Explain how grades are inflated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like the presentation on grading and reporting this Thursday is a nothingburger. It sounds like they are just announcing they will be soliciting input and considering possible changes.

I hope they will move to averaging the actual percentage earned each marking period for a final grade, and adding plus/minus. Grades would become more meaningful and better reflect level of course mastery. I also think it would take away the race to have as many APs and IB courses as possible. Right now, grade inflation is such that that's the main way students distinguish themselves. With grades that better reflect mastery, they wouldn't have to do that as much.

Here are the docs they are presenting to the BOE this week:
presentation: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DFHRPN6EFA43/$file/Grading%20and%20Reporting%20Regulation%20Revision%20250410%20PPT%20REV.pdf

memo: https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DFCL3R529256/$file/New%20Business%20Item_250318%20Community%20Engagement%20and%20School%20Safety.pdf

This is what Niki Hazel described as the plan. No mention of adding plus/minus.

This is a pretty big change if enacted. If your kid gets an A in MP1 and a B in MP2 it will be an A but if the kid gets As in both MP1 and MP2 it’s an A*. Which is good and will stop kids from skipping school in MP 2 and 4 when they have less to lose.

I think that A* is just an asterisk for the note below

Ah, thanks--I thought it was some new higher form of A for those who got As in both marking periods. No change yet then.

[Anonymous]

So is the proposal to take the average of the actual percentge scored in each quarter? That would be a big improvement.

I still think they should add plus and minus grades though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So is the proposal to take the average of the actual percentge scored in each quarter? That would be a big improvement.

I still think they should add plus and minus grades though.

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're also doing an audit of Honors courses to assess the Honors-for-all prevalence.

This is the most impactful thing they could possibly do in the short term, without question.

The biggest issue for most high performing 9th and 10th graders is that there are basically zero options to be instructed alongside similarly motivated peers outside the magnets. For English, "Honors for All" means that kids will go from 6th - 10th grades without any differentiation or acceleration. For science, it means that a kid's only option for acceleration is to launch themselves into AP Physics freshman year, but they would still need to take the painfully slow "Honors Biology" class to access AP Bio.

If MCPS would just roll back the clock 3 years and reinstate actual Honors and On-Level classes for MS and early HS, it would be a game changer and wildly popular with teachers, parents, students, and everyone except the Central Office staff who just wanted to say they "expanded Honors classes by 500%" in their resume.

[Anonymous]

They need to bring back final exams

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're also doing an audit of Honors courses to assess the Honors-for-all prevalence.

This is the most impactful thing they could possibly do in the short term, without question.

The biggest issue for most high performing 9th and 10th graders is that there are basically zero options to be instructed alongside similarly motivated peers outside the magnets. For English, "Honors for All" means that kids will go from 6th - 10th grades without any differentiation or acceleration. For science, it means that a kid's only option for acceleration is to launch themselves into AP Physics freshman year, but they would still need to take the painfully slow "Honors Biology" class to access AP Bio.

If MCPS would just roll back the clock 3 years and reinstate actual Honors and On-Level classes for MS and early HS, it would be a game changer and wildly popular with teachers, parents, students, and everyone except the Central Office staff who just wanted to say they "expanded Honors classes by 500%" in their resume.

Are a significant number of kids really taking AP physics in 9th grade? It’s one of the toughest ones…there’s no pre-reqs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're also doing an audit of Honors courses to assess the Honors-for-all prevalence.

This is the most impactful thing they could possibly do in the short term, without question.

The biggest issue for most high performing 9th and 10th graders is that there are basically zero options to be instructed alongside similarly motivated peers outside the magnets. For English, "Honors for All" means that kids will go from 6th - 10th grades without any differentiation or acceleration. For science, it means that a kid's only option for acceleration is to launch themselves into AP Physics freshman year, but they would still need to take the painfully slow "Honors Biology" class to access AP Bio.

If MCPS would just roll back the clock 3 years and reinstate actual Honors and On-Level classes for MS and early HS, it would be a game changer and wildly popular with teachers, parents, students, and everyone except the Central Office staff who just wanted to say they "expanded Honors classes by 500%" in their resume.

Are a significant number of kids really taking AP physics in 9th grade? It’s one of the toughest ones…there’s no pre-reqs?

I would not say a significant number, but some, and only because there's no other path for a kid who is interested in science to receive instruction with similarly motivated peers until 11th grade.

[Anonymous]

There are different AP physics classes. Some are harder than others. Most 9th grade are taking the most basic level of AP Physics.

[Anonymous]

Clarity around how this will "start with 9th grade"? Does that mean teachers with classes that have mixed grades (there are many) will have to grade according to 2 different systems? So 10th grader gets graded the current way and 9th grader gets graded with the new system? Or are they changing the grades for all? Feels tough on a GPA to change the assessment structure 1/2 way through HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clarity around how this will "start with 9th grade"? Does that mean teachers with classes that have mixed grades (there are many) will have to grade according to 2 different systems? So 10th grader gets graded the current way and 9th grader gets graded with the new system? Or are they changing the grades for all? Feels tough on a GPA to change the assessment structure 1/2 way through HS

This is still TBD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clarity around how this will "start with 9th grade"? Does that mean teachers with classes that have mixed grades (there are many) will have to grade according to 2 different systems? So 10th grader gets graded the current way and 9th grader gets graded with the new system? Or are they changing the grades for all? Feels tough on a GPA to change the assessment structure 1/2 way through HS

The teachers will keep grading as they do now. But the algorithm calculating the grade will be different for a 9th and 10th grader next year.