Sanford High School Photo: Sanford School Department
By Tiffani Bourque
Sanford school officials are working to correct a decade-old grading error and ensure the oversight does not unfairly affect students.
The issue involves a weighted-grade policy approved by the Sanford School Committee in December 2016 that was never fully implemented. The policy called for eligible dual-enrollment courses at Sanford Regional Technical Center to receive honors-level weighting when calculating students’ grade-point averages and class rankings.
Superintendent Matt Nelson said officials discovered the discrepancy Sept. 24 after a student questioned information on her transcript.
“Everyone just assumed that the 2016 school committee decision was implemented,” Nelson said.
A review revealed that the district had carried out most of the changes, but staff had overlooked the honors-level weighting for SRTC dual-enrollment courses.
Nelson acknowledged the district’s responsibility for the error.
“At the heart of this, it was an adult mistake. It was an oversight. Our students had nothing to do with it,” he said.
Nelson emphasized that students’ actual grades and earned credits have not changed. The oversight affects only how certain courses are weighted when calculating GPAs and class rankings.
For the Class of 2027, the district determined that fully applying the original policy after six completed semesters would move 19 students up in class rank, 91 down and leave 145 unchanged. Nelson explained that students moving down would not necessarily have lower GPAs; their relative rankings would change as other students received additional weighting.
Recognizing that seniors are already navigating college and scholarship applications, the committee approved a solution allowing these students to use either the existing calculation or the one reflecting the 2016 policy.
The high school counseling department will automatically send colleges the transcript reflecting the higher GPA unless a family requests otherwise. The district has also added an explanatory note to transcripts outlining the two calculation methods.
“No senior should be disadvantaged by a mistake that they didn’t make,” Nelson said.
Despite the district’s efforts to address the issue, the announcement has generated frustration among some parents and students, particularly over the possibility of changes to class rankings so late in students’ high school careers.
Former school committee member Kendra Williams, who participated in the original discussions, said the 2016 policy aimed to address inequities in how the district recognized students’ academic accomplishments.
“If you were a student who did a two-year program and you got straight A’s, that didn’t factor into your class rank,” Williams recalled. She explained that students pursuing technical education could find themselves at a disadvantage when competing for class rank, college admission and scholarships.
While the committee passed the original change in 2016 with a 4-1 vote, members delayed implementation until fall 2017. “They didn’t think it was fair to shift things immediately,” Williams said.
Both Williams and Nelson pointed to the significant transitions occurring throughout the district during that period, including construction of the new high school and technical center, the relocation of schools and changes in administrative leadership. “There was a lot going on within our school system at that time,” Williams said.
Although those circumstances may help explain how the oversight occurred, Williams believes the original goal of recognizing students’ accomplishments remains important. “It needed to change,” she said.
With a remedy in place for current seniors, the school committee is now turning its attention to the Class of 2028 and future students.
Nelson said the committee also wants to examine how educational opportunities have evolved since 2016. Dual-enrollment offerings have expanded, and changes in state law now allow certain career and technical education programs to provide integrated academic credits toward graduation requirements.
The timeline is at the forefront of committee members’ minds because the current semester ends in January, and students will soon begin selecting courses for next year.
For current seniors, the approved transcript options provide an immediate remedy during the college application process. For juniors and younger students, a new plan will determine how the district calculates weighted grades and class rankings in the future.
While the oversight has created an unexpected challenge, Nelson and Williams emphasized the importance of finding a fair, transparent solution that recognizes students’ work and provides families with clear expectations for the future.
The school committee scheduled a workshop for Monday, Nov. 16 to plan the next steps.
Tiffani Bourque is a Community Reporting Fellow receiving training through the Journalism New England Career Lab to do civic reporting that provides people in towns across New England with the information they need to be engaged in their community.
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