Pass/don't pass at SHS

In this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic, local school districts will be implementing a pass/don’t pass system for students, including seniors who are approaching graduation.

Schools will pass those students who were receiving a grade of A, B, C or D at the end of the first semester, spanning the beginning of school to Christmas break. The pass/don’t pass will be based on the grades received for the spring semester. Those students who were failing at that time will be given an opportunity to raise their grades in this fourth quarter.

Students will be required to take online courses and compete the assigned work to get graded and credit to help them get up to a passing grade.

To the dismay of some, this system also means that colleges will be accepting the pass/don’t pass grade on the students’ transcripts

Some students, including senior Ramon Martinez, are saying that this negates all of the hard work that they put in to keep their grades high. “I worked so hard for my grades ,and I will be on the same level of someone who just cruised,” he said.

Students who failed a third-quarter class will be contacted by teachers and given an opportunity to review and learn the course’s academic content in order to receive a passing grade.

The system does not include alternative schools, such as Shafter’s Central Valley Continuation School. Those schools deliver courses in several sessions throughout the school year that do not align with the comprehensive high school semesters.

Alternative education programs will not utilize third quarter grades to calculate session grades. Students will need to complete the assigned course work for the current session to earn credits. All alternative education students will receive a pass on the transcript for the current session once the required course work is satisfactorily completed.

Teachers have continued to help students remotely throughout the closure, assisting those students who are working to complete their assigned work.

The district’s goal, according to official statements, is to have students continue to participate in ongoing distance learning programs and to have students return to school in August prepared for the new academic year.