As the new school year begins and our Superintendent Tammy Campbell lists what parents can do to partner with our school district, I now in the spirit of reciprocity list one thing the school district can do to partner with parents, and that is to trash the district’s flawed ABCF grading system. The system continues to place our children at a competitive disadvantage compared to those districts that use a plus/minus grading system (search my name for previous Mirror grading system letters).

Previously, Mr. Crawford (FWPS chief academic officer) in a guest op-ed stated that “… (FWPS) is working diligently to ensure every scholar’s grade is accurate.” But he does not define “accurate.” Is receiving a class grade of 3.49 equaling a B and thus 3.0 GPA, “accurate”? Even worse, is receiving a class grade of 2.99 equaling a C and thus 2.0 GPA, “accurate”? How does this type of “accuracy” benefit our children?

Also in that op-ed, Mr. Crawford indicates there is “research” to support the current grading method and what motivates scholars, however, he does not cite any research for and against those theories.

Wrongly, there is an ill-conceived notion that the less accurate ABCF GPA is minimally important for entry into universities/colleges. As parents, we must ensure that our children know that the highest GPA possible is also applicable to receive academic scholarships, get reductions in car insurance, receive sports scholarships, get a job, be a member of the honor society, etc. The criticality of a high GPA cannot be overemphasized.

A good product should sell itself, and to me the ABCF grading system has been for years an indefensible hard sell. And yet we are still debating the flawed nature of the ABCF grading system. To me something is very wrong when we have a school district that is so adamantly and uncompromisingly against implementing a more beneficial plus/minus system. Not supporting a plus/minus system makes no sense especially when the solution is so astonishingly simple that one wonders why that solution has not been implemented. Simply cross-reference the final course grade with a plus/minus grade rather than to an ABCF-only system. Simple. No more competitive grade disadvantage.

I also believe that Mr. Crawford should not be crafting “one collective board answer” for the district on such an important matter. I think each board member needs to be accountable and prove why one grading system is irrefutably superior to the other using comparative analysis and supporting “research” for and against the ABCF and plus/minus systems to the entire Federal Way community in the Mirror.

Finally, I believe the district’s attempted defense of their ABCF grading system proves conclusively that the ABCF system is simply indefensible and places our sons and daughters at a competitive disadvantage with other students that use a plus/minus system. So as school begins again, hopefully parents are convinced that a plus/minus grading system is the more accurate, fair, and superior grading system for our children and therefore motivates parents and the entire community to demand the district revert back to a plus/minus grading system.

Frank Comito

Federal Way