For the past two years, New Berlin West High School has created a different system for grading students’ work. In 2016, New Berlin West introduced the grading system to multiple teachers to dip their feet in the water and try the grading system, showing students, parents, and other teachers what it would be like.

To explain the grading system in depth, New Berlin West decided that in 2016 they would change the grading system to a number system including four, three, two, and one as grades instead of percentages.  For this matter, all fours in the grade book become an A, all threes become a B, while two’s a C and ones become D’s. This can make getting straight A’s extremely difficult throughout high school.

Since this system was implemented, there have been many positive and negative reactions. Some people say the grading system has greatly improved their learning capabilities and their grades in general. On the other hand, others have said the grading system damages and affects their grades in a negative way.

After handing out surveys around New Berlin West and getting different opinions, 60 out of 75 people agreed that the new grading system affects their grades and their learning in a negative way. They said that the grading system does not improve their learning because “it is much more difficult to get a 4 which is an A,” multiple students at New Berlin West said. They believe that the grading system is too hard and even if they put in lots of work there is still a great possibility of them not getting a 4 on their project, etc.

Talking specifically about tests and quizzes, there is possibility that they will not get a 4 due to getting one or two questions wrong on their test or quiz. With this grading system many students and parents as well have said that the grading system is too challenging even for students on the honor roll.

Freshman Molly Hartzheim believes that the new grading system negatively affects her learning and grades all around. “I believe that the grading system has a negative impact on me because I don’t understand why they have to use numbers instead of percent or like A, B, C’s, and D’s,” says Hartzheim.

There is also a great risk that students who have been on the honor roll for most of their high school years can accidentally get off the honor roll due to multiple 3’s they received on quizzes. If all threes go into the grade book then this means that they will have a B in that class, which can greatly affect high-achieving students.

Freshman Ileana Ensslin believes that the grading system negatively impacts her grades because “they put you into 5 different categories, when before with percentages they were more accurate.” Ensslin speaks for many of the other students at New Berlin West who feel the same way.

There has also been lots of backlash from the parents whose children go to New Berlin West and these parents are not impressed with grades. This is a major affect in the students’ lives since parents already put pressure on their kids to have good grades. So when a bad grade such as a 2 and even a 3 can make parents angry towards their children, which can then cause their parents to put more pressure on the kids. This can cause stress and even depression for the students because even though they are working hard, their parents are putting even more pressure on their children to get 4s.

Overall,  many people at New Berlin West believe that the grading system negatively impacts their grades and learning capabilities.