Failing marks were reduced by 42 percent
BY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Superintendent Larrie Reynolds says the Mt. Olive school district policy of eliminating the "D" grade is accomplishing its purpose to this point. He says the number of failing grades for district middle and high school students dropped 42.5 percent in the first quarter, and more students were earning A's and B's.
When the district eliminated the D grade, it raised the failing score to anything below a 70. Reynolds said the policy, intended to challenge students to work harder, pushes students to do just that.
As part of the policy, hundreds of students were able to retake exams and redo assignments following an initial failing grade, bringing their scores up, and prompting a school board member and Mount Olive educator to question what the data really shows.
