The parents in Isle of Wight School District have good reason for wanting to change the high school grading scale.

They claim the current scale makes it tougher for Isle of Wight students to get into colleges and receive scholarships.

Currently, students must earn between a 94 percent and 100 percent for an A, 86 to 93 for a B, 78 to 85 for a C and 70 to 77 for a D. Schools using a 10-point grading scale, which this group of IOW parents supports, use 90 percent to 100 percent for an A, 80 to 90 percent for a B, and so on.

Neighboring Franklin City Public Schools and Southampton Public Schools use the same grading scale as Isle of Wight.

Isle of Wight parent Leslie Effler last week told the school board research shows that colleges look at grade-point averages and don’t consider grading scales when making admission and scholarship decisions. This puts local students at a disadvantage.

The school board agreed to discuss the grading scale at its August meeting.

We’re assuming there would be some cost involved to change the grading scale. But we also assume it would be minimal. Maybe making changes to the computer system, where grades are maintained.

We live in a very competitive world, where college expenses continue to increase and making a living is getting tougher and tougher. It’s hard for parents to save money for their college-bound children.

But there are many scholarship opportunities out there. The harder working high school students will earn the better grades and have a better chance at scholarships. By going with a 10-point grading scale, it could give these kids that little extra edge to get those scholarships.

It’s certainly something to consider.