50% rule is going away. Is that true?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The grading policy was quietly changed. Thank goodness.

I know! It's so wonderful that we can now ensure these good-for-nothings get an F- instead of F. Honestly, you think they'd have better things to worry about.

Professor here. This change will help prepare kids for college, where they have to make an effort in order to earn points.

I don’t think kids who routinely get 50% (or 0%) are going to college. I realize some kids were gaming it to decide to take a 50% if it didn’t meaningfully impact their letter grade, but really, so what? It’s the same kind of calculation a college professor will make when saying to a class that you only need to take the final quiz if your grade is below x, or dropping the lowest if 5 quiz scores in a final grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The grading policy was quietly changed. Thank goodness.

I know! It's so wonderful that we can now ensure these good-for-nothings get an F- instead of F. Honestly, you think they'd have better things to worry about.

Professor here. This change will help prepare kids for college, where they have to make an effort in order to earn points.

I don’t think kids who routinely get 50% (or 0%) are going to college. I realize some kids were gaming it to decide to take a 50% if it didn’t meaningfully impact their letter grade, but really, so what? It’s the same kind of calculation a college professor will make when saying to a class that you only need to take the final quiz if your grade is below x, or dropping the lowest if 5 quiz scores in a final grade.

Bingo! And anyone who can't see this is obtuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why was it changed quietly?
When are parents and kids going to be told about this by MCPS? And why does it appear to vary from school to school

This is what we mean, Dr. McKnight, when we say we need more transparency and communication. I find out more relevant info here than I receive from MCPS.
Could someone tell me where this policy is posted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why was it changed quietly?
When are parents and kids going to be told about this by MCPS? And why does it appear to vary from school to school

This is what we mean, Dr. McKnight, when we say we need more transparency and communication. I find out more relevant info here than I receive from MCPS.
Could someone tell me where this policy is posted?

Maybe that's because you don't pay attention to all the 1000 daily MCPS press releases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The grading policy was quietly changed. Thank goodness.

I know! It's so wonderful that we can now ensure these good-for-nothings get an F- instead of F. Honestly, you think they'd have better things to worry about.

Professor here. This change will help prepare kids for college, where they have to make an effort in order to earn points.

Please tell me that a college professor actually knows that kids who be edit from the 50% rule aren’t headed to college. This comment makes me worried about the competency of those I’m going to paying tens of thousands of dollars to educate my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The grading policy was quietly changed. Thank goodness.

I know! It's so wonderful that we can now ensure these good-for-nothings get an F- instead of F. Honestly, you think they'd have better things to worry about.

Professor here. This change will help prepare kids for college, where they have to make an effort in order to earn points.

Please tell me that a college professor actually knows that kids who benefit from the 50% rule aren’t headed to college. This comment makes me worried about the competency of those I’m going to paying tens of thousands of dollars to educate my kids.

[Anonymous]

The 50% rule is a real problem. Teachers can see it because they work with these kids every day. For example, Kids pass Geometry by doing a sum total of 3-4 assignments because of the 50% rule. Then they are moved to Algebra 2 along with kids who go As and Bs. The range of kids in one class becomes unmanageable and slows the class down for everyone. Yes, these kids may not be going to college but they are part of the daily high school experience and teachers spend a lot of energy trying to motivate and teach them often to no avail

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The grading policy was quietly changed. Thank goodness.

I know! It's so wonderful that we can now ensure these good-for-nothings get an F- instead of F. Honestly, you think they'd have better things to worry about.

Professor here. This change will help prepare kids for college, where they have to make an effort in order to earn points.

Please tell me that a college professor actually knows that kids who be edit from the 50% rule aren’t headed to college. This comment makes me worried about the competency of those I’m going to paying tens of thousands of dollars to educate my kids.

My best guess was that's no professor but just another poster with an agenda.

[Anonymous]

Kids in college often do expect 50% rules and retakes as freshman. Professors are also under more pressure to pass kids along because now the students are paying.

Parents have also been known to contact professors. Luckily at that point to students are adults so due to privacy laws the professors can’t talk about the student to the parent.

[Anonymous]

I often have A students blowing off the second quarter of a semester and using the 50% rule to avoid doing assignments. They know a B still gets an A thanks to MCPS’s grading system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why was it changed quietly?
When are parents and kids going to be told about this by MCPS? And why does it appear to vary from school to school

This is what we mean, Dr. McKnight, when we say we need more transparency and communication. I find out more relevant info here than I receive from MCPS.
Could someone tell me where this policy is posted?

Maybe that's because you don't pay attention to all the 1000 daily MCPS press releases.

I read all emails they send, I follow their social media, and I watch most of their board of ed meetings. I also read all school communications in full, and follow all local news outlets who cover the district. I am as engaged as any person possibly could be. Honestly they sometimes circulate stuff amongst themselves and forget to tell the actual students or parents their policies impact.

[Anonymous]

We are just going back to the original board approved 50% policy and intent. It was never intended to be 50% for every assessment nor require parent two way communication. That was admin’s way of cooking the books and to keep kids moving forward. But it got to the point of just encouraging students to stop trying anything they deemed difficult or unwanted.

[Anonymous]

Good. I’m glad if this change is happening. It shouldn’t be quietly though, but whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The grading policy was quietly changed. Thank goodness.

I know! It's so wonderful that we can now ensure these good-for-nothings get an F- instead of F. Honestly, you think they'd have better things to worry about.

Schools should hold students accountable for their effort. Our “no rules, no accountability” policy isn’t doing anyone any favors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The grading policy was quietly changed. Thank goodness.

I know! It's so wonderful that we can now ensure these good-for-nothings get an F- instead of F. Honestly, you think they'd have better things to worry about.

Sounds like you have a kid who doesn’t bother to do their work.

You should probably fix that.