Evaluation of Tennessee's High School Uniform Grading Policy
September 2011
Author: Susan Mattson
In 2006, Tennessee implemented a Uniform Grading Policy to standardize the grading scales used by Local Education Agencies (LEAs or school districts) to calculate high school grade point averages (GPAs). Prior to the Uniform Grading Policy, school districts calculated high school GPAs using different letter grade ranges. The differing letter grade ranges among districts meant that students’ chances of qualifying for Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarships (TELS) based on their high school GPA could vary from district to district. This report is in response to Public Chapter 679 of 2004, which directs the Comptroller’s Offices of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) to evaluate the uniform grading system four years after the policy’s implementation.