It’s a well known fact: students love the glory of getting an A, but nothing compares to the overwhelming satisfaction of getting an A+. But, there are always those certain teachers that say a a 98% is only an A.

     A rumor was spread during the beginning of the school year that the district issued a policy which would no longer entitle teachers of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District to no longer give A+’s to their students.

     An A is no different than a A+ or A- as they all have a weight of four points on a transcript.  Many thought this was due to parent complaints about their children not receiving the extra “plus sign” to their report card even though they had the percentage to earn it, yet it wouldn’t make a difference.

     Students such as Junior Katie Kim share this outlook.

     “Mentally I think it would have an affect on me cause the feeling of having an A+ is great but on paper if I still had the same gpa with all A’s instead of A+’s then I’d be fine,” Kim said.

     But as MV principal, Dr. Ahern, confirms that this was just a rumor, but wanted all the departments of each subjects to be consistent with their grading scales (whether using an A or A+).

     “However, I must share that this rumored district policy change never happened and is not happening,” said Ahern. “Issuing A+ grades is up to the individual departments.”

     Students have reported that many teachers shared that the school recommended that they not implement the A+.  Despite the request, students notice that in the majority of their classes, they can still earn an A+ if they get above a 97%.  They repeatedly notice that classes, especially in science department, don’t reward them.

     English teacher Rachel Johnson did not change her grading scale from previous years – rewarding students A+’s if they have over 100%, but understands why the policy might be implemented.

     “In education, we must try to provide an equitable education to all of our students,” Johnson said. “If a student can earn A+ more easily in one class than in another, we should definitely take a look at that because it may appear (or actually be inequitable).

     Johnson explained the consequences further through the relations to not only students, but our school.

     “Many colleges look at a high performing school like MVHS….[and] if they notice grade inflation, they, then devalue the grades our students have earned,” Johnson said. “Think of it this way as if you’re at college: if there are so many A+’s what does that actually mean? Is it really just an A? And if so, then is an A really a B?”

     Unlike this department, many language teachers such as French teacher, Allison Sass, disagree with policy.

     “An A is great, but an A+ is really special,” Sass said. “It usually means that someone has a special talent, has been working exceptionally hard, or both.  A funny thing about A+ grades is that you don’t get a higher GPA than you would with an A, so it’s just a way for the teacher to acknowledge great work.”

    Despite the rumors, it remains unclear if the policy was formally followed and implemented throughout Monte Vista.

Caption:

The rumors describing the MV policy that A+’s would no longer be rewarded have been confirmed as false.  Although, it was recommended that teachers change the grading scale to no A+’s, many teachers paid no attention since they believed students earned the extra recognition.