Beginning with the 2018–2019 school year, Class IV students’ grades will not appear on their Milton Academy transcript. Students will still be assessed and will receive graded work day-to day in their courses, but the transcript will only reflect the credit earned for the Class IV year. Upper School faculty voted for this groundbreaking change after the Curriculum Committee presented their report that examined meaningful short- and long-term changes across the Class IV curriculum.
“Students that come to Milton, they’ve had A grades,” says Jackie Bonenfant, academic dean and math faculty member. “They may or may not have spent a lot of time on their homework. They may not have needed to meet a teacher outside of class. At Milton, the expectations can be different; what we ask of them is significant. Their old study habits may not continue to work. They may not know how to approach a teacher and ask for help. They may not even know they need help. For some, the transition can be shocking.”
In the past, a low grade for a freshman during interim grades in November could leave the student in a “hole.” Moving from a low C average to a B range by the end of the semester was a difficult, sometimes impossible, task. Adds Rod Skinner, director of college counseling, “the effects of that first-quarter ‘hole’ can carry all the way to a student’s senior year. What should be a hiccup of transition becomes a shock to the system, a deeply felt disruption of a student’s sense of self and confidence. Some students can take years to recover. And for those students applying for need- or merit-based aid in college, a set of subpar grades in ninth grade can knock them out of the running for much-needed financial aid monies.” Class IV students will still receive interim November grades, but the next set of grades will not be a continuation of those interim grades. It will be a quarterly grading system with each quarter independent of the others.
“Instead of some students thinking, ‘I thought I was good student. What happened?’ we want students to be able to look at distinct quarterly grades, hopefully seeing positive trends and improvements as they figure out their study habits and develop teacher relationships while lessening some of the pressure that comes in ninth grade,” says Jackie.
Upper School Principal David Ball and Dean of Teaching and Learning Indu Singh discussed the changes with incoming Class IV parents during Revisit Days in April and Jackie spoke with Middle School parents of eighth graders.
“We hope that this, along with other changes we can implement in Class IV, will make for an experience where kids feel excited to be here, intellectually challenged, confident about what they can do, and really looking forward to their whole career at Milton,” says Jackie.