DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — The Durham Public Schools Board of Education voted in favor of adopting a grading scale of 90-100 for state-required final exams and CTE final exams during Thursday night’s work session.

This would be in effect for the 2020-21 school year, including the assessments scheduled to be conducted in December and January as well as at the end of the year.

“The State Board of Education has given our Board the authority to weigh our final exam scores differently during this pandemic,” said DPS Board chair Bettina Umstead. “We wanted to send a message to our families that we hear their concerns, and to the state board and federal Department of Education that local districts need more flexibility regarding testing during this pandemic. We expect our students to continue to do excellent work with the support of their teachers all year long; that is what will drive their final grades in their classes.”

The state still requires students to take state assessments in person during the 2020-21 school year. The window for making up first-semester exams is through Feb. 15, 2021.

Students who do not make up the exam by this date will receive an incomplete score and will be given opportunities in the spring to complete the exam.

This decision only affects state assessments (EOC and CTE), not teacher-given final exams.

Although the final exam grade will be no less than a 90, students’ actual performance on the exams must still be recorded and included in the student’s education record.

The final exam grade of 90-100 will show up on the report card, but not on the official transcript.

The final exam grade of 90-100 will count as 20 percent of the student’s final grade; the remaining 80 percent will reflect the student’s work in the class.