By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The Board of Education voted unanimously on Thursday to approve a new grading policy that allows students to pass if they fail four marking periods but pass the Regents, as long as their overall average is 65 or above.

Under the new rule, the four semesters and the Regents all count toward 20 percent of a student’s final grade.

But, when a parent pointed this out during the meeting’s public comment period, some board members said they may have misread the policy prior to the decision.

“That’s not how I read this,” Board President John Boyce said. “We’ll review it.”

“A student can fail all four quarters but pass the Regents … and pass the course,” Robin Wolpin of Massena said. “It doesn’t sit well with me.”

“Maybe I misunderstood it,” board member Loren Fountaine said, later adding that the board could amend the policy at a future meeting.

The controversial section of the grading policy reads thusly:

“Student scores on NYS Regents or NYS Proficiency Exams (final/cumulative) will count 20% toward the final course grade. If a student fails a course and passes the corresponding NYS Regents or NYS Proficiency Exams, the final grade will be the greater of the minimum passing grade (65), or the mathematical average of the summed four marking period grades and the score of the NYS Regents or NYS Proficiency Exams (all weighted at 20%).”

The entire policy can be viewed on the district’s webpage. Go to www.mcs.k12.ny.us, on the left-hand menu click “Board of Education,” then click ”BOE Links & Agenda Items” on the drop down. Click on the link to “Proposed Grading Policy 8445 – As revised 1/16/14.”