Friday, November 3rd, WP marking period came to an end. Students received a grade that reflects the quality of their work for first quarter. This will be averaged with the second quarter grade to make the semester grade, which will go on a transcript. 

Why is the marking period important?

When asked why the end of the marking period is important, college counselor Mr. Cordova said, “It sets a tone on how you’re doing for the rest of the semester, so if you mess up in the beginning of the marking period, you have to catch up; but, if you do well in the beginning of the marking period, you are kind of cruising, knowing that the rest of the semester, even if you messed up a little bit, you’ll be okay.” 

Tips on getting your grades up

Cordova states, “Do your work. I think a lot of teachers here don’t expect you to know everything, but they expect you at least try. If you don’t do the bare minimum, which is to try, then you’re already setting yourself in a bad light. Certain things like math, for example, if you get the wrong answer, you get the wrong answer, but we want to know that you’re trying. I think we like to reward effort more than the actual right or wrong answer because it shows that you actually care. When you don’t care, then obviously it’s not gonna work, so the biggest thing is to just try.”

A few juniors and seniors were interviewed during the marking period about how they felt about their grades from last year’s marking period till now. 

A WP junior (who wished to remain anonymous) said,  “last marking period I could’ve done better. I only failed two classes and most of the classes were easier last year. I only failed Latinx and History. I passed my regents classes.”

Devinaire, another WP junior, stated, “last semester was important for my grade. As a Student athlete you should be doing this for your GPA and to get into good colleges and work on improving in basketball and in class. I felt like in Global I improved. I got a 90 in that class. I felt like I’m improving as a student, a student athlete putting the work in other classes and in class”.

A senior student (who wished to remain anonymous) stated, “I’m B+ and up this is genuinely the best I’ve ever done. It’s been a great marking period, and I’m genuinely proud of myself. My class is easy and again my grades are great.”

According to the the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Study (HSTS), “the overall grade point average (GPA) earned by high school graduates increased to 3.11 in 2019, compared to 3.00 in 2009.” This means that students are improving in the country and that the grade point average necessary to get into college is going up, making it more competitive.