All GCS students in grades three through 12 will be graded on a 10-point grading scale, instead of a seven-point scale, starting in the 2015-16 school year.

The Guilford County Board of Education approved the change in policy at its meeting Tuesday night. The state requires the change for high school students and gave local school boards the option of making the scale consistent throughout their districts.

The board opened the policy change up for a 30-day public comment period in April. During that period, GCS received 27 responses in favor of the policy change, 10 suggestions to keep the current seven-point scale and four general questions or comments about the policy.

One response from Colton Weaver, in favor of the policy change, explains the change could even the playing field for GCS students applying to college.

“Considering many other states are already on the 10-point scale, altering ours would allow GCS students to be more nationally competitive,” says Weaver.

The weighted grade scale for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and honors courses will also change starting with the freshman class of 2015-16 following North Carolina’s Board of Education Policy.

The grading scale for K-2 students will remain the same.