This system will eliminate number or alphabetical grades and instead gives the students an overall grade of if they passed or failed the course.

Saranac Lake Central School District began its pass-fail grading system for the fourth quarter of the year.

“We felt, for our kids that are struggling, pass or fail might encourage them to get over the bar,” Superintendent Diane Fox said.

This new grading system will also make it easier for struggling students to get credit for their Regents exams, which were canceled this year.

“With the Regents being canceled now, (students) need only pass the class in order to get credit,” Fox said. This will allow for students who are having trouble to pass more easily as well.

Fox felt this grading option would not negatively affect the semester’s grades or the student’s future college applications.

“I think that across the country, schools are going pass or fail,” she said, “and so colleges will have to take that into consideration when they’re looking at students for admission.”

Saranac Lake is not alone in this change. The Lake Placid Central School District has also decided to enact a pass-fail grading option.

“We didn’t feel like we could assess kids accurately,” Superintendent Roger Catania said, “so we felt the pass-or-fail option was the best way to keep kids learning and to not really stress them out.”

Catania also believes this won’t affect students’ college applications.

“The colleges are going through this all the same, just as we are, and they’ve just got to react to everything, too,” he said.

According to a document found on the Lake Placid district’s website, the pass-or-fail option does not apply to Advanced Placement courses. Their AP courses are set to still receive numeric grades for the fourth quarter.

When it comes to their college courses offered through a Bridge program with North Country Community College, students enrolled with receive pass or fail for Lake Placid credit but will still have a letter grade for NCCC credit.