Teachers opinions on the A+

Many teachers at Northwest High School dislike the A+ when grading, because of the ways it is misused and causes immense stress for students. 

The grading system at Northwest is fairly unique because the majority of local schools either do not have a GPA boost from the A+ or do not have the A+ at all. These schools include ADM, Dallas-Center Grimes, Dowling Catholic, Des Moines Public Schools and many others. The A+ is a representation of perfection or near perfection. It ranges from 98%-100% meaning students who want this highly coveted letter are expected to be almost spotless on every single assignment. This can place an exorbitant amount of pressure on students to be perfect in anything they do. 

Ms. Colsch, a Creative Writing and English III teacher at Northwest High School, shared, “Students put this ridiculous amount of pressure on themselves to get from a 97.8% to a 98% when there really is no discernible difference in their skill level.” 

There is an immense amount of pressure put on students to do any and everything in order to push themselves past the 98%. Whether that is extra retakes or an abundance of stress over each assignment. This not only takes focus away from the actual learning of the subject but also makes students’ prime focus grades. When students’ focus is placed on achieving a grade, the learning of concepts is a secondary priority, making schools fall short of their entire goal.  

“It really [causes] this focus on deficit thinking like ‘what have I done that’s bad,’ but if you have a 96 or a 97 you’re not doing anything bad,” Mr. Werley, English III and IV teacher explained. 

The use of the A+ can also perpetuate a belief that anything less than perfection is failure. It creates a culture in which there is no room for error, no room for mistakes, and no room to grow. In this grading system, students have to be perfect from the first day of the class to the last. This is such a flawed system for students to become accustomed to especially when it is widely known that mistakes are the way not just students, but people learn best. By instilling a belief in students that in order to be successful they cannot fail, it unintentionally puts students on a path for fear of failure and perfectionism. 

Mr. Edgerly, ELP and Finite Math teacher said, “It sets up an unrealistic expectation that [receiving an A+] will always happen.” 

High school students should be expected to grow in their knowledge and progress through the school year, yet the existence and use of the A+ contradicts that belief. As grades differ from class to class this can instill a feeling of failure each time an A+ is not received. 

 “I very rarely [give out A+’s], especially at the sophomore level where they are still growing…it is very hard to say they have mastered it,” Honors English II and AP Language and Composition teacher Mrs. Ehlers voiced. 

This is a clear example of students not being able to receive an A+ because they still need to grow. It is an unreasonable expectation for students at the sophomore level to have mastered junior and senior level material, yet when students receive anything below an A+ it feels like a failure due to the culture created around this system. There is no universal solution to fix all the problems surrounding the grading system and the impact it has on Northwest’s students, however, due to the overwhelming negative impact it has, ridding of the A+ would be an obvious place to start.