January 13th, 2012 by WCBC Radio

How to evaluate students has been an issue of great debate in Allegany County in the past few years- and the Board of Education received a proposed “grading philosophy” this week from a committee that was appointed last year to work on the issue. Comprising teachers from every grade level, the group began meeting last summer to research the subject. It was last spring that the school board decided to take a look at the school system’s grading philosophy- having last revised its policy five years ago. That’s when it implemented the controversial 50 percent rule, which prohibits teachers from giving a student a score of less than 50 percent on an assignment or test, as long as that student has made a “valid attempt” to complete it. Students who don’t attempt to complete the assignment or test can be given a zero. One of the more vocal critics of the 50 percent rule has been board member Mike Llewellyn. He said drafting a grading philosophy is a good first step toward revising the policy…