Houston ISD expected to finalize new grading policy in coming days

Like every other district in the state, Houston ISD has been navigating how to adapt its grading practices after shifting the entire district to at-home learning, and officials said the district is close to finalizing a policy.

"We had to look at both our six-week and nine-week cycles and see where everyone was in that process. We've made a lot of progress. We've developed a draft and have shared it with principals," interim Chief Academic Officer Yolanda Rodríguez said. "A final determination will be made soon."

The policy could be released this week or next week, she said.

Members of the board of trustees have been kept in the loop, she said, but the final decision will be made by the administration. The policy itself will follow Texas Education Agency guidance, she said.

Under a policy memo from the TEA, local districts have broad discretion in determining how to handle grades and class rankings. One requirement is that parents must be apprised of their student's performance at least once every 12 weeks, and if a student is consistently underperforming, that notice should be given after three weeks. But districts are not necessarily required to assign letter grades.

Fort Worth ISD began a pass-fail grading policy on April 6, and officials at Dallas ISD have discussed adopting it as well.