PHOENIX — All Arizona schools are closed and teaching online, but not all schools are taking the same approach to grading.
The differences from district to district can be big, leaving parents wondering how this will affect their kids' education.
"We’re not homeschooling. This is a crisis, we are crisis schooling," said Katie Fizz a high school teacher in the Paradise Valley School District.
She said as the classes have moved online, attendance has slowed down.
"It’s probably about one-third of my students are showing up and even less than that are showing up consistently," Mrs. Fizz said.
She says with everything going on around this pandemic, she’s not blaming the students or the parents for empty classrooms – or rather, Zoom chats.
"Everyone is doing the best with what they can with what their homes look like what their internet situation is like," Fizz said. "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and these kids are playing with points in a grade book."
Fizz said attendance for her senior year AP class is getting a higher level attendance, and that everyone she has dealt with in the education process is trying to do the best they can during the pandemic.
However, some parents believe the system that changes district to district is unfair.
"We are all in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat," said Chris, who did not want his last name made public.
Districts vary on how they are deciding to treat grades during the pandemic.
Chris's daughter attends the Scottsdale Unified District. All grades are proceeding as normal. However, classes are proving challenging for some. Chris said his daughter suffers from ADHD, and learning math online is creating concerns.
"One semester can make a big difference," Chris said.
The difference can mean not getting into the school of a child's dreams, needing to retake a class or losing out on thousands of dollars of scholarship money.
“It does translate into thousands of dollars and multiply that by four years and that can add up to a lot of money,” Chris said.
Chris' daughter is competing for these spots with districts around the state and country.
Families like Brook Giffin's. They live in the Paradise Valley School District. Paradise Valley decided to go by a policy where grades can either stay the same or get better from when student's time in physical school ended, but not get worse.
"It’s a bit of peace of mind since it has been uncertain," Giffin said. "I'm glad their grades don’t count right now, but I don’t want their brains to turn to mush if all they are learn this whole time is Tiger King and TikTok dances.“
Giffin said her children have an advantage when it comes to grades over other districts and wonders what would be fair.
Both systems by the school districts have flaws. The concern from some parents is a lack of consistency. However, Arizona's education system is one of local control, which means it is up to each individual district on how its grading policy will work.
MORE STORIES:
