James Madison High School

[Anonymous]

The skills based grading system Madison implemented this year is NOT FCPS wide policy. Madison is choosing to do this despite the fact that Reid may ban it in the near future and despite not knowing how to implement it in the first place. It’s an experiment that will keep changing. Parents are not happy that the grading policy differs across FCPS and can change every year. School Board is looking into this issue right now. I wanted my kids to be able to focus on academics and getting into college and instead they worry about their grades on tests now more than ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The skills based grading system Madison implemented this year is NOT FCPS wide policy. Madison is choosing to do this despite the fact that Reid may ban it in the near future and despite not knowing how to implement it in the first place. It’s an experiment that will keep changing. Parents are not happy that the grading policy differs across FCPS and can change every year. School Board is looking into this issue right now. I wanted my kids to be able to focus on academics and getting into college and instead they worry about their grades on tests now more than ever.

Is this a real possibility? I thought she'd be all for it, since she's from the PNW. Great, if she does. Or if the school board does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


I moved to Vienna for the schools, and it was a mistake. A previous poster made light of the new grading system stating that her kid likes to choose what work to do/not do, but I think this perspective is not shared by many. Madison is also not counting classwork. This has an impact on the quality of time spent in the classroom and my kids say that when no one does the work it impacts class discussions, ect... If academics is important to you, go to Langley or McLean. I think those parents would protest if skills-based grading was implemented there. It makes it harder for kids to get an A, it's confusing, and has caused my kids tons of stress. Think about college admission process stress - just don't add this wild card if you can.

The only reason we are at Madison is that one is an athlete and would be heartbroken if I pulled from school - which we may do anyway. The other is graduating and wish I'd just put this kid in private this year because it was a horrible experience.

The administration does not care about the impact on parents, students and teachers. If you can afford it, just do private for 2 years. FCPS is so caught up in equity and equal outcomes for all students; it's a bad time to be a student in FCPS.

Athletics has been a good experience. If your kid doesn't care about academics/not primary focus, then go to Madison. I would say those types of kids are having a good experience.

There are drugs/vape, but if your kid is against drugs he will easily find a group that is the same. It is a safe place to go to school.





Agreed. Mclean parents complain too much for the schools to implement the latest faulty thinking of FCPS. Madison is more low key on these things and more about the community as a whole. There are pluses and minuses to each approach.

What makes you think the McLean parents (or principal) can decide not to implement an FCPS-wide policy? The grading system you describe is NOT unique to Madison.

DP. A policy could be neither county-wide nor unique to Madison (if, for example, certain schools volunteer to be “first adopters”).

[Anonymous]

I would not recommend it if you are a minority family or if you care about diversity. The culture is really not very open to different people. There are minorities but their diversity is not valued. It is not a welcoming place for people who don’t fit the traditional Madison vibe, not just racially but also in terms of diverse interests. Your kids will be on the outskirts of life, to be honest. No issues academically but for me, mental health is very important.

[Anonymous]

Madison didn't volunteer to be an early adopter of skills-based grading at the request of Gateway. The administration chose to do this. IMO, principals are under pressure to address equity and by changing the grading system, principals can achieve the results that school board, Gateway, Reid want to see without doing the much harder work of truly addressing equity.

I know groups of parents are meeting about this issue trying to figure out what they can do to stop it. If you are against it, consider contacting Meren or instructional services at Gateway. I heard that Reid was putting together a committee to look into this but don't know much about it. Instructional services was supposed to send out a survey on the grading policy, but it hasn't happened yet. Reid needs to hear feedback from parents now, because she is going to make a decision about this one way or the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not recommend it if you are a minority family or if you care about diversity. The culture is really not very open to different people. There are minorities but their diversity is not valued. It is not a welcoming place for people who don’t fit the traditional Madison vibe, not just racially but also in terms of diverse interests. Your kids will be on the outskirts of life, to be honest. No issues academically but for me, mental health is very important.

Fellow Madison parent - I am so sorry to hear that your children have had this experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Madison didn't volunteer to be an early adopter of skills-based grading at the request of Gateway. The administration chose to do this. IMO, principals are under pressure to address equity and by changing the grading system, principals can achieve the results that school board, Gateway, Reid want to see without doing the much harder work of truly addressing equity.

I know groups of parents are meeting about this issue trying to figure out what they can do to stop it. If you are against it, consider contacting Meren or instructional services at Gateway. I heard that Reid was putting together a committee to look into this but don't know much about it. Instructional services was supposed to send out a survey on the grading policy, but it hasn't happened yet. Reid needs to hear feedback from parents now, because she is going to make a decision about this one way or the other.

I think you mean Gatehouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not recommend it if you are a minority family or if you care about diversity. The culture is really not very open to different people. There are minorities but their diversity is not valued. It is not a welcoming place for people who don’t fit the traditional Madison vibe, not just racially but also in terms of diverse interests. Your kids will be on the outskirts of life, to be honest. No issues academically but for me, mental health is very important.

Sorry you’ve experienced that- we are a minority family and our kids haven’t felt excluded. It’s a small school with opportunities for everyone: excellent sports and marching band, and several STEM-related clubs . . . However I do agree that the skills-based grading is a major issue.