Right now, if one student pulls a 91% in a class, his/her grade will read “A.” If someone in the same class worked their way to a 98%, their grade will read the same way. There is a significant grade difference between the two students’ grades, yet on paper they’re exactly the same. Skyline is part of the minority of colleges who still grade this way. Other schools operate under a plus/minus grading system in which students’ letter grades are followed by a plus or a minus according to the percentage they receive in the class, just like high school. But we’re not in high school anymore. For most of us, high school grade point averages are a thing of the past and no longer relevant. For those who are trying to transfer, the GPA they receive here at Skyline means everything. And don’t be mistaken; implementation of plus/minus grading will affect GPA. Right now, The SMCCCD Academic Senate is debating whether or not to incorporate this grading system in the semesters to come. 70 percent of faculty members in the district are in favor of plus/minus grading, but here at Skyline, the decision is practically split 50/50. We here at the Skyline View, who happen to be students who will be directly affected by the decision, are not in favor of plus/minus grading. The student who scored a 91% will be thrilled to be getting an A. The student who managed to get a 98% might feel it’s unfair to be categorized in the same way as the student who scored a whole 7% less, but his/her grade isn’t affected at all because of that. Plus, school isn’t a competition anyway. We’d rather have less quibbling over minor details and focus more on students succeeding. Sure, most colleges are doing it. But so what? Plus/minus grading is absolutely not necessary, and isn’t even really that helpful. Our GPA’s are at stake, and they’re way too important. This new grading system may not be significantly harmful in the long run, but it’s not significantly advantageous either. I guess we just don’t really see the point.