New Year, New Rules: MCPS Changes Grading Policies

Starting next school year, Montgomery County Public Schools will be introducing major changes to how students are graded. These updates are meant to make grading more fair across the county, increase accountability, and help improve attendance. After months of gathering feedback from students, teachers, and staff, MCPS plans to finalize the new policies by the summer so that teachers can be trained before students return in the fall.

Over the past few months, MCPS created a work group made up of county leaders, teachers, and students to review the grading system. They sent out emails to schools asking for feedback on different aspects of grading, especially about the controversial 50% rule. This rule currently allows students to receive no lower than a 50% on assignments if turned in, even if the work is incomplete. 

Many students and teachers expressed concerns that the rule doesn’t always reflect a student’s true performance. Blake student Crystal King shared, “It takes away the motivation for some students to try on their assignments.” By gathering feedback from both students and staff, the county is working toward a system that better reflects student performance while promoting fairness across classrooms. “The goal is to make sure the grading system isn’t a ‘lottery’ where every teacher does something different,” Principal Snead explained. Everyone deserves the same opportunities, no matter what class they’re in.

One major possible update is how semester grades will be calculated. Currently, if a student earns an A in Quarter 1 and a B in Quarter 2, they can still end up with an A for the semester. Under the new system, second-semester grades can be weighted more heavily to reflect more recent performance. This change is meant to keep students engaged and motivated throughout the entire semester, rather than letting them “coast” once they get a strong early grade. MCPS hopes this will create a stronger work ethic and make grades more accurate reflections of student learning over time.

Another big shift is the potential return of summative assessments. These exams will now count towards students’ final grades and are being reintroduced as a way to increase accountability and encourage students to stay focused all year long. Final exams are intended to give students more of a reason to stay sharp and not check out halfway through the year.

Attendance is also playing a big role in the grading updates. Under the current rules, students can only be unenrolled if they miss all seven periods for 10 days in a row, making it difficult for schools to address chronic absenteeism, a flaw in the attendance system. However, Blake High School has already seen improvements in attendance after adding stricter attendance restrictions this year. Thomas W. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools, believes that by tying attendance more closely to grading and accountability, they can continue to drive attendance numbers even higher across the county. “Accountability is key,” Principal Snead added. We’re seeing that when students know their attendance and performance have real impacts, they step up.

MCPS plans to have the new grading rules fully finalized by this summer. This timeline will give teachers a chance to be trained over the break and prepare to start fresh when school begins again in the fall. Students and families can expect to receive detailed information about the changes before the start of the next school year.

Overall, MCPS hopes that the updated grading policies aim to create a more consistent, fair, and motivating learning environment for all students. By combining stricter attendance expectations with clearer grading rules, the county is aiming to better prepare students for success, both in school and beyond.