NJ School Board Considers Pass/Fail Grading System

Midwest Volunteers Travel to Hoboken to Help
During COVID-19- April, 2020 

The following is new guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education in coordination with the School Boards across New Jersey on grading in K-12 during the current pandemic. The information is both useful and timely and should be a shared resource among teachers, administrators, community members, parents, and of course students. 

Pass/Fail Grading System

As districts and schools adapt to new challenges associated with the current pandemic, some are following the lead of colleges and universities in New Jersey and around the nation in instituting a pass/fail grading system for the duration of this school year.  In response to board inquiries, NJSBA has developed sample discretionary policy content to address this issue.

In placing this optional content, policy staff have determined that the most appropriate location would be an amendment to current policy on the Evaluation of Individual Student Performance (File Code 6147.1).  The sample language is suggested to be added under a new subheading titled Emergency Situations.  The language states that:  In response to State directives when weather events and other circumstances render in-person meetings less than optimal, the chief school administrator in consultation with the director of curriculum may adopt a pass/fail grading system.

It continues by stating that the determination of the pass or fail grade shall at a minimum be based on the student’s comprehension of the material as demonstrated on assignments and examinations; and student effort and participation during the period of closure with assignments, online class participation, and participation with other structures implemented by the district or school to provide continuity of instruction during the school closure.  If the district or school moves to a pass/fail grading system, class rank shall be calculated based on each student’s last calculated grade point average prior to the school closure.

In keeping with general principals of policy drafting, the language is constructed in a somewhat broader sense, so that it is not just focused on the pandemic.  However, it must by stressed that this means of grading is purely optional, and adoption should obviously be proceeded by full board discussion and agreement that this policy content would be warranted according to the district’s/school’s individual philosophy and circumstances.  

Hoboken April 19, 2020