Last Wednesday, the student senate discussed a proposal by the Foothill-De Anza academic senate to implement plus/minus grading as early as next fall. The senate encouraged students to voice their opinions on the issue by filling out forms that the senate has provided or talking to a senator in person.

Their recommendation was based on a pilot program, which showed that students’ grades fell a statistically insignificant amount when plus/minus grading was implemented. (see analysis story).

However, the study was not credible, as less than one fifth of the departments at De Anza participated in the study, said Glen Ho, vice president of Student Rights and Campus Relations.

The survey sample also did not include any science or math classes, in which many students struggle, Ho said.

Additionally, DASB research showed that when Gavilan Community College adopted plus/minus grading, its transfer rate dropped 20 percent. Ho was careful to point out that this did not prove that plus/minus grading caused the decrease in transferring, however.

Saleha Pirzada said that the academic senate was pushing the idea because FHDA was the leading community college district.

If students "get used to [plus/ minus grading] now, it won’t be so much of a clash" when they transfer to UCs and CSUs, she said.

There will be two workshops, hosted by Lydia Hearn, president of the De Anza academic senate, and Dan Mitchell, president of the FHDA academic senate, to discuss and explain the plus/minus program. The academic senate also recommended the program because the De Anza Student Body senate had previously endorsed it.

However, the student senate had later voted against it, said John Cognetta, the student senate adviser.

The senate will vote on the issue Wednesday.

Plus/Minus Grading Study

The result of the plus/minus grading pilot study was released on Jan. 31, stating "[the study] shows no substantial adverse impact on students."

In April 2004 the Board of Trustees approved implementing plus/minus grading unless the pilot study from Fall 2004 through Fall 2005 demonstrated "substantial adverse impact on students."

Since then, professors have had the choice of assigning plus/minus grades with no calculation on students’ GPAs. The research focused on students with at least three plus/minus sections in order to study the impact precisely. Students’ GPAs were recalculated using the plus/minus grading scheme, then compared to those students under the current grading system.

Figures refer to the report released. The full study can be found at research.fhda.edu/researchreports/ researchreports.php. Under author, click "IR&P Office" to search for it.

Among the 7,330 students with a 3 or more plus/minus sections:

– 23 percent earned 0.05 from 2.78 to 2.83.
– 36 percent maintained the same GPA.
– 41 percent dropped 0.05 from 3.11 to 3.06.

Overall, there is a 0.01 decrease in the average GPA from 2.92 to 2.91 under plus/minus grading scheme.

Compiled by Mya Kwan

This article appears in the Feb. 13, 2006 print edition of La Voz.