Rolling Gradebook?

[Anonymous]

Fairfax is starting a rolling gradebook.

All assignments continue to accumulate over the semester (for example: Qtr 1 has 10 assignments, Qtr 2 has the 10 assignments from quarter 1 + the 10 new ones from quarter 2)

Purpose is that it will show students their real grade "in real time". For example, with a traditional grading system like MCPS has, if a student had an A in quarter 1 and then failed the first quiz of quarter 2, they would have an E until they could raise the grade. However, with a rolling gradebook, the failed assignment would be averaged in with all of the other assignments and have an appropriate weight therefore just pulling the grade down a little. This might even be less stressful for the student.

Fairfax uses ParentVUE as well. The rolling gradebook allows parents to see all the assignments throughout the semester. It would make it easier to see trends.

I know MCPS is looking at grading policies. Should they consider a rolling gradebook?

[Anonymous]

I should have included that in a rolling gradebook, the grade at the end of quarter 2 (which is all the assignments since the start of the year) would be the final semester grade.

[Anonymous]

I hate these things

[Anonymous]

I like that much better than the current system. It holds kids accountable for the entire semester rather than 1 good quarter bailing them out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax is starting a rolling gradebook.

All assignments continue to accumulate over the semester (for example: Qtr 1 has 10 assignments, Qtr 2 has the 10 assignments from quarter 1 + the 10 new ones from quarter 2)

Purpose is that it will show students their real grade "in real time". For example, with a traditional grading system like MCPS has, if a student had an A in quarter 1 and then failed the first quiz of quarter 2, they would have an E until they could raise the grade. However, with a rolling gradebook, the failed assignment would be averaged in with all of the other assignments and have an appropriate weight therefore just pulling the grade down a little. This might even be less stressful for the student.

Fairfax uses ParentVUE as well. The rolling gradebook allows parents to see all the assignments throughout the semester. It would make it easier to see trends.

I know MCPS is looking at grading policies. Should they consider a rolling gradebook?

Some schools don't bother with following the deadlines. It is so difficult to constantly grade stuff from two months prior, especially on the secondary level. If we allow students to turn everything in towards the end of a semester, many teachers will be done.

[Anonymous]

This would be much better and would make it harder for kids to game the system (e.g., get a low A in the 1st quarter and then aim for a low B in the second quarter to get an A for the semester with the least amount of work).

But I think to be better it should be paired with adding pluses and minuses into grading .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This would be much better and would make it harder for kids to game the system (e.g., get a low A in the 1st quarter and then aim for a low B in the second quarter to get an A for the semester with the least amount of work).

But I think to be better it should be paired with adding pluses and minuses into grading .

Agreed! Do a rolling gradebook and plus/minus grading and we'll get a lot more insight into how MCPS kids really stack up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This would be much better and would make it harder for kids to game the system (e.g., get a low A in the 1st quarter and then aim for a low B in the second quarter to get an A for the semester with the least amount of work).

But I think to be better it should be paired with adding pluses and minuses into grading .

Yes the plus minus makes a difference

[Anonymous]

I don't understand the purpose of your complicated example and the term "rolling gradebook" and why it applies to what you are describing.

Are you just saying MCPS should get rid of quarter grades and just do one big semester grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax is starting a rolling gradebook.

All assignments continue to accumulate over the semester (for example: Qtr 1 has 10 assignments, Qtr 2 has the 10 assignments from quarter 1 + the 10 new ones from quarter 2)

Purpose is that it will show students their real grade "in real time". For example, with a traditional grading system like MCPS has, if a student had an A in quarter 1 and then failed the first quiz of quarter 2, they would have an E until they could raise the grade. However, with a rolling gradebook, the failed assignment would be averaged in with all of the other assignments and have an appropriate weight therefore just pulling the grade down a little. This might even be less stressful for the student.

Fairfax uses ParentVUE as well. The rolling gradebook allows parents to see all the assignments throughout the semester. It would make it easier to see trends.

I know MCPS is looking at grading policies. Should they consider a rolling gradebook?

Some schools don't bother with following the deadlines. It is so difficult to constantly grade stuff from two months prior, especially on the secondary level. If we allow students to turn everything in towards the end of a semester, many teachers will be done.

+1
No way. It will allow kids to accumulate late assignments longer and create more pressure on teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax is starting a rolling gradebook.

All assignments continue to accumulate over the semester (for example: Qtr 1 has 10 assignments, Qtr 2 has the 10 assignments from quarter 1 + the 10 new ones from quarter 2)

Purpose is that it will show students their real grade "in real time". For example, with a traditional grading system like MCPS has, if a student had an A in quarter 1 and then failed the first quiz of quarter 2, they would have an E until they could raise the grade. However, with a rolling gradebook, the failed assignment would be averaged in with all of the other assignments and have an appropriate weight therefore just pulling the grade down a little. This might even be less stressful for the student.

Fairfax uses ParentVUE as well. The rolling gradebook allows parents to see all the assignments throughout the semester. It would make it easier to see trends.

I know MCPS is looking at grading policies. Should they consider a rolling gradebook?

How does this work exactly? The entire semester’s worth of assignments has to be input first and then what grade do you assume the student is getting on the rest of the assignments? 0, because they haven’t done it yet? 50% because that’s the minimum if they do it? If you start with 100% for everything then kids just watch their grade fall all semester- that’s disheartening.

I don’t think a semester long rolling gradebook solves anything. Averaging together the actual percentages of the two quarters would be a more accurate reflection of student performance, but that doesn’t need a semester long gradebook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the purpose of your complicated example and the term "rolling gradebook" and why it applies to what you are describing.

Are you just saying MCPS should get rid of quarter grades and just do one big semester grade?

OP here: I am saying that Fairfax has started a rolling gradebook. Fairfax calls it a rolling gradebook. They still have the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter grades, but instead of those grades only showing what they have done in that particular quarter, they show what their current grade is at the time based on everything since the start of the year. The grade at the end of the year is the grade on the transcript. I guess they do not have classes broken into semesters. I guess an Algebra 1 class will be a year long class.

Not trying to make it complicated, just trying to call it by the same name and give the same examples so that I am clear about what Fairfax is doing. I do think you could look at it as one big semester grade with some interims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax is starting a rolling gradebook.

All assignments continue to accumulate over the semester (for example: Qtr 1 has 10 assignments, Qtr 2 has the 10 assignments from quarter 1 + the 10 new ones from quarter 2)

Purpose is that it will show students their real grade "in real time". For example, with a traditional grading system like MCPS has, if a student had an A in quarter 1 and then failed the first quiz of quarter 2, they would have an E until they could raise the grade. However, with a rolling gradebook, the failed assignment would be averaged in with all of the other assignments and have an appropriate weight therefore just pulling the grade down a little. This might even be less stressful for the student.

Fairfax uses ParentVUE as well. The rolling gradebook allows parents to see all the assignments throughout the semester. It would make it easier to see trends.

I know MCPS is looking at grading policies. Should they consider a rolling gradebook?

How does this work exactly? The entire semester’s worth of assignments has to be input first and then what grade do you assume the student is getting on the rest of the assignments? 0, because they haven’t done it yet? 50% because that’s the minimum if they do it? If you start with 100% for everything then kids just watch their grade fall all semester- that’s disheartening.

I don’t think a semester long rolling gradebook solves anything. Averaging together the actual percentages of the two quarters would be a more accurate reflection of student performance, but that doesn’t need a semester long gradebook.

Just imagine the gradebook not stopping. You don't need to put in zeros or 100% for assignments not yet completed. Just like with our gradebook now, those assignments are not there yet. You just keep adding more assignments (as they are assigned) until the end of the semester. The grade at that time is the grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax is starting a rolling gradebook.

All assignments continue to accumulate over the semester (for example: Qtr 1 has 10 assignments, Qtr 2 has the 10 assignments from quarter 1 + the 10 new ones from quarter 2)

Purpose is that it will show students their real grade "in real time". For example, with a traditional grading system like MCPS has, if a student had an A in quarter 1 and then failed the first quiz of quarter 2, they would have an E until they could raise the grade. However, with a rolling gradebook, the failed assignment would be averaged in with all of the other assignments and have an appropriate weight therefore just pulling the grade down a little. This might even be less stressful for the student.

Fairfax uses ParentVUE as well. The rolling gradebook allows parents to see all the assignments throughout the semester. It would make it easier to see trends.

I know MCPS is looking at grading policies. Should they consider a rolling gradebook?

How does this work exactly? The entire semester’s worth of assignments has to be input first and then what grade do you assume the student is getting on the rest of the assignments? 0, because they haven’t done it yet? 50% because that’s the minimum if they do it? If you start with 100% for everything then kids just watch their grade fall all semester- that’s disheartening.

I don’t think a semester long rolling gradebook solves anything. Averaging together the actual percentages of the two quarters would be a more accurate reflection of student performance, but that doesn’t need a semester long gradebook.

Imagine a student has a 91% quarter 1 and an 81% quarter 2. In MCPS that is an A for the semester. With a rolling gradebook, it would be closer to an 86%. (Just the average of all the grades over a semester instead of averaging over a quarter.). Might be more accurate with rolling gradebook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This would be much better and would make it harder for kids to game the system (e.g., get a low A in the 1st quarter and then aim for a low B in the second quarter to get an A for the semester with the least amount of work).

But I think to be better it should be paired with adding pluses and minuses into grading .

Agreed! Do a rolling gradebook and plus/minus grading and we'll get a lot more insight into how MCPS kids really stack up.

Why do you care about "stacking up" kids? What do you think is the purpose of education? It's not a spectator sport.