When it comes to grades, we want to help students climb from the pit.

In a traditional grading system, the "zero" grade can have some relatively extreme effects. At Borgia, we don't want the effect of the zero to change student grades so drastically that they no longer have the letter grade that represents one's knowledge and skills. 

For instance, "Matt" may be a very talented student who thoroughly understands physics. However, if Matt fails to turn in a couple of assignments, his grade wouldn't indicate this. Let's assume that Matt earned the following grades:

Quiz A: 36 out of 40

Test A: 100 out of 100

Lab A: 75 out of 80

Project: 0 out of 100

Quiz B: 40 out of 40

Test B: 98 out of 100

Lab B: 80 out of 80

Matt has an "A" or "B" on all six of the assignments he completed, but that one zero changes his overall grade to a 79%, "C." In fact, if we eliminate that missed assignment entirely, he has a 97.5%, A. If Matt had turned in that assignment and got the lowest of passing grades (70%), he would still have a 92.4%, which is just a tenth away from rounding to an A.

If we at Borgia want our grades to mean something and we want them to clearly communicate what a student knows and is able to do in a subject area, we need to recognize that he is an "A" student in Physics and make sure the grade communicates accordingly. However, that doesn't mean that we just let Matt off the hook for the project.

At Borgia, we believe that a "zero" is simply letting a student off the hook. Instead of Matt's immaturity causing him to settle for a "C" in Physics, we want our teachers to do everything possible to get students to finish those assignments. We want our students reminded of missing assignments regularly; we want them to spend some time in detention as a consequence for failing to turn the assignment in when the other students turned them in.

Anything less than this is what some educators call "pit waving." If a student has fallen in a pit, would you want a teacher that climbs in with you and helps you to climb out, or a teacher who says "oh well" and waves "goodbye" from the top. I want teachers who aren't afraid to do everything possible to help students climb from their pits.

At Borgia, we may sometimes put a zero in the gradebook initially. This is one "reminder" to students that they have failed to do something. However, once we have that assignment, we are going to give our students full credit so that their grades continue to reflect what they know and can do.

One last point: to some, this may not seem fair. Why does Matt get the same credit for an assignment that "Jenny" turned in on time, last week? This is perhaps the hardest part of this philosophy for students and parents to come to terms with. However, it is easier to understand if it is considered that our students have several variables each day. Nothing is ever "fair" just because it is equal. Some students have a short drive to school; others have a long drive. Some have food on the table each night without a worry; others go to work after school to help support their families. This list of variables cold get extensive. However, I believe that high school is a very challenging time of life for many of our students. At no other time in life will they have to be responsible for becoming experts in eight different school subjects combined with responsibilities at home and work, as well. 

We are asking our students to pay attention to only themselves. If students make sure that their grades fairly represent what they, as individuals, know and are able to do, we will be releasing some very accurate communication of student knowledge and skills to colleges.