In June 2025, the School Board approved an update to the PWCS grading and assessment policy (Policy 661, “Assessment and Grading Practices”) to ensure fairness, consistency, and transparency in how student learning is evaluated.
In alignment with the approved policy, semester and yearlong grades are now calculated by averaging quality points versus course percentages. This allows for a better representation of the overall performance of the student and brings consistency to how grades are calculated throughout the division.
Marking period and final grades are calculated using a percentage-to-letter conversion (for example, 95% = A = 4.0 quality points) to ensure fairness and consistency. The Earning High School Credits and Grade Point Average webpage in the High School Course Catalog provides a breakdown of how course percentages are converted to letter grades and quality points, and the quality points range for each letter grade. An example is also provided to help families understand how semester and yearlong grades are calculated.
It is important to note that for weighted courses, consistent with long-standing practice, the additional quality points are added when the course is completed. You can view a sample in the course directory.
We appreciate your patience and partnership as we continue to strengthen grading practices that are fair, transparent, and supportive of student growth. If you have questions specific to your child, please reach out to your student’s teacher or school counselor.
Connected to this effort, a recent divisionwide update was made to teachers’ gradebooks, and this change was reflected in StudentVUE and ParentVUE. As a result, some students may see temporary changes reflected in quarter or yearlong grades due to changes for grade rounding. Teachers have been provided guidance in restoring the grades where rounding was applied. Kindly be considerate and understanding with our teachers while they work on making these updates. If inconsistency remains regarding a student’s grade after January 23, 2026, then please contact your child’s teacher for grade-specific questions or your child’s counselor for transcript/scheduling questions.