On June 9th, FCPS released information announcing a change in grading standards for the upcoming school year regarding reassessment, category weighing and homework policies. This is the second gradebook change that has been introduced this school year, after an alteration last fall.
These changes fall in accordance with School Board Policy 2418, which was passed on Dec. 19, 2024. The School Board Policy set expectations for secondary grading in Fairfax County, prompting the review of previous grading standards by a formal committee of FCPS teachers, students, guardians and administrators.
“As part of this process, the committee reviewed current FCPS practice, best practice research, and data from a survey and focus groups that captured a large amount of staff, student, and parent/caregiver feedback,” Chief Academic Officer Sloan Presidio said in a June 9 email to school staff.
The new standards include capping the maximum grade for a summative reassessment at 90%. Many teachers believe the policy will support a student’s ability to learn.
“The [new] retake policy is a step in the right direction,” mathematics teacher Matt Christianson said. “I think the retake for up to 100% policy is too lenient and creates many problems in a lot of areas. The 90% is a better cut off, because you can still retake to do really well but a lot of students will not be trying to retake every assignment for up to 100 because they can.”
However, summative and formative grades will still be weighed at 70% and 30% of the overall grade. This continuation has been controversial among students, with many preferring that teachers adjust the weights of summative and formative grades based on class content.
“The grading policy has some merit behind it,” junior Michael Ma said. “But overall, it creates more stress and negative effects for students because [most of the weight] is put on tests.”
The new standards also mandate that the grading scale within FCPS will be changed as a result of the D-letter grade elimination, and consistent homework will be required for all courses.
In addition, all high school staff will be required to use a rolling gradebook for the 2026-2027 school year. Fairfax County officials maintain that they will assist staff to make this change as smooth as possible.
“During [the 2025-26 school year], Instructional Services will support this transition with training for high school staff, and IT will support the related technical aspects,” Presidio said in the email. “We will also continue to improve our technical systems around grading.”
