The proposed annual Pupil Progression Plan for St. John Public Schools is on the agenda for this Thursday’s meeting.

I have some serious issues with parts of it and will probably vote against it unless revisions are made.

The key one is on page 40, under what’s being called “Failure is not an option.”

It says that no grade lower than 50 will be recorded in a teacher’s gradebook.

I’ve discussed this several times with the Superintendent, who tells me that the idea is to allow students a second chance to complete the assignment and raise their grades.

As much as I admire the Superintendent, I disagree on at least three grounds:

1. It creates a two-tiered grading system in which a student whose grade is above 50 is NOT given a chance to improve his/her grade.

2. From what I understand, there is no requirement that the grades be averaged. The lower of the two is simply thrown out.

3. There is no District-wide standard. Each individual school is allowed great latitude, meaning that any given school may have either stricter or more lenient standards than another school.

The proposed change reflect a nationwide trend toward grade forgiveness — a trend which I believe is counter to a nationwide demand for higher standards.

I want St. John’s taxpayer-funded schools to continue the growth they have shown for over 10 consecutive years, but I have to be convinced that the growth is real — something I don’t believe the grade-averaging approach will truly show.

— Russ Wise, St. John Parish School Board member