Grade Bump Policy Endures Revisions

By Colin Watamura

Over the summer of 2018, Visalia Unified School District rolled out a policy that allowed students concurrently enrolled in classes at College of the Sequoias to have their grades considered on their high school transcripts on a 5.0 scale. The policy stirred up controversy amongst some students, who felt the policy was rolled out under the table and that it gave an unfair advantage to students who enrolled in the classes before the announcement had been made. Additionally, they felt that certain classes were not proportionally rigorous to certain AP classes at the high school level and thus allowed students to be awarded for doing less work. Other students defended the District’s decision, saying that the system allowed students to experience college coursework while still in high school and offered an expository, head-start experience to students looking to get ahead in their four-year college career.

After many months of policy review and discussion between opposing sides, the District hosted an informational meeting in the Redwood library on November 13th where students and parents had the opportunity to meet with a District representative to review a revised policy and clarify any points of concern about the guidelines. Dr. Jamon Peariso represented Visalia Unified and helped parents and students navigate the new parameters of the policy. “Traditionally in most districts across California,” Peariso told attendees, “most districts give honors weight to advanced curriculum…outside the scope of the ap/ib that we give honors weight to. All of them also usually give honors weight credit to transferable college coursework.” Peariso continued to outline the policy’s new parameters, including which classes would be considered for transferable credit and how students could present the coursework on their transcripts.

Many students are satisfied with the revisions made by VUSD, while other students, including Kenya Ochoa, a long-time advocate for revising the policy, feel the parameters still need revision. “I am disappointed in the school district’s interpretation of the policy,” Ochoa told the Gigantea. “They have decided to evaluate community college music courses like orchestra under the 5.0 grading scale. This action seems unfair, outright rewarding students who decide to go to COS for a couple of hours just to play music.”

“It seems that they are just rewarding those who have the time and energy to take whatever COS classes they can land a spot in,” Ochoa continued. She did, however, commend the District’s willingness for transparency throughout the process. “This attempt in clarity shows the willingness of school officials to make the policy easier to understand, which has been one of my desires since the beginning of this process.”

As the policy continues to develop, it is likely that students will watch it evolve and change from its initial first year parameters. More information about the policy and its revisions can be found via the Visalia Unified School District website.