The letter grade that can save a slack student from summer school has disappeared from some metro Atlanta districts.

The D does not exist for high school students in Fulton, Cherokee, Forsyth and Hall counties. Officials say the D was dropped years ago when the state mandated 70 as the lowest passing grade. In districts such as Forsyth, the range for a D had been 65 through 69 percent.

But now the possibility of tying the HOPE scholarship to grade-point averages on a four-point scale rather than an 80 percent average has prompted a recommendation that all school districts use the same grading scale.

Such a move could bring back the D, something Fulton County is already considering.

A study commission charged with figuring out how to change the HOPE scholarship to save the program from financial ruin has recommended standardizing grading scales across Georgia. However, Kathy Cox, Georgia superintendent of schools, favors local control of such decisions.

The Legislature is expected to debate ways of changing the HOPE scholarship when the session starts in two weeks.

Metro school districts currently have the same scale for A's and B's, but not for C's and D's. When determining a student's grade-point average, each letter grade is assigned a number: 4 for A, 3 for B, 2 for C and 1 for D. If the HOPE scholarship adopts a minimum GPA -- most likely a 3.0 -- the absence of a D in some districts would give those students a slight edge over districts that have a D.

In Fulton County, teachers want to bring back the D so they can grade students more accurately, said Martha Greenway, a central office administrator. Teachers want the option of giving a D to a student who doesn't deserve to fail but whose work doesn't merit a C, she said. Not having a D puts pressure on teachers to give students a higher grade than they deserve. "They either get the C or they fail," Greenway said.

Teachers are generally loath to fail students who try to do the work, especially those who ask for help. Teachers must be prepared to document any failing grade they issue. Some say it's too much of a hassle, especially if the student is a senior expecting to graduate.

Fulton officials will gather parent feedback starting in February on several grading issues, such as how bonus points should be applied, how much homework should count toward a final grade, and whether to bring the D back.

Grades have always been important to high school students, especially those seeking a high class rank and entry into a competitive college. Yet grading scales have evolved so that teachers have fewer grading options.

Even pluses and minuses have long disappeared, probably because of technology: When teachers started entering grades electronically it was easier to have just a single letter, said Rhenida Rennie, a central office administrator in Forsyth County.

Parents raised questions about grading scales in the late 1990s, when the HOPE scholarship kept more smart kids in-state, driving up admissions standards at the University of Georgia. Many Georgia districts lowered the minimum average for an A from 93 percent to 90 percent and the minimum for a B from 83 to 80.

That didn't stop educators, parents and students from debating whether grading practices are fair.

Gordon Pritz, principal at Marietta High School, remembers the Marietta system's discussion over whether to keep the D. Officials decided in favor of keeping it.

"It is an indicator of some effort," he said.