SIMI VALLEY : Schools to Study Grading Changes

Saying that traditional A through F letter grades can mar the learning process, Simi Valley school board member Carla Kurachi has suggested that school officials consider other ways of measuring performance for elementary students.

“Ideally, you want students to learn for the joy of learning,” Kurachi said at Tuesday night’s meeting. “But grades can have a devastating effect on students.”

Currently, kindergartners are given a progress report showing development, work habits and citizenship skills using symbols from a + to show that they are applying the skills to S for satisfactory to N for needs improvement.

First- and second-graders are given A through F grades for reading and math, while other subjects and citizenship skills are graded O for outstanding, S for satisfactory, N for needs improvement and U for unsatisfactory. Report cards for grades three through six use letter grades for reading, math, spelling, language, social studies and science and health. Citizenship is graded in the same way as in the first and second grades.

School board members agreed to form three committees of educators, representing the three types of report cards, to study the issue. The committees will report back to the board.

In other business, school officials discussed a revised dress code that allows schools to customize the rules for each campus. While regulations on prohibited clothing would remain basically the same, the revisions call for principals to confer with parents and students before making changes.

The proposed dress code will be sent to all schools, with secondary principals being asked to share the information with their student government leaders. The board is expected to consider adopting the new dress code at its March 17 meeting.