ GPA, an extremely important factor to most universities and colleges. 

The change will also benefit students taking dual credit classes. It will match the grading scale that most universities use, so it makes the college-level class they are taking graded the same way an actual college would. 

Due to not having an effective way to go back and change grades from the previous semesters, this change will not be retroactive. It will start in the fall semester of 2020 and all grades for students in previous years will remain the same. This change will hopefully benefit the students of all Sioux Falls schools and the image of the district.