As the second semester commences and a new marking period begins, MCPS department meetings unveil a revised grading policy for the entire county, including a modification to the 50% rule. Previously, all MCPS teachers were required to engage in a two-way conversation with parents and administrators before assigning a zero to a student. If there was no response received by the teacher, the student would receive a 50% on the assignment.

MCPS adjusted this rule to streamline the process among teachers, students, and parents regarding unsubmitted work. If a student fails to submit an assignment beyond the due date, the teacher must contact the guardian about the assignment. However, the teacher is not obligated to receive a response from the guardian to assign a zero in the grade book.

After conversations with some Springbrook school teachers and students, there was a general consensus that the change to the MCPS policy would not significantly impact grading.

“Most zeros going into the gradebook are for students who are already missing assignments, have poor attendance, or are not submitting assignments at all,” says JLS teacher Ms. Laskin. “Most grades for students don’t get fully uploaded until interims anyway, so there is still a window of time for students to submit late work for some credit.”

When asked if the policy change would influence student motivation, teachers hypothesized that most students would not take turning in their school assignments any more seriously than they do now. Mr. Smith, the honors and AP world history teacher at Springbrook, offers a perspective on this.

“I believe that the new policy may not motivate students to turn in their work on time; however, the students who aren’t turning in their work will end up getting zeros at the end of the quarter anyway. So whether it motivates them or not, it won’t make a difference because the students who need that motivation from this policy change most likely won’t change their classroom habits.”

Students had the opportunity to express their feelings about the policy change during interviews. “I honestly feel like this policy change is meant to make students feel more stressed about turning in their work on time. I feel like a lot of teachers, at least the ones I’ve had, have been understanding and lenient when it comes to having issues turning in work on time. I think it’s really just changed to scare kids into thinking they’ll fail right away by not turning in their work.” This perspective was shared by an anonymous student.

As a general consensus, the new MCPS change to the grading policy has been understood by students and teachers to grant teachers the right to input zeros without requiring a response from a parent. Both Springbrook students and teachers feel that the effort a student puts into completing their academic work eventually determines their trajectory in the world, whether that aligns with their goals or not. The impact of this policy change on students’ grades, or lack thereof, will unfold over time.