The list of things lost to COVID-19 now includes end-of-semester exams. On Monday, August 18, the Carroll ISD board of trustees considered revisions to the grading guidelines for the 2020-2021 school year. Some of the revisions included eliminating quizzes from middle and high school curriculum and giving daily work a higher weighted average, with tests, major essays and assignments counting for half of a student's weighted score.
But one of the more prominent proposals was eliminating end-of-semester exams altogether. According to the proposed guidelines, students from grades 7-12 will not be required to take final exams at the end of the semester. Instead the district will put more emphasis on daily assignments and participation during the pandemic.
“That’s a pretty drastic change,” CISD Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Gina Peddy says at the board meeting. “Teachers were pretty much the ones that requested that. In COVID times, there’s not a need to be giving semester exams.”
Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Janet McDade stressed this proposal is not a permanent change for the district but rather a temporary adjustment to be flexible in the face of this pandemic.
“We don’t want [students] to be penalized or incentivized to come to school sick when they should be staying home,” Janet remarks to the trustees. “I don’t see this being our future. This is where we are right now.”
The board unanimously approved the revised 2020-2021 grading guidelines and eliminated semester exams for the school year. The board also accepted the January 4, 2021, retirement of Superintendent Dr. David Faltys and started the search for his replacement. The board also discussed the next steps to the Cultural Competence Action Plan and tentatively planned to hold its first workshop on the week of September 21.