Changes to grading for all MCPS high school students

[Anonymous]

I had a tougher grading scale than my kids do, I had semester and final exams, there was no such thing as retakes, and there was no 50% rule — but teachers could offer extra credit, I didn’t have to take math my senior year, I had 2-3 study halls as a senior, I didn’t need to take tons of APs to get into college, there was no SSL requirement, no one I knew did any serious prepping for the SAT. I don’t remember feeling like my college app essay was a make-or-break part of the application process. I wasn’t even a slacker; I was valedictorian and a National Merit Scholar and attended college on a full tuition scholarship.


Now you have to have an unweighted 4.0, a 1500+ SAT, take 12 APs, be a competitive athlete at the state level, have 300 documented SSL hours, have an interesting hobby, a leadership position, and a compelling life story to get into a top college.

I don’t object to bringing back a tougher grading scale and final exams, but something has to give. It’s not fair to subject today’s students to all of the most stringent requirements from the last 40 years. No other generation has had the proposed grading scale + final exams + SSL requirement + current course requirements + no study halls + such competitive college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is all true but I wouldn’t frame it as a knock on the teachers. McPS doesn’t give them the time to give the feedback or get grading done timely. Also, in college if a prof realizes a test was bad because one or more questions were poorly phrased or too hard, they can adjust the grades or give extra credit or something. I remember in my HS physics cclass, the teacher gave an army assignment that was impossible and almost everyone failed it, so the teacher assigned an additional assignment as “extra credit” to account for it. McPS doesn’t allow extra credit or grading on a carve. I do think people are gojng to complain more about unfair grading or violations of the grading policy — that currently happens a lot but parents let it go because it so rarely makes a difference under the current grading policy.

[Anonymous]

As a teacher, I am excited by the 5 day blackout period at the end of each quarter. I am worried that the 50% rule seems murkier than ever —regardless of product or accuracy is wild. That that mean Larla can draw 5 misleading doodles about Westward Expansion and get 12.5 points for a 25 point essay?

[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.

It’s not. It’s a nationally highly regarded two year school. It consistently ranked in the top 10 community colleges in the U.S.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck with a summative project. Good luck with all of it. I quit teaching high school after this year. I am done hand-holding kids who do not understand that education bas been a priviledge we have told them is a right. They need to be good stewards of public education if they want to keep it for future generations.

I disagree that education is a privilege. It’s a human right.

[Anonymous]

OK, official now:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14eLJDsHHaFPUdw3Agm8xuQH0_ztil2Vt/view

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn't something the BOE votes on. It's a regulation, not a policy, so it's up to Taylor and CO to rewrite it.

True, but when they informed the BOE about it maybe a month ago, and said they planned to do a phased roll-out, the BOE pushed back. That's why it's 6-12 now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure I understand why it's so bad for next year's 11th & 12th graders to have the grading policy change. Can someone explain it?

I think the concern would be that it would hurt
some kids in college admissions, either because their grades would show a drop of because kids who took harder classes earlier in high school would be at an advantage compared to their classmates who took those same classes but later in high school under the new policy.

PP you responded to. Now I understand. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Now if they implement an attendance policy, I’ll really be happy but this is a fantastic way to make our county better and more rigorous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, official now:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14eLJDsHHaFPUdw3Agm8xuQH0_ztil2Vt/view

This document doesn’t say anything about rounding/not rounding grades to the closest percentile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't something the BOE votes on. It's a regulation, not a policy, so it's up to Taylor and CO to rewrite it.

True, but when they informed the BOE about it maybe a month ago, and said they planned to do a phased roll-out, the BOE pushed back. That's why it's 6-12 now.

Really unhappy with the BOE on this one. My rising current high schooler is in tears over the anticipated additional stress next year. She could manage with the one quarter on, next quarter relax pace, but constant pressure to perform all year will be felt. Especially when there are 4 tests on the same day. Ugh, Ugh, Ugh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't something the BOE votes on. It's a regulation, not a policy, so it's up to Taylor and CO to rewrite it.

True, but when they informed the BOE about it maybe a month ago, and said they planned to do a phased roll-out, the BOE pushed back. That's why it's 6-12 now.

My objection isn't to the policy it's to the process. Don't publicly announce you're planning one thing and then do another without any notice or any explanation.

Making unannounced last-minute changes doesn't inspire trust and feels like a bait and switch. They could really easily have said, Hey, we were planning a phased implementation but decided to do it all at once, here's why. Still not ideal but I agree with OP that the lack of transparency here isn't right and is actually counter-educational: A system that doesn't hold itself to public account does not inspire students' trust.

The juniors and seniors are gonna be justifiably mad--not because it's not good policy, but because it's bad governance--and honestly that's not a great starting place for anyone for next year.

My kid has never had a B quarter grade and only stands to benefit from this, in theory. In practice, it's just one more indication that the system they are subject to is not actually interested in them as full-fledged human beings with opinions, thoughts, and voices of their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't something the BOE votes on. It's a regulation, not a policy, so it's up to Taylor and CO to rewrite it.

True, but when they informed the BOE about it maybe a month ago, and said they planned to do a phased roll-out, the BOE pushed back. That's why it's 6-12 now.

My objection isn't to the policy it's to the process. Don't publicly announce you're planning one thing and then do another without any notice or any explanation.

Making unannounced last-minute changes doesn't inspire trust and feels like a bait and switch. They could really easily have said, Hey, we were planning a phased implementation but decided to do it all at once, here's why. Still not ideal but I agree with OP that the lack of transparency here isn't right and is actually counter-educational: A system that doesn't hold itself to public account does not inspire students' trust.

The juniors and seniors are gonna be justifiably mad--not because it's not good policy, but because it's bad governance--and honestly that's not a great starting place for anyone for next year.

My kid has never had a B quarter grade and only stands to benefit from this, in theory. In practice, it's just one more indication that the system they are subject to is not actually interested in them as full-fledged human beings with opinions, thoughts, and voices of their own.

So well said!

[Anonymous]

My rising senior is super pissed that they can change the way the game is played 3/4 of the way through for some kids. Of course they can’t just phase in changes; MCPS is gonna MCPS.

[Anonymous]

I hope everyone is expressing their opinions, whatever they are, directly to Taylor, Hazel and the BOE as suggested by the OP. They need to hear from parents.