As of the 2016-2017 school year, science fair will be graded as a half-credit class instead of a component of a student’s main science class. This change was made in order to reflect a more accurate science grade.  According to Glenn Zwanzig (Science), certain requirements like the EOC test are too simple, so they are affecting the students’ realistic grade.

 “Science fair is like being in a sport. They spend all this time doing the research, then they have to go home and do their other work as well,” Zwanzig said.

Henry Morgan (10, MST) said that he believes the the grade change is for the better.

“I like it because it gives you an opportunity to get an extra half credit for your grade, which can boost your GPA,” Morgan said, “and it also gives you more flexibility with your project.”

Morgan said he thought it was a problem that someone could do well in science class, but not on science fair. Some students’ grades would be negatively affected by the project, and it does not reflect the skills of the students. Morgan said that he believes the change fixed this problem.

Vinh Pham (10, MST) did not hear about this change until his teacher, Erin Moss (Science), told his class at the start of this school year. Pham said that he does not think this change will affect him, though he understands how this could impact others.

Jobi Jose (11, MST) is taking only AP science classes for the first time this year, so he thought that this change only applied to students who were not taking MST science classes.

“My parents are telling me to be a little bit more serious about science fair, and I think this may encourage me to take their advice because it’s the entire grade now, it’s not just 20%,” Jose said.