The Montgomery County Board of Education convened to discuss potential updates to MCPS’ grading policy for the 2025-2026 school year, April 10. The meeting addressed changes including new final grade calculations for incoming ninth-grade students, summative semester exams and stricter work deadlines.

Since the 2016-2017 school year, MCPS has used a “quality point” averaging system, in which letter grades from the two marking periods in a semester determine final grades. The system gives more weight to the higher grade, meaning an A (as low as 89.5%) in the first marking period combined with a B (as low as 79.5%) in the following marking period rounds to an overall A. 

Students have reported using this system to their advantage. During the meeting, Chief Academic Officer Niki Hazel read a quote from an MCPS student exemplifying this benefit.

“The two quarter grades are calculated with a generous rounding policy,” Hazel said, quoting the student. “I absolutely find myself trying hard for good grades the first quarter and taking an easier second quarter.”

For the upcoming school year, MCPS is evaluating proposed changes to final grade calculations, starting with incoming ninth-grade students to better reflect their abilities.

The shift would include averaging percentage grades from each marking period instead of letter grades. For example, an 85% in one marking period and a 90% in the next would average to an 87.5%, resulting in an overall B.

Students expressed mixed feelings about the proposal. Sophomore Addison Hsiung said while the new system is more equitable, it also has its shortcomings.

“It’s a fairer way to calculate grades,” Hsiung said. “But I don’t think it gives students the opportunity to improve themselves.”

Some Board members said the policy should apply to all grade levels, arguing that it would be unfair to hold one group of students to a higher standard than others and it would overcomplicate mixed-grade courses.

However, Student Member of the Board Praneel Suvarna said launching the policy across all grade levels would hurt seniors applying to colleges, as it would force them to quickly adjust — potentially causing their grades to drop.

“You don’t get to correct unfairness by changing the rules in the middle of the game,” Suvarna said. “It will affect the rest of their lives.”

The Board also discussed plans to reinstate summative assessments — a form of final exam or project — at the end of each semester.

One reason for the change is to address a drop-off in attendance rates in the second and fourth marking periods. MCPS hopes the summative assessments would encourage more consistent student attendance, while allowing grades to truly reflect students’ overall understanding of course content.

MCPS stated that by May, the curriculum team will announce further plans for summative assessments in English, math, science and social studies classes. 

In another effort to motivate students to maintain a strong academic performance throughout the year, MCPS may enforce stricter deadlines for late work submissions. 

With the current policy, students can submit late assignments up until the end of the marking period to receive partial credit. However, if enacted, the new policy would limit that window to 10 days past the assignment’s original due date.

Teachers shared benefits as well as drawbacks about this new approach. Whitman English teacher Trisan Garnett said it may give teachers more to keep track of.

“It’ll be harder for me to maintain for the simple fact that I’m the one who’s going to have to count the days,” Garnett said. “But I think it’s a good policy in general because students learn that they don’t always have an endless amount of time.”

In addition to these new policies, for the upcoming school year, MCPS intends to clearly specify minimal effort requirements for the 50% rule — a rule that states, unless teachers contact parents to alert them to a poor performance, students cannot receive a grade lower than 50% for any assignment they have reasonably attempted. MCPS also plans to audit course designations of the “honors” label, to ensure continued difficulty and the integrity of weighted GPAs.

Board members stressed the need for mandatory teacher training to ensure consistency in policy implementation county-wide. MCPS will communicate changes with students and families by July 1.

The updates presented to the Board show a return to pre-pandemic academic rigor. During the COVID-19 pandemic, MCPS temporarily softened its grading policies to prioritize students’ social-emotional needs. Superintendent Thomas Taylor said the district is determined to set higher standards for students again.

“In recent years, concerns about grade inflation and inconsistency have remained,” Taylor said. “We hope that this is an indication to our community of our raised expectations about our commitment to better practices in terms of instruction.”