NYC Scratches Letter Grades For Lower, Middle School Students

NEW YORK CITY — Only New York City public high school students will receive letter grades for their work this semester, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.

"This is a moment, a horrible moment, a moment we'll remember all our lives," said the mayor. "We have to continue to take an approach that helps [students] be their best."

The Department of Education will rework its grading scale to reflect challenges students faced as the 1 million-student school system moved online, according to the mayor and DOE Chancellor Richard Carranza.

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"We developed a policy that keeps our students on track," Carranza said. "I think it's an elegant way to thread the needle, keeping our students engaged while recognizing trauma."

Kindergarten, lower and middle school students will get broader grading scales that show whether they "meet standards" or "need improvement," the mayor said. Students who need improvement will be enrolled in summer programming.

Middle schoolers can also be given "course in progress" status, which will allow for additional time over the summer to complete assignments, de Blasio said.

High school students will keep the traditional grading scale but with an added pass/fail option to protect their GPAs, de Blasio said.

De Blasio also promised graduating seniors a virtual celebration with appearances from New York City public school graduates

"We need to celebrate you," de Blasio said. "This situation has been so intense but that doesn't mean we don't value you."

It's been six weeks since the Gov. Andrew Cuomo shuttered public schools and five since the problematic new program launched online.

After repeated reports that the digital divide that has made remote learning near impossible for some lower income families, the DOE distributed 247,000 iPads to students, the mayor said.

The mayor called the process of transitioning 1 million students to remote learning "an extraordinary challenge," and applauded the teachers who made it possible.

"People don't go into this profession to make a quick buck," de Blasio said.

The Department of Education had lost 68 employees— among them 28 teachers and 25 paraprofessionals — to COVID-19 as of April 24, a spokesperson confirmed Monday.

There were 16,936 deaths linked to COVID-19 — 11,709 confirmed and 5,228 probable — in New York City as of April 27 with 156,1000 cases confirmed and 40,050 people hospitalized, data show.

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