Stafford County Grading System

This article is from Fairfax County - We just went through the SAME thing here in Stafford County - Our current grading scale is:

100-98 A+
97-94 A
93-90 B+
89-86 B
85-82 C+
81-78 C
77-74 D+
73-70 D
69-0 F

As the article states, it's not fair to our kids. NExt year Stafford County is changing to the 10-point scale. WHat this means is that Nicholas has 2 years at the old system and 2 years at the new system.


To the grade-grubbers go the spoils. And the grade-grubbers in this case are rabble-rousing parents in Virginia's Fairfax County. Residents of the high-powered Washington suburb have been battling the district's tough grading practices; chief among their complaints is that scoring a 93 gets recorded as a lowly B+. After forming an official protest group last year called Fairgrade and goading the school board into voting on whether to ease the standards, parents marshaled 10,000 signatures online and nearly 500 in-person supporters to help plead their case on Jan. 22. After two hours of debate, the resolution passed, a move critics consider a defeat in the war on grade inflation. (Read about students getting paid for good grades.)


At most schools in the U.S., a 90 earns you an A, but in Fairfax County, getting the goods demands a full 94. Merely passing is tougher, too, requiring a 64 rather than a 60. Nor do students get much help clearing those high bars if they take tougher courses. Compared to the kind of GPA "weighting" many districts give for Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, Fairfax County's half-point boost is peanuts. The upshot, protestors say, is that Fairfax kids are at a disadvantage on multiple fronts: snagging good-driver insurance discounts (which often factor in GPA), earning NCAA eligibility, winning merit scholarships, and - oh, yeah - getting into college.

My Birthday

Yes, I am 50 today! I have received some very nice gifts from friends and family. I am still eating the goodies from the Harry and David basket my mom and dad sent me. I have flowers and balloons - wow what a nice treat. Nick bought me a beautiful computerized sewing machine, that I REALLY wanted, so I am thrilled! I will be opening my other gifts later today. We are going to the Asian Bistro later today and then come home to a wonderful fruit tart dessert Nick brought me from Wegmans! Talk to you later...

Philadelphia

We went to Philadelphia this weekend for a party and had a great time! It's only about three hours away but we just never seem to go north. I think it's because of the beltway traffic, and this time of year the weather isn't very good. It was a retirement party and the food was good and the people were very nice. We stopped in Wilmington, Delaware on the way back and had breakfast at a place called The Golden Castle Diner - it was YUMMY! Good old fashion country cooking. They had juke boxes on each table too! We have decided to take a trip to Philly this spring and look at the Liberty Bell, museums, libraries, and other touristy things. It is cold here and going to get colder over the next several days. I guess that's what they make fireplaces for...:)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!