Monterey Peninsula Unified School District approves “pass/no pass” grading

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION)

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic are changing much more than just how learning is done - grading for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year is going to be different in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD).

On Tuesday, the district's Board of Education approved a plan that would largely get rid of the traditional letter grades.

The plan?

• _{Transition all high school students to “pass/no pass” grading for Semester 2 with an “Opt In” for traditional letter grades}
• _{Transition all middle school students to “pass/no pass” grading for Quarter 4}
• _{Transition all elementary students to receiving a written narrative progress report for 3rd trimester}

In a letter Wednesday, Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh writes, "this decision was not reached lightly, and included input from principals, instructional leads, district-level administration, guidance from university admissions officials and Monterey County superintendents. We are thankful for our partnership with our teachers and the Memorandum of Understanding signed to memorialize the temporary shift in grading practices to complete this school year."

Both the University of California and California State University systems have said they will accept "pass" grades from winter, spring, summer 2020 terms.

For high school students and families who wish to continue receiving letter grades, they can fill out this opt-in form. It must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 24.

Read the letter from the MPUSD Superintendent below: