HANSON — September 9, 2026 — Following swift blowback from families, educators, and students over a controversial plan to factor attendance, punctuality, and classroom participation into course letter grades, Whitman-Hanson Regional High School administrators announced Wednesday that the proposed “Engagement Rubric” has been placed on indefinite hold for the 2026–2027 school year.
The Full Story
Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Principal Dr. Chris Jones addressed the School Committee to publicly apologize for communication missteps and announce the immediate withdrawal of the proposed high school engagement grading rubric for the current school year. The proposal, intended to combat post-COVID chronic absenteeism by replacing defunct midterm exam grade slots with a 10% rubric assessment each semester, quickly drew widespread community concern over equity, unintended penalties for vulnerable students, and handbook violations.
Jones explained that the rubric stemmed from the district’s “Vision of the Graduate” initiative and internal data correlating poor class attendance directly with declining student academic performance. However, Jones acknowledged three key flaws that prompted administration to pull back: failure to clearly communicate the tool’s intent to families, logistical readiness among staff to grade engagement objectively, and an inadvertent breach of the approved student handbook. The high school’s current policy dictates that each quarter accounts for 25% of a student’s final grade; carving out 10% per semester for the rubric would have shifted grading weights to a 20-20-10 split without the necessary formal School Committee approval.
School Committee members voiced sharp concerns regarding the punitive nature of the rubric’s structure. Member Warren MacCallum cautioned that students struggling with deadlines would suffer compounding penalties: losing points on an assignment for being late, while simultaneously losing points under the rubric’s “time management” and “preparedness” criteria. Member Christopher Marks echoed that concern, noting that late work could effectively become a “triple hit” across various rubric categories, unfairly pulling down students with above-average academic performance.
Member Stephanie Blackman raised equity issues, citing the unrealistic expectation that middle-school-issued Chromebooks remain fully charged throughout an entire high school day, while noting the subjective nature of evaluating interpersonal skills or penalizing socially anxious students. Committee Chair Ryan Tressel also pointed out a policy discrepancy: high school handbooks only cite strict documentation for absences, leaving parents and students under the false impression that common childhood illnesses require a doctor’s note, whereas broader School Committee policy allows written parental excuses for temporary illnesses.
Interim Superintendent Dr. John Marcus emphasized that halting the rubric gives the administration time to step back, re-examine the underlying math, and ensure any future proposals truly incentivize attendance with “carrots” rather than punitive measures.
“The upshot of Dr. Jones backing up and the committee giving feedback as well as the community is that it provides us the time to review the rubric and the whole concept of how we fix the math and incentivize attendance and engagement.” — Dr. John Marcus, Interim Superintendent
