[dropcap style=”default”]G[/dropcap]rades have been a controversial issue in the school setting for years. The matter of having students focus on A’s, rather than learning has been at the center of that debate, with pass/fail systems closely behind.
A rather unknown alternative, the pass/fail system has been available at RBHS for more than 40 years. This sort of system, according to counselor Dr. Samuel Martin, is not available to all students, and may be used only in certain situations, such as medical or family emergencies, or under special agreement between student and teacher.
“Some classes are [pass/fail] by default, advisory mentors, copy center workers and teacher’s assistants are all examples of that.There are also students who, at the beginning of the semester, arrange to have a pass/fail agreement with their teacher. Usually people do this to protect their GPAs, as it does not count towards it.” Dr. Martin said. “In terms of colleges, I would not recommend doing multiple pass/fail classes, as [colleges] usually want to see letter grades and to see you tried and either succeeded or failed or whatever is in the middle. I don’t recommend taking a course as pass/fail thinking ‘Oh, I don’t want this on my GPA, I’ll just take it pass/fail.’’”
Martin says pass/fail should not be a fail-safe to a bad grade as it is not offered halfway through semesters for non-emergency reasons. He also feels finding the right circumstances for taking this sort of class can be difficult and that it should generally not be used often.
“I think the bigger question is why someone would want pass/fail,” Dr. Martin said. “So in the context of taking it to protect the GPA, it’s generally not allowed and so we try to interrogate that kind of thing out. It’s also up to teacher discretion. It’s not like you ask the counselor for permission and the class is automatically its pass/fail. You have to have reasons and discuss those reasons with both counselor and teacher.”
As for medically excused students, RBHS student Cameron Dorth is taking three pass/fail classes. Dorth, who is homebound for medical reasons, does not take classes in the building and has a teacher come visit her five hours per week.
“[Pass/fail] definitely allows me to work at my own pace, which in turn helps with focusing on material rather than the deadlines,” Dorth said. “As for GPA, these classes don’t directly count towards it, however as far as college admissions [and] applications [go] the schools take pass/fail classes into account as a D.”
Advocating for pass/fail classes, biology and physics teacher, Kory Kaufman is a strong supporter of the system and feels it should be available to everyone.