Recently, ISB’s administration have begun looking at our grading policies (see “A to F or 1 to 7” published on Jan 27th on PantherNation for more details.) Mr. Bradley visited the Student Council, the PTA, the Faculty and many other organizations to spread the information of these changes. Below are some of the student responses…

Sophomore Jungyoon Lee commented, “I think it will be an advantage because I take a music class [and] music classes such as String Ensemble or Band did not count as a weighted class, so it would bring my grade down when I take IB.” 

Freshman Reika Herman mentioned that she is more comfortable with the current grading system because “I [would] prefer being graded that way.” Reika also shares, “However, I know that this system will be better for us as students in the long run. I think it is just that having a big change like this will take awhile to get used to.”

Jungyoon also remarks the freshman, as she says, “perhaps for others, especially for underclassmen who might have the opportunity to take an IB course, it may be a discouragement.” She states the reason is because “they get an IB bump, which will boost their GPA. If the weight no longer exist, perhaps students may be more reluctant to challenge themselves.”Growing accustomed to a new idea is something one might struggle with, especially if there has been a miscommunication. The PantherNation team, as mentioned by Junior Gian, “could be crucial in this process of asking the right questions to the admin, and making sure the student body know the answers.” He also adds, “barely any information has come out, and already misinformation is being spread. Good communication is important.” 

Changing to a full IB course can be challenging, and Gian remarks, “If I get an A+ in by non-IB course, it is the same as an A- in an IB course. These classes are heavily detrimental to full IB students’ GPA.” He also shares, “It would not work for everyone at ISB. We are still way too early in the process to start making judgements, though.”

This change in the grading system may be helpful for both students and teachers, as the students will be able to accurately see how they will be graded and not be given any false grades. If we have the same system as the majority of colleges, it can create less confusion when considering our grades.

Grace Yang