40/70 rule hurts grad rates

The 40/70 rule shouldn’t be in effect at David Douglas as it could cause many problems for juniors and seniors.

The 40/70 rule is a rule that consist of the standards that you're either in class 70% of the time with a grade above a 59.5% or if you receive a grade below 40%, students whose attendance is low will receive a W as your letter grade meaning you must retake the whole class again in your next year of school.

This can be problematic due to the fact you can't retake a class in summer school if you under achieve everything previously stated, which may cause students to not graduate. This is a ridiculous rule due to the fact you can't retake the class in summer school. Summer school seems like the most efficient answer in most cases due to all the things that could've prevented you from passing your class or achieving 70% in class. 

There are so many things that could have gotten in the way, such as poor mental health, after school programs, a rough sleep schedule or not having a way to get to school. Many of these things students can't control. 

I understand we take responsibility for our performance at school and if we fail I feel like it's a more equal consequence to take time out of the summer to retake the class, not to chip away at the time in the regular school year when we should be focusing on the classes needed to pass in that year. Students also will not be able retake these classes in credit recovery, this is an odd choice because credit recovery is quicker, you could finish multiple classes in the span of a semester instead of wasting away your time in one class you've already taken but this is exactly what you'll be doing. In my experience with this rule I received an x for my math grade last semester, but not only can I not retake that class and receive the credit in the summer even if I pass math this semester I will still have to retake the whole class which makes no sense and a massive waste of time.This rule only prevents students from graduating when they're supposed to