Dan Mitchell, the president of the District Academic Senate, is one of the foremost proponents of plus/minus grading. In an interview with La Voz, he defended the proposal against allegations that he said were based on misinformation.

Allegation: Plus/Minus Will Lower GPAs

The district looked at not only its own study, but also studies conducted by other colleges.

"What we can say is that in studies that have been done in colleges that did adopt, overall aggregate GPA didn’t change much at all," he said.

The Academic Senate looked at a study that speculated that GPAs might actually improve, because instuctors will be more likely to subjectively bump grades up smaller amounts, rather than a whole letter grade, he said.

Allegation: Plus/Minus Will Hurt Stronger Students

At a Student Senate meeting, Mitchell urged senators to think of not only the 3 percent of students who are 4.0, but also of the vast majority with lower GPAs. With plus/minus grading, it will become easier for students to push themselves harder in one class and see a change on their transcripts, he said.

"The typical community college student has a lot to benefit," he said. Besides, having a perfect GPA is not everything, he told the Senate.

"People get into Cal, UCLA, Harvard, [and] Stanford with a GPA that is not a 4.0.

Allegation: The District Study is Faulty

"The idea that [the district is] trying to hide something or make something up is pretty offensive" and "quite ludicrous," said Mitchell.

The study was designed and conducted by Bob Barr and Andrew LaManque, the district and De Anza institutional researchers, respectively. Despite the fact that instructors volunteered to participate in the study, the sample was effectively random, and covered all departments, said Mitchell. Additionally, every other study showed the same results.

Allegation: Plus/Minus Will Make it Harder to Transfer

Critics of plus/minus grading point to a study conducted by Gavilan Community College that shows a 20 percent drop in transfer rates the year plus/minus marks were included.

However, Mitchell pointed out that the grading system would only affect student success two years after being implemented. Additionally, it is nearly impossible for community colleges to get accurate data on transfers. Community colleges receive no feedback from four year universities and colleges that would allow for reliable tracking, Mitchell said.

Allegation: The District Academic Senate is Pushing this Despite Students’ Concerns

Had it wanted to, the Academic Senate could have forced through plus/minus grading two years ago, without a test period, Mitchell said.

However, because of input from students he proposed a pilot program.

"That’s not exactly evidence that we don’t care about students," he said.

The Student Senate is set to vote on endorsing plus/minus grading Wednesday.