Bill Would Lower Failing Grades For Public School Performance To 39 Percent

RALEIGH, N.C. (CBS Local) -- North Carolina is considering a bill that would significantly lower the the scale used to grade the performance of state public schools.

A bill making its way through the state's General Assembly is proposing a 15-point grading scale, changing an F grade from a 59 percent to a 39 percent, CBS affiliate WNCN reported.

The state has been using a 15-point grading scale to rate schools for several years, but the scale is set to revert back to a traditional 10-point scale at the end of this school year if no action is taken.

To be clear, House Bill 145 applies to the grades schools receive based on performance, it would not change the scale used to grade students.

The new scale would be:

A: 100 to 85 percent
B: 84 to 70 percent
C: 69 to 55 percent
D: 54 to 40 percent
F: Anything below 40 percent

House Bill 145 passed its first reading in the House on Monday and has been referred to the Committee on Education K-12, The Fayetteville Observer reported.

If passed by the legislature, the new school performance scale would go into effect for the 2019-20 school year.