In the light of the recent petition to reinstate the last semester's Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) grading policy, it has become evident that not all students are in agreement about what the solution is. It is clear that our students are having trouble keeping up with the workload assigned by teachers. However, a new grading policy is not the solution. A new grading policy would only allow students to do less work while still earning an acceptable grade. Furthermore, reinstating the CR/NC policy may be detrimental to students who want to use letter grades to gain an advantage in college admissions when tests such as the SAT may not be an option. With so many students standing in agreement of the petition that is circulating, it is clear that the problem is not a flawed grading policy. Rather, the problem is that the workload assigned by teachers is too much for students to keep up with.

This petition will push for the District to review the amount of work that students are expected to complete for an acceptable grade. Last semester should be a testament to the flaws of the CR/NC grading policy, as many students became lazy or unwilling to do work because a Credit grade was good enough. In the words of the District's mission statement, "We prepare all learners to become productive citizens and college and/or career ready by providing challenging learning experiences and establishing high expectations for achievement." Allowing a CR/NC grading policy this semester would be unfair to the tremendous efforts of our staff to prepare for a semester of distance learning, as it would fail to challenge students or give students a reason to aim to do well in their studies. This fundamentally disagrees with the mission statement of the District.

Addendum

I would like to make some clarifications regarding the wording and objective of this petition.

The ultimate objective that this petition is working toward is to have a more comprehensive learning environment for the students of the SMJUHSD. However, this petition seeks to address the growing popularity of pushing for the CR/NC policy to be reinstated this year. Bringing back the policy would not be enough. While the policy would be beneficial for for some students, not having a letter grade would be yet another stressor for students who have to deal with additional responsibilities at home that may interfere with their capacity to keep up with a disproportionately large workload. By reducing the workload we can ensure that students are not forced to select a CR/NC grade while still enabling them to be successful in school.

Additionally, some of the language in the description of the petition may have been unintentionally rude or alienating toward certain groups of students. I apologize for overlooking this; I only meant to convey that the grading policy may have adverse effects on the work ethic of students.

There is no doubt that there are other problems to address, such as the relative lack of communication between students and staff, or that not all families are able to provide a supportive environment at home for students. However, this petition should bring us one step closer to a more ideal learning environment. It is by no means intended to be the only solution.