"In most math problems, 0 would never be confused with 50..."

Teachers were informed on January 5th, 2015 at Valley High School in Las Vegas, NV, that a new policy, Minimum F, would be applied immediately to all grades in second quarter and forth-going throughout the school year.

Minimum F means that every grade below a 50% will automatically change to a 50% minimum. In example, if a student receives a score of 5/20, the grade would be adjusted to 10/20. This is also applied to late work. Minimum grading is a specific grading practice targeted at a very specific cause of student failure: poor performances early in the learning process that put the student in so deep of a hole that recovering is not a reasonable possibility. As such, minimum grading targets a small but well-defined subgroup of students. Further, students who consistently post failing grades are not likely to benefit from minimum grading. Nor will students who post consistently good grades. Only students whose failing performances are intermittent, and who are now failed when their course grade is unfairly skewed by one or two failing performances will benefit from receiving a minimum grade.

Arguments against the policy have been made in many, many websites. Although a few benefits to Minimum F have been addressed, creating a No Zero policy is not the answer to increasing the graduation rate at Valley High School. The benefits and disadvantages are listed below:

Advantages:

1. According to attribution theory (how one attributes causes to events), grading practices need to be stable if they are to help students understand that future performance is within their personal control. Wide variations in teacher grading practices may prevent students (and parents) from seeing a consistent and predictable pattern in grading performance.

2. When grading is on a typical 100-point scale, failing grades cover a disproportionate 3/5s of the scale while passing grades cover 2/5s. Other grades have an interval of 10 points or less while an “F” has an interval of 60 points or more. Minimum F creates a standard interval in the grade scale.

3. Minimum grading works to keep struggling students positively motivated in school.

Disadvantages:

1. Minimum F policies provide an unrealistic idea of life outside of primary school. There are no minimum F's in college or in jobs. Failing is failing once high school is over.

2. Minimum grading presents low-performing students with unfair and unearned grades.

3. Minimum grading offers a falsely optimistic view of a student's abilities.

4. Minimum grading encourages grade inflation and manipulation of the school system.

5. This policy 'dumbs down' expectations of students. "All this does is create cynicism among educators and send signals to students that the education system is not serious about achievement." - Michael Petrilli, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and a former U.S. Department of Education official

There are a handful of schools that use this policy, including, but not limited to:

East Tech High School, NV

Silvestri Middle School, NV

Palo Verde High School, NV

Coronado High School, NV

Staton Elementary School, NV

Cambeiro Elementary School, NV

Thurman White Middle School, NV*

Mojave High School, NV

Sunrise High School, NV

Dallas Independent School District, TX

Lehn Middle School, NY

Lowndes County, GA

Orange County, CA

West Carter Middle School, KY

Ross Shepard High School, AB, CA

*Note: Thurman White Middle School has a minimum F of 59% instead of the usual 50%.

Questions to think about:

If Valley High School and all of the schools on this list implement this policy, how come the entire CCSD doesn’t?

How does giving an unfair grade show learning and accurate reflections of student achievement?

For more information, visit:

http://www.ernweb.com/educational-research-articles/pros-and-cons-of-minimum-grading-is-whats-fair-the-wrong-question/

http://www.mwera.org/MWER/volumes/v25/issue4/v25n4-Carifio-Carey-POINT-COUNTERPOINT-SECTION.pdf

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/04/27/are-no-fail-grading-systems-hurting-or-helping-students/

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-05-18-zeroes-main_N.htm

http://teachforjune.com/why-is-the-minimum-f-so-controversial/

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/feb/04/floor-failing-grades/

http://www.canadianfamily.ca/parents/why-schools-need-to-scrap-the-no-zero-policy/

http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/news/2013/10/22/63954/students-sake-say-no-no-zero-policy-grading

http://www.nassp.org/tabid/3788/default.aspx?topic=A_Failure_Free_Zone

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/no-zero-policy-students-dont-see-zeroes-the-same-way-adults-do/

https://teacher.ocps.net/yukeeba.mays/media/nozeros1112.pdf

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-07-21/features/os-orange-no-zero-grades-20130721_1_zeros-grading-policy-evans-high

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/no-zero-grading-policy-in_n_1253663.html

http://www.ccresa.org/Files/Uploads/252/The_Case_Against_Zero.pdf

http://www.edutopia.org/groups/assessment/57713