Friday the 13th turned out to be quite the lucky day for students at Oxford High School.
Every one of them got an ‘A? on all their final exams and they didn’t have to take a single test.
‘At the end of the day, it doesn’t really change a grade that much,? explained Superintendent Dr. Bill Skilling, noting that depending on the teacher or class, finals count for anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of a student’s overall grade.
The decision to give out all A’s was a result of the high school being closed all last week due to a power outage caused by the severe storm on Sunday, June 8.
‘I’ve never been through anything like this in my life,? Skilling said. ‘I’ve been in education 28 years and I can’t recall ever having a day off in May or June due to weather.?
Skilling said the school didn’t regain power until Friday afternoon around 2:30-3 p.m.
Students were required to report to OHS for three hours Friday morning to turn in their textbooks and meet with their first through sixth-hour classes.
When he first heard the plan, formulated by Principal Mike Schweig and the high school staff, to give out A’s to everyone, Skilling admitted ‘it didn’t sound right.?
‘But when you start looking at all the variables, it seemed to make the most sense,? he said. ‘I didn’t see a better solution.?
The main priority in Skilling’s mind was to ‘not disadvantage? any students, particularly those who needed to take a final exam to pass a class and those who wanted to in order to improve their grade for things like potential scholarships and class ranking.
With school closed Monday and Tuesday, there was no opportunity to review the material, so the decision was made early in the week to nix the finals schedule.
Only students who requested a final exam would take one, others would be given a ‘modified test? preceded by a short review. ‘That was when we still had days left,? Skilling said.
But when the school was still closed Wednesday and Thursday, even this idea became impossible.
Under the union contract, the teachers could not be compelled to work after June 13. Skilling said he knows some teachers would have volunteered to stay, but there was no way to get all of them.
‘You have teachers leaving on vacation. We had some that were leaving (last) weekend,? he said. ‘Logistically, there was no way to pull it all together.?
There were also student plans to be considered, everything from family vacations to the Boys State and Girls State programs, which began earlier this week.
Skilling said the idea of not including a final exam grade and just averaging the two nine-week grades was considered, but it was not fair to kids who needed to take a final to pass or wanted to improve their grade.
Ultimately, just handing out A’s was ‘the best thing they could come up with to not hurt the kids,? according to Skilling.
‘Nobody’s disadvantaged. That was the important thing,? he said.
Skilling admitted some kids will undoubtedly ‘catch a break? from this decision. ‘It can make the difference between passing and failing for some,? Skilling said.
But the good outweighed the bad.
‘No matter what plan they came up with or decided on, it wasn’t going to be a perfect plan,? Skilling said. ‘There just wasn’t any good solution to this.?
He noted that Central Michigan University gave out A’s on all its finals back in the 1980s when a severe storm and flooding forced the school to cancel exams.
Skilling said he was amazed by the numerous phone calls he received from students concerned about the cancellation of finals. ‘When I was a kid, I didn’t even know who the superintendent was,? he said. ‘And even if I did, I’d never think of calling him.?