Petition to Amend Loyola's Spring 2020 GPA/ Grading Policy

Not understanding this at all. Is there the fear that the students have been slacking off and not studying as hard as they could? Does Loyola feel their online classes aren’t up to par? Would inclusion of the grades be a misrepresentation of the students GPA? Since ALL schooling throughout the country has been online, I can only believe the Loyola education has been top tier compared to most others. Why wouldn’t Loyola want to show they value the time their students and teachers put in this semester by including it in the GPA? Isn’t Loyola High School the best high school in all of Los Angeles?

This has been a challenging time for all. The students and teachers have worked diligently to adjust to the challenge of this new way of learning and maintaining their grades. It is disappointing for the students who have worked hard to maintain or increase their overall GPA, and in the end not have it included in their cumulative. Please reconsider.

I concur the boys’ hard work should be reflected in this semester’s grades. The “no harm” standard should be foundational to the decision calculus upon reconsideration.

I ESPECIALLY need the grading to be left alone as it being changed will really affect my college decisions in the future

LHS: Your decision is unsetting and unfair. You cannot change the grading policy by telling your students less than ONE mnth before school ended. The students worked hard. They parents paid tuition. Do not ROB them of their proper grading system for their hardwork.

Totally unfair to the kids who have been working hard this semester

6 years ago Featured

I do not understand the policy of removing A+ from the grading scale. My son has worked hard all semester, especially to earn A+’s in the classes that have them. Now 100% is the same grade equivalent as an 87%? Students should not have their grades deflated.

My support for this petition is informed by my prior career as Assistant Director of Admissions at Dartmouth College.

I signed it—contains some thoughtful ideas. But this petition needs some revisions to be taken seriously by the Loyola administration, which has rarely even acknowledged petitions in my experience: - Ask more question due to the lack of clarity and logic from Loyola (Why was this necessary? Why was this decision made so late after an unnecessarily rigorous workload in quarantine? - Why did Loyola not consult its own students before deciding the fate of their grades?) - Include the teachers: Loyola is also discounting the teachers’ quick adjustment and hard work to maintain the same level of learning during the digital learning period - mental health: Many students have sacrificed their mental/emotional health to maintain the same level of academic intensity during these stressful times, and not only did Loyola inadequately support them (especially compared to similar school like Harvard-Westlake, which employs a full-time psychologist), but it also threw those students’ sacrifices out the window. For instance, what my kid set out to accomplish during quarantine was severely limited because of academic time commitments (including extensive work and actual classes in our “Easter break”) and now Loyola has nullified that commitment - I beg to differ regarding the grading scale change. Keep it traditional; advocating it to be lower only devalues Loyola's education this semester, which you advocated was maintained ... contradicting yourself - grammar edits!!! But overall, this grading change has caused more harm than good to the majority of people, and I'm glad this addresses it

I have also sent an email to Mr. Gorr expressing my disapproval of this policy.

Our sons have worked hard and the rigors of class have not decreased, this is not an equitable solution. If any student did suffer from this time, like many situations, it is easily explained to colleges. I would be interested in learning if the student bodies grades were so skewed during online learning.

If the students are being asked to do hours of homework each night, study and take tests under these challenging circumstances the grades should count. It is extremely unfair to tell them at this late date that the all their hard work doesn't count. The best solution is the hold harmless which the majority of schools are adopting.

This last minute change in the grading policy makes no sense. These students have continued to work hard in the most difficult of circumstances. To not have their grades count toward their GPA is a huge disservice to them. The overall high school GPA does matter, even for Seniors. Please read the listed items in the petition. These are valid reasons and need to be addressed.

It is completely unreasonable for my son’s GPA to lower between semesters as a result of the new grading scale. At the very least, A+’s for classes that have it should continue with this procedure. It is absolutely deplorable for my two of my son’s A+’s to be reduced to that of an 87%. At the very least keep the A+ so that it does not look like my son worsened between the two semesters.

"Hold Harmless" Policy is an equitable (if not elegant) solution.

They boys have worked hard this year and they should have the opportunity for it to be reflected in their GPA

Fully support. This is outrageous. Well written petition. Emmet, being a junior, this impacts his class more than any. Trying to wrap my head around how, why and who thought this was a good idea?

It is disheartening to have this change announced after 8 weeks of online learning and students doing their best to adjust to this environment which is totally unknown to all. Let’s be fair to the students please, in no way this can negatively impact all the students that have worked hard this semester.

We agree with the petition.

Agree wholeheartedly. No fair changing the rules in the middle of the game. This decision pulled the rug out from these hard working boys.