DY incent A high school math teacher is asked by her principal to consider giving a higher grade to a student whose numerical average for the marking period is just below the math depariment’s cutoff score for that grade, ‘Jane Vincent ran her fingers through her hair, wrapped her lef. leg around the chair rung, and hunched over her dining-room cable. In front of her vas her open grade book, resting on a pile of folders of various colors, one for each of the students in her tenth-grade above-average algebra II class Moaning aloud and then giggling at the sound she had just made, Jane pushed the grade book off ro one side and searched for the fo der marked “Willian Lawrence.” Using a calculator, she figured Willie’s average for the first marking period, and again it came out to 80.3. She wanted to seveam, Actually, she wanted to yell at Willie. 89.81 Two- tenths ofa point more and he'd have an A for the marking period. Sighing as she wrote a B beside his name im her grade book, Jane unculed her leg, pushed back from the table, and walked barefoot into her Kitchen to refill her coffee cup. Shivering a fitle from the cold tle beneath her leet, she thought about the grading system of the Litleton High School math depart ‘ment and about Willie Lawrence Math seemed to be the perfect subject for absolute gracing standarels based on numerical averages. The math faculty had agreed at the end of the previous school year, afier several unpleasant grade challenges by unhappy students three years in a row, to institute a departmenswide system based strictly on test scores and homework grades, leaving no 100m for the suhjec- tive variables that wpically influence a borderline grade, The system was familiar: 90 c 100 was an A; 80 to 894 B, and so on. (The Litdeton grading system did not allow for plus or minus grades.) It was agree that with a borderline score {lor example, 89.2 or 69.7), a 5 or higher would yield the higher grade. And it was this ruling that affected Willie Lawrence. If his average were 89.5 instead of 89.3, he would automatically have an A for the marking period, and Jane would not be feeling so troubled, “Interesting that it should he Willie,” she chought as she walked back to the dining room, This was the second year that Willie was a student in one of fane’s math sections, and last year he had also been on the borderline. In fact, ic was students like Willie who caused Jane to finally supporc the new grading system. In the past, whenever the issue of a deputmentide grading system was raised, Jane always opposed it; she felt that teachers hae. Ie ee aa nner ep val Geertnumerical scores. But this past June when the issue came up again, Jane supported the more rigid sistem, to the surprise of her colleegues in the math department She vesponded to her colleagues’ yeactions by telling them zbout Wile Last year his grades were always on the edge; he would be just shy of the points needed for a B or an A. But I knew his history, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. He always got the higher grade from me, “What's his history?” wo of her colleagues asked ac once. “He'd never gotten good grades in math—felt like he couldn't do it. His standardized test scores wete prety high—percentiles in the seventies, Inut his grades were C’s and D's.” “So what happened?" “Well,” Jane continued, nodding at Ralph Jones, die math deparunent coordinator, “Ralph told me about Willie and sort of challenged me to reach him.” Ralph started to laugh. “That's Jane's polite way of saying Ebegyed hey to work with him, When Twas at the middle school, I hae Wilie for sixth- grade math, and he was one of the bigger Irustations of my teaching career. ‘The kid's so bright—straight A's in all his other subjects—bu: it was as if he had a block about math.” “Jane continued: "So something happened: for some reasen geomeny made sense to him, ancl he and I got along pretty well. He began to see himself as someone who could do OK in math, who could urderstand it So I gave him the benctit of the doubt each grading period. He gota B for the first wo marking periods and an A for the last rye. Each marking period he was right on the line=79, 88.7, you know.” “And that’s why you want more rigid system?” the teacher siting beside Jane asked. "Accualy, yes. After the first marking period, 1 felt funny each time I gave Willie the higher grade. I began to wonder if Willie engaged in this kind of brinksmanship on puspose. And I wondered if it was fair 0 the other kids, Would I have been as generous to a student that Ralph hadn't talked to me about, or one who wasn’t quite as engaging as Wilie? There's something to be said for agreed-upon standards; I wouldn't bave vo make a decision each ime.” Now Jane was remembering that conversation as she wrote Willie's grade in her book. She did not have to put herself through her typical enc-of ‘sesnarking-period vitnal of deciding if someone should be “pushed up™ to the higher grade. The answer yas in the numbers Jane thought back to the way she had introduced the new grading system when school started in the fall, and she recalled how naive her responses to the students’ questions had been. She hael gone into school the first day excited, as alvays, about meeting new students and getting them co be enthusiastic about learning more math, While her colleagues teased. her false seemed fc ee eh ie ee eclikely to get excited about math, Jane felt that her excitement had the potential to be contagious. Jane also thought the new grading system would he a help, and she wanted her students to sec it that way Jane began by putting the numbers 90-100, 80-89, 70-79, 6069, <60 on the board and then writing “A, B, C, D, F next to the numbe:s, “This is how your math grades will be figured this year. For every test and homework assignment, you will get a number grade. The tests will be worth twice the homework, The grades will be averaged at the end of each marking period, and your reportiard grade will be based on your nine- week average. That way you'll know exactly where you are as the marking period progresses, and grades won't be a surprise The students were waiting for her to go on. “Any questions?” One of the stuelents raised his hand. "Say you're between a cutoff, Say you have a 79 point something, What would your grade be?” Jine smiled. “If che ‘point something’ is point 5 or more, you get de higher grade. IF ts less than point 5, you get the lower grade.” ‘The sudent then asked, "So a 794 is a C, and a 79.5 isa BP Jane nodded. “Any other questions” “Do you think that’s fair?” Another student asked this question, Jane was surprised, "What do you think? Anyone else have an opinion fon this?” Several stuclents raised their hands, we its fair; you can’t argue with the numbers, the back of the room responded. Another student, a gic! siting near the front, said, “I dor’t think it’s fir at all, Why should a few tenths of a point make the difference between one grade and another? It would make sense maybe if we hac. pluses and minuses, but you know how much grades count in your class rank.” As other students started to join the argument, Jane raised her hand and called for quiet. "You know, none of this may mater. Civen what 1 know and what I hope you'll learn this year about probability, i¢s unlikely that we'll have t face this problem. But if we do, I promise that I'll wy to De fair.” Now, as Jane secorded Willie's grade, she wondered if anyone knew how to define jair. She sighed one more time, looked at the next name in her grade book, and began to average the student's grades. In class the next cay, interested students came up to Jane’sdesk during seatwork to check their calculations for the marking period «gainst hers When Willie came up, Jane agreed that his average was 89.3. “That's going ta be a B, Willie.” Willic seerned surprised. ‘Why, 3 pworienths of a point?” “You know the department's rules, Willie. An B9.3 is a B. You're going to have to push twvo-tenths more next cycle," Jane smiled at Willie to soften her comment, Willie shrugged and went back to his desk, one of the boys in iss Vincent? You going t zap me forThe next day, Jane found a note in her mailbox from David King, the high school principal, asking her to stop in to see him when she had a chance. King was a pleasant, thoughtful principal, interested in he students and supportie of his teachers. His reladonship with Jane was bused on a teasing camaraderie, They liked each other and got along well. fane walked into King's office during her preparation period, and he welcomed her with a smile as he motioned for her to wake a seat. “How's it going, Janey?” King was the only person in Jane's life except for her father who called her by her childhood nickname, and she responded, the way she had always replied since the first ime he had done it, “just fine, Davey. How about you?” "could be better. What I'm concerned about is William Lawrence. 1 took a look at his grades; they are in the office ready to be distributed, He's flown to a B in math, What happened?” “You're not going to believe this, but he did it again, An 80.3 average. Thad to give him a B. You know our department's nev policy.” David King frowned, “Jane responded to the frown. "You think I should change i” “L'm not going to tell you what to do, you know that. I'm just concerned. that a B for an average of 89.3 will kil what Title motivation that kid's got for working in your class, You know that his best math class ever was geometry with you last year, What kind of effect will a B have on him? “Tthought about ita lot last night, Dave. I should have called you instead of pacing the floor.” Jane grinned ruefully at her principal, ‘I just don’t think I can go against the department guidelines. I was in on the decision to grade like this; T supported it. F don't know what [ would tell the other teachers. King smiled back, came around his desk, and said, “You know that I won't challenge your final decision. But maybe you should dhink about this aalicde bit more before the grades become official. That's not too much to do for a man my age ancl weight, is 12” Jane left his office smiling and thought, “What a nice style he has. He just challenged my decision, and I still feel good. But now I've got to figure out what to do about Willie Lawrence's grade, And what do I tell the other math wachers if Tdon’e stick «o our plan?”