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SPECIAL REPORTS
Two grades: Mastery or working toward it
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Of all the things Metro High School does differently, its grading system might stand out the most.
The school operates on a tri-semester schedule, just like Ohio State University, with students taking three classes each term.
"It's a year's worth of work in a trimester," third-year student Zakia Nasrin said. "It was a lot of work, but we learned a lot."
To move on, they must demonstrate a mastery of the knowledge the entire way through. That means an "A" on every assignment and the same on the final project.
"At Metro, it's a high standard, but it's not unreachable," said first-year student Olivia Degitz, who was homeschooled during middle school.
All students who apply to Metro go through an interview process so they know what is expected. Even so, Degitz admitted to struggling a bit in her first term.
She failed the midterm in Intro to Engineering. But she worked one-on-one with her teacher, retook and passed the test and then went on to pass the class.
"Public school teachers aren't going to push you to do your very best," she said. "Teachers work with us to reach mastery. They want you to pass the class."
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said in his State of the State Address that such tactics may be needed in educating students in the Mountain State as well. He is proposing a bill that would require third- and eighth-graders to demonstrate mastery before moving on to the next grade. That could come in the form of after-school help, summer school or by repeating the grade.
Some Metro students said they feel almost cheated by the public education system that essentially allowed them to settle with a "C."
"I regret that the push wasn't there in elementary and middle school," said Micah Dillard, who is attending Metro with the hope of pursuing a political science degree at Ohio State.
"(Mastery or working toward it) was a scary concept when I came. It set the bar high. That idea, striving for mastery, will impact me all my life," he added.
Metro Principal Marcy Raymond, who spent nearly 20 years as a teacher and principal in the public school system, said the school system allows students to move through even though they haven't demonstrated that they fully understand a concept.
"Why are we allowing the variability with performance?" she said. "Here, we're flexible with time, but not performance."
