Changes to grading for all MCPS high school students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with not rounding X9.5 ti 10. Isn’t it a very basic rule of math?

I also do not get why all four grading periods are equal. This is still screwy as was the previous way. Why not simply count all grades earned within the semester toward the final grade?

NP here.

If someone wishes to have a strict view of "at least X%", then "at least X%" means you have to be at X.0, Not (X-0.5). For example, an A is at least 90% would mean an A is at least 90.0, not 89.5.

I am fine with that, quite honestly. Not all college profs allow 0.5 bump.

I am 51 years old and had a numerical grading system. Even in the olden days, when someone was ended up with an 89.5, it was rounded to a 90. Of all of MCPS’s policies, rounding is the least controversial/probelmatic.

It's doesn't really matter one way or the other what the cut off is, but there's no argument in favor of rounding a cutoff. If you want the cutoff to be 89.5, make the cut off 89.5, and say it is 89.5! Don't make the cutoff 89.5 but lie and say it's 90.

Anyone who doesn't understand this doesn't deserve a high school diploma, and probably was educated in MCPS.

The problem is MCPS's grading scale just uses whole numbers. It says a B is 80-89 and an A is 90-100. So 89.5 has to be rounded, and rounding up is the standard. If they don't want to round, they should change the scale to say a B is 80-89.9, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would students not get into college? These changes just better reflect the learning in class over a full semester rather than the better quarter.

I don't think it's about not getting into college at all, it's about some kids having a harder time getting into the more selective colleges they want, especially if the colleges are still thinking "well we know MCPS has rampant grade inflation, so getting any Bs is a big deal." And that it's especially frustrating for kids who would have made different decisions about what classes to take what year if they knew this was coming.

I personally think that the benefits for the student body as a whole of applying it to everyone immediately are important enough to balance out those concerns, but I do see why it bothers people.

Kids who are unable to persevere through these changes don’t deserve the more selective universities. This will separate those who truly want it from those who are only half in it. This is not keeping kids from the high grades- only making sure they work throughout the whole semester to EARN the grade! A B might knock them out from HYP, but certainly not selective colleges!

Agree with this. It will be clear who the true A students are. They deserve that edge in elite college admissions.

Let's be real. Grades measure attention and time commitment to irrelevant detail, and concordance with teacher's personal biases.

Maybe in elementary, but not in the higher level math, science, and English classes. Some students are just more gifted in some subject areas and/or work harder. There’s no reason not to reward those students!

Isn’t it pretty to think so?
It really depends on the class and teacher. Even in sciences, some teachers require picayune commitment to materially irrelevant steps. It really varies a lot among the different teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op is right that it’s weird to average the two quarters instead of skit giving a semester grade. For the AP classes there are almost no assignments 4th quarter so it’s weird to weigh it as heavily as third quarter.

I have a rising junior and somehow missed the earlier thread about this. Amy change is incredibly nerve wracking at this point. We are already so stressed out aboit the whole thing. And I feel like the first year always has tough adjustments as the teachers figure it out. I really hate for the experimentation heat to be his junior year when we’re already sort of mentally hanging on by a thread. Teachers will neeec to develop new finals that they’ve never given before and it won’t necessarily all work immediately for all teachers. It might be helpful if they all bring back curved grading — my oldest is at a challenging college and often the teacher overshoots on the final, everyone gets a D and so the teacher says “sorry, I wrote a bad test — don’t worrry I’ve curve it.” Currently McPS teachers don’t have that ability. I just think there are gojng to be unanticipated wrinkles that will take a year or two to iron out.

What are you talking about no assignments 4th quarter for AP classes. There are plenty of assignments. There has to be because all the students who are not seniors need grades. It’s one of the reasons why I and others absolutely hate when school starts and how classes are setup because for AP students they have to take exams early May at almost the start of 4th qtr but then have like 6wks remaining for class. My kid has had whole projects and papers that had to be done post exams.

Are you aware of what those assignments actually are? As a mother of current junior, I found the multiple assignments requiring students to plan trips interesting but not exactly reflective of the subject.

Yes I’m acutely aware of the assignments are and can see the grades. And while even my kids will admit these assignments are more interesting and enjoyable, the absolutely are still requiring time and focus. They are just more project based assignments.

My kid has 3 AP classes this year and it really varies a lot. Anyway, it just seems artificial to average the two quarters when the work may not be evenly distributed across the two quarters. Gojng from one dumb system to another dumb system.

This X1000. It also can overweight an assignment. Let’s say there is only one important ass in one quarter but multiple in another and you have the misfortune to screw up the one that sits alone. You’ve hurt your grade disproportionately. This weird fudging grades by averaging or replacing based on quarters is stupid. I’ve never seen this done elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that OP is the only one opposed, lol. I’m strongly for these immediate changes.

What grade is your kid in? I’m fine with this for my 7th grader when she starts HS, but not okay with it for my 10th grader. It’s just not fair to these kids to change the rule on how semester grades are calculated halfway through HS.

But isn't it better to change it now to prepare them for college? Otherwise they will just get thrown into college without experience with real grading.

Real grading? I thought it was about real leaning.

Please tell me how real learning can happen when little Johnny doesn’t show up for 10 weeks because he knows he got a C during MP3…

If grades weren’t important for learning, we wouldn’t have them. But they absolutely are necessary, at least for students whose minds are not fully developed, and would not be intrinsically motivated to learn algebraic equations. Also, teachers cannot adequately measure a students learning without grades. If you would like to keep living in La La Land, go ahead…

[Anonymous]

To be fair, the purpose of grading is to measure how well a student understands the material and how well they can complete the skill under a time constraint. For the teacher, grading should be looked at individually and as a whole. If the entire class is missing one question or section then the teacher needs to course correction as they didn’t word or present the material adequately. For the student, grading is part of the learning cycle where they learn more by seeing what they got wrong, understanding why and should be in a position to course correction and do better the next time.

Of course none of this happens because students drop assignments and tests into a black box where the teacher doesn’t return them until the day before quarter ends or much later or maybe never. Tests may be quickly reviewed in class but they are snatched back so the teacher isn’t bothered to create more than one test. This deprives students of an excellent end of year study guide but god forbid the teacher do anything pedagogical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the responses on here are very harsh toward students. Do you really think final semester tests or projects are going to encourage better school attendance? What evidence based foundation is that hypothesis resting on?

Bs at High performing MCPS high schools knock kids out of UMD. We're not just talking about Princeton here. Kids who have to work rather than spend time with Tutors are going to suffer most.

UMD only takes so many kids. So, it’s a problem if you are at one of those schools. It has nothing to do with working vs tutoring as you can do both. Many of those kids don’t have to work.

[Anonymous]

This is fabulous news.

[Anonymous]

Now if they would bring back a real attendance policy. Like Loss of Credit.

[Anonymous]

The old quality point averaging is silly. No normal school—HS or college—would grade this way. It encourages gaming the system and—if I were an admission officer—I would look skeptically at schools with such a grading system.

I agree with the board that averaging the two MP should be implemented across the board.

[Anonymous]

We’re talking about simultaneously changing boundaries for clusters, high school programs, and the grading policy, and adding final exams. If they flood the zone with enough changes at the same time, no one will be able to parse the actual impact of any one particular change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op is right that it’s weird to average the two quarters instead of skit giving a semester grade. For the AP classes there are almost no assignments 4th quarter so it’s weird to weigh it as heavily as third quarter.

I have a rising junior and somehow missed the earlier thread about this. Amy change is incredibly nerve wracking at this point. We are already so stressed out aboit the whole thing. And I feel like the first year always has tough adjustments as the teachers figure it out. I really hate for the experimentation heat to be his junior year when we’re already sort of mentally hanging on by a thread. Teachers will neeec to develop new finals that they’ve never given before and it won’t necessarily all work immediately for all teachers. It might be helpful if they all bring back curved grading — my oldest is at a challenging college and often the teacher overshoots on the final, everyone gets a D and so the teacher says “sorry, I wrote a bad test — don’t worrry I’ve curve it.” Currently McPS teachers don’t have that ability. I just think there are gojng to be unanticipated wrinkles that will take a year or two to iron out.

What are you talking about no assignments 4th quarter for AP classes. There are plenty of assignments. There has to be because all the students who are not seniors need grades. It’s one of the reasons why I and others absolutely hate when school starts and how classes are setup because for AP students they have to take exams early May at almost the start of 4th qtr but then have like 6wks remaining for class. My kid has had whole projects and papers that had to be done post exams.

Are you aware of what those assignments actually are? As a mother of current junior, I found the multiple assignments requiring students to plan trips interesting but not exactly reflective of the subject.

Sounds like an easy A. You MCPS parents want everyone to get a participation trophy (A+)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the responses on here are very harsh toward students. Do you really think final semester tests or projects are going to encourage better school attendance? What evidence based foundation is that hypothesis resting on?

Bs at High performing MCPS high schools knock kids out of UMD. We're not just talking about Princeton here. Kids who have to work rather than spend time with Tutors are going to suffer most.

UMD has an acceptance rate of 44% which is well below the national average acceptance rate. Many other state schools in Maryland are perfectly fine. Or save money and go to Montgomery College for two years and transfer.

As the PP said, harsh.

I mean this speaks to who is really angry about this. Y'all are co-opting low income and EML populations because you want your kids to have a leg up in getting into the most desirable schools. You look down on the schools these kids will actually be able to attend.

Not co-opting anyone. Why are we not in favor of actual evidence based decision making? Why do we want to make a difficult transition by burdening the in-progress students in high school with every change all at once?

The people on this board most in favor of "fixing" the grading system seem to think their student will prove themselves on the field of battle and relish the grading competition. How about we support all students' goals?

The difference between you and me is you see these changes as a burden on kids and I see the current system as a far, far bigger burden on kids.

I invite folks to speak for themselves and their families, not communities they aren't a part of, don't spend time in, and don't know their interests or needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the responses on here are very harsh toward students. Do you really think final semester tests or projects are going to encourage better school attendance? What evidence based foundation is that hypothesis resting on?

Bs at High performing MCPS high schools knock kids out of UMD. We're not just talking about Princeton here. Kids who have to work rather than spend time with Tutors are going to suffer most.

UMD has an acceptance rate of 44% which is well below the national average acceptance rate. Many other state schools in Maryland are perfectly fine. Or save money and go to Montgomery College for two years and transfer.

Montgomery College is really horrible. This isn’t a viable option. It’s not like VA, NY or CA where the CC are pretty good.

Montgomery college is consistently ranked one of the top 10 community colleges in the country.

Do you have first hand experience there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’re talking about simultaneously changing boundaries for clusters, high school programs, and the grading policy, and adding final exams. If they flood the zone with enough changes at the same time, no one will be able to parse the actual impact of any one particular change.

Truer words. It’s creating a lot of uncertainty for pretty much everyone.

[Anonymous]

Literally love every single one of these changes. School has been a joke these days. The previously lax policies are why kids who were getting straight As and completely failing SATs, ACTs, APs, etc. What kid was working for an A the second quarter if they got an A the first quarter? I truly don’t get parents who don’t agree with these changes. These changes will help prepare kids better for college!