Widening the grading scale of the Vicksburg Warren School District doesn’t necessarily mean lower standards.

It could mean that, but it doesn’t have to.

On Oct. 30, I joined the party as Sen. Thad Cochran was thanked by Beechwood Elementary students for his role — said to be the key role — is restoring a federal allocation to the national Reading Is Fundamental program. I said at the time, as I often have, anyone who gets up on a stump to preach about how schools have gone somewhere unpleasant in a handbasket should first have visited a school.

Beechwood is a bright, clean, disciplined place where faculty members pour their hearts and souls into guiding young people to learn the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic that will order their lives. The children were alert, attentive and eager.

No observant person could walk out of that building thinking that education was strapped for cash, that teachers were indifferent or that expectations of and opportunities for students were nearly as abysmal as the naysayers love to spout.

Later that same day, trustees of the Vicksburg Warren School District voted 4-1 to join the stampede of states and other districts converting to a 10-point grading scale. No longer will a 93 numeric average be the minimum for an A. An average of 90 will do. No longer will an average of 64 equal failure in a course. That number has dropped to 59.

The 10-point scale has been used by universities — some of them pretty demanding — for generations, so a 10-point scale is not unheard of.

Far more important, classroom teachers will still be preparing tests (or at least some tests) and assigning homework and other graded exercises. They can make a class as hard or as easy as they want.

The biggest variable of all will continue to be student interest.

It’s a sweeping thing to say, but I believe that unless there is a specific learning disability or mental handicap, any student who wants a high school diploma can earn one. A different grading scale doesn’t change that a bit.

But here’s the condemning part: Any student who shows no interest in learning will still fail.

To some point, it is the responsibility of teachers, especially teachers of the very young, to excite children to learn.

But at some point, the burden shifts to the students themselves — reinforced by parents — to take up the challenge.

When I listen to high-school teachers, especially the classroom veterans, the most depressing statements they make are about the increasing number of students who show complete indifference. These students often show hostility to learning, as if it’s something they are being required to do for someone’s interest other than their own.

This great and growing disconnect — that there’s no personal gain to be derived from accepting what school teachers are offering — explains, I believe, why so many students drop out as soon as they can. It’s not because they failed a course in which the grading scale was too tight. It’s because they decided not to put forth any effort at all.

Vast amounts of time, effort and money are being put forth on efforts — some real, some gimmicky — to show the relevance of education.

But in the final analysis, if a student doesn’t want to pass, he or she won’t pass. Students who try hard, even those not blessed with super brainpower, will find a way to achieve.

It’s never a mistake to increase rather than lower expectations. It is a mistake to believe a grading scale has more relevance than it does.

•

Charlie Mitchell is executive editor of The Vicksburg Post. Write to him at Box 821668, Vicksburg, MS 39182, or e-mail cmitchell@vicksburgpost.com.