In the upcoming 25-26 school year, the Millard school district will switch from a 7-point grading scale to a 10-point grading scale. A growing number of school districts across the country are adopting a 10-point grading scale, a growing movement that is being praised by some as a step toward academic fairness but criticized by others as grade inflation.
Under the new system, students earn an “A” for scores between 90–100, a “B” for 80–89, and so on—replacing the previous, more stringent scale that often required a 93 or higher for an A. Proponents say the change aligns more closely with college grading systems and reduces pressure on students.
“We mainly switched to a 10-point grading scale because it’s what all colleges are using,” principal Greg Tiemann said. ”We also decided that it would be a good time to switch because a lot of other schools are moving to this grading scale.”
This shift toward alignment with college standards isn’t just being driven by administrators. Teachers, too, are seeing the benefits of adopting a more widely recognized grading scale though they also acknowledge the complexities it may bring to the classroom.
“I think it makes sense,” social studies teacher Matthew Heys said “The 10-point scale is more common. When you consider how much overlap there is now between the high school and college experience (dual enrollment, early college, AP, academies, etc.), it probably makes sense to ’speak the same’ language on the transcript as everyone else is, I agree with this new change. As a practical matter, though? Here’s what’s likely to happen. Teachers will, consciously or not, recalibrate their expectations so that the aptitude and effort required to ‘earn the A’ or ‘pull a C’ remain the same. Remember, while we know it can make students’ eyes roll, our perspective on all this is about growth, mastery, knowledge, skills — the process.”
Several states have already made the switch in recent years. Early research from those districts suggests modest improvements in student morale and GPA averages, but critics argue it’s too early to judge long-term effects on college readiness.
“I think that it will be very beneficial in the long run,” junior Jacob Larson said. ”Millard is a great district as it has a higher level curriculum than other districts around the state, but with that some students who aren’t getting straight A’s can be at a disadvantage compared to those at other schools. The new grading scale will level that out so that someone with a 75% average won’t be getting a 1.0 GPA.”
As the 2025–2026 school year rapidly approaches, the transition from a traditional 7-point grading scale to a simpler 10-point grading system is gaining traction and may soon become increasingly widespread within our modern educational landscape.