Published: September 03, 2008 10:22 am         

County goes to 10-point grading scale

With the start of the school year came many changes for the Attala County School system – New classes, new teachers and especially a new grading scale.

The Attala County School Board approved to go to the 10-point grading scale before the start of the current school year.

Superintendent Larry Stevens said he knows this will help students on a positive note.

“It has had a positive impact on our schools,” Stevens said. “It’s only a matter of time” before other schools adopt this system.

Attala County was on a seven-point scale, where an A – 100-93, B – 92-85, C – 84-75, D – 74-70 and F – 69 and below.

The newly adopted scale is as follows A – 100-90, B – 89-80, C – 79-70, D – 69-65, and F – 64 and below.

The Mississippi High School Activities Association offers this example of how 10-point scale could benefit students applying for college: A student achieves straight A’s during their high school career with the exception of one high B (92). Their grade point average is calculated as a 3.95 and they are put at a disadvantage when applying for scholarships.

If this student were being graded on a 10-point scale, then they would have a 4.0 GPA and could compete equally with other students from Alabama and Florida.

Stevens said a few more students in Attala County may be eligible for scholarships because of the new scale.

Florida adopted a state-wide law to adopt the 10-point grading scale.

The MHSAA said since Florida has moved to a 10-point grading scale, the state dropout rate has decreased by 22 percent and the graduation rate has also increased by 13 percent.

Mississippi School Districts that have changed to a 10-point grading scale are: Tishomingo County, Wayne County, Amory, DeSoto County, Marion County, Union, Columbia, Biloxi, Covington County, Booneville, Tylertown, West Jasper, Calhoun County, South Panola, Harrison County, Greene County, Bay/Waveland, Hancock, Montgomery County, Choctaw County, French Camp, West Point, Simpson County, Forest, Philadelphia, Lumberton, Louisville, Carroll County, Benoit, Chickasaw County, Prentiss County, Newton County, Quitman County, Pontotoc, County, Moss Point, Pearl River County, Forest Agricultural High School, Long Beach, Forrest County, Attala County and Holmes County.