Midtown administration has adjusted grading policies for AP classes. Final papers will now be given more weight and deadlines for late work will be less generous.
Starting with the 2024-25 school year, the Midtown administration has adjusted the grading policies for AP classes. Summaries will now be given more weight and deadlines for late work will be handled less generously. This new change has generated mixed opinions in the Midtown community.
“The biggest change in grading is the weighting,” said math teacher Talyssa Hunter. “It’s now 70% summative and 30% formative, up from 60% and 40% last year. For excused absences, a student has five days to make up missing assignments. For unexcused absences, there’s an automatic 20% penalty.”
Some students believe the changes will have a major impact on their academic success. High school senior Arden Henley believes the change in emphasis on final exams will cause her to experience more stress due to her schedule.
“This means a lot more stress for me on tests and other final exams because it really affects my grades,” Henley said. “Classwork can’t improve your grade and help you as much this year.”
Henley believes the new 70/30 weight distribution will cause her grades to fluctuate more often.
“I believe my grades will fluctuate significantly with this change based on taking only one test,” Henley said.
Junior Marin Mimnaugh also believes the new changes in grading policies will impact the consistency of her grades.
“If I give so much more weight to tests and projects, my grade will be completely dependent on the final grades,” Mimnaugh said. “That puts a lot of pressure on me for the tests. That means that if I do poorly on a test, my grade changes completely.”
Hunter expects these changes will change the way her students prepare for class by forcing them to be better organized.
“I think it will help students be more prepared and organized and think before they do or don’t do things,” Hunter said.
Henley also believes the new policy will not only change the way she prepares for AP exams, but also the performance of her classmates.
“This policy might make me much more stressed if I do poorly at something, but it might also encourage me to study more and go into exams better prepared,” Henley said. “This policy change might make students more likely to study and take advantage of opportunities to improve their grades.”
Mimnaugh said her attitude toward late work has changed since the new policies were introduced.
“When you get such a high penalty for late work and absences, it motivates me to finish my work and try not to miss school for any reason,” Mimnaugh said. “It makes it difficult because if you have to miss school for a college or family trip, you end up getting a grade penalty.”
Hunter says these changes will ultimately benefit students by helping them better prepare for college.
“It will help better prepare students for college because an AP course is ultimately a college course and some students get AP credit for the course,” Hunter said.
Despite all the changes made, Mimnaugh does not consider the measures to be exclusively negative.
“I would prefer that homework be a bigger part of my grade, but maybe better testing could help students really prepare for college and inspire them to study harder,” Mimnaugh said. “For me, the 70/30 split will be stressful and I will prepare more for my tests.”
Hunter believes that while the adjustment may be difficult for students, it will ultimately have a positive impact on them.
“Students don’t like change,” Hunter said. “With change comes resistance, but once they see the benefits, I think it will help them in the long run, and that’s what we need to do to prepare students for college.”
