More skills based grading at madison hs
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Anonymous
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SBG is FCPS’s way of moving to an equity grading platform county-wide. The Madison pilot is spreading as expected. Probably too late to stop the train, especially in light of the recent school board election.
If you have a child in FCPS and you care about their future education then it is time to find a way to get out. |
Anonymous
Waiting for the person who claims sBG in FCPS isn’t related to equity grading to respond to this… |
Anonymous
SBG isn’t equity grading. It may be part of a larger plan to address equity or part of the communication, but SBG itself is not “equity trading”. |
Anonymous
It is not seen that way by FCPS or by me. Here is why: one of the key points to equity grading is to not grade any homework because you could penalize a kid who has to work to support his family or a kid who must babysit younger siblings and is therefore unable to do homework. One of the key points to SBG is to not grade homework. And since FCPS is pushing for what it considers equitable education, it is all rolled into one. You can't say FCPS schools is not grading homework in the test schools because of one reason or the other, as both are part of FCPS' overall plan. Equity grading is part of how SBG works. |
Anonymous
BTW, I understand what you're claiming. You're claiming that the basis for SBG is not equity. But since they have the same effect with regard to what is excluded from grading, it is all considered the same thing from a parent or student perspective. |
Anonymous
That may be a new application of SBG, but that’s not what SBG is. It’s been around for much longer |
Anonymous
^ it’s been around for a long time |
Anonymous
| It’s not just about lowering expectations; it’s also about redistributing opportunities to those who have now been officially excused from working harder. |
Anonymous
I was hoping you guys would stop interjecting this BS in every FCPS thread after the elections. Wishful thinking… |
Anonymous
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EXCLUSIVE — Teachers in Virginia's Fairfax County Public Schools were required to undergo professional development training on equity grading that includes a slideshow on responding to people who oppose equity initiatives. The syllabus of the training and a slideshow were obtained by parent activist organization Parents Defending Education and shared with the Washington Examiner and provide details into how the northern Virginia school district has pushed its teachers to implement equity grading standards. The syllabus for the professional development program Grading for Equity says it was designed to "support educators in understanding the 'why' and 'how' of implementing equitable grading practices" and required teachers to read the book Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman. A source within FCPS who was granted anonymity to speak candidly told the Washington Examiner that teachers were required to read Feldman's book and discuss it during monthly faculty meetings. The Washington Examiner reported last year on efforts at Langley High School and other Fairfax County Public Schools to implement equity grading, a practice of grading that involves a multifaceted approach to lower the chances of a student failing. Tenets of equity grading include the elimination of "0" grades through the implementation of a 50% minimum grade on all assignments, the removal of deadlines, and the opportunity to redo assignments. "The course content will provide educators with the understanding and skills to transform current practices to ensure that the academic excellence of all students is reflected in our systems of evaluation," the syllabus says. "It will provide tools to ensure that cultural responsiveness is embedded into grading practices of teachers who want grades to reflect learning and understanding of students as opposed to behavior and access to resources. Teachers taking this course are committing to supporting an open-minded, responsive, and collaborative learning environment." The course syllabus contains several links to resources, including reading assignments, TED talks, and podcasts about the idea of eliminating grading or changing the current grading system. Included in those resources is a slideshow on "Navigating Resistance" to equity programs that included instructions on how to respond to people who are critical of equity initiatives in different scenarios. One of the slides describes a person who "struggle[s] to differentiate between equity and equality" and how this person believes "fair is equal." "Because the 'Fairness-Seeker' idealizes equality, it may be especially challenging for them to believe in systemic racism: a common refrain from white people engaging in this type of resistance is, 'but I grew up poor,'" the slide reads. "A lack of experience with racial inequities makes them naive even if their intentions are good — the upside is they can become ardent equity supporters if you can redirect their definition of fairness from equal to equity." The slide says that to respond to this, one must "explicitly teach the difference between equality and equity" because the individual may not be familiar with it. The slide also recommends using other people in the room to "dilute the Fairness-Seeker's voice." For another scenario, the slideshow describes the "Minimizer," who may say things like "I don't see color" or that the world is inherently unfair. The slide says such people "nee[d] expanded perspective" and that "case studies, story telling, testimony, [and] videos can be particularly influential in shifting the Minimizer." https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/fairfax-trained-teachers-disregard-objections-equity-grading |
Anonymous
| Madison just invited Womeli, author of "Fair isn't always equal" to speak at the PTSA meeting. On p. 185, he suggests slipping an “expert” into the teachers lounge to casually strike up conversations in favor of his reforms. And here we have someone that keeps showing up arguing fervently for SBG who does sound like any parent I've ever encountered. |
Anonymous
+1 The irrational hate never ceases. |
Anonymous
Clearly a conspiracy! 
Or…there are a wide variety of people, including parents, here who are familiar with educational topics because they’ve been engaged for the last 15 years. And are tired of ignorant people pushing politics at the expense of our kids. My kids had SBG at their ES several years ago before “equity” was a thing. And way before the racists latched on to hating it. |
Anonymous
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So now you are calling people that don't like SBG "racists." Of course, that's one way to scare people and get them to shut up. Here is the student rep giving a speech about the impact of SBG on students earlier this fall.
https://twitter.com/FFXParentsAssoc/status/1697425072489734469 |
Anonymous
It is the middle and lower income kids who really suffer when they are put at a disadvantage in college admissions. I’d really like to see the impact on GPAs for kids at every level (not just those who were struggling, but also kids in honors and AP classes.). If those haven’t changed, I would be more supportive. But I have yet to see those released to parents and until I do, I’m going to assume SBG is performing as intended, with lower GPAs for top students and higher GPAs for struggling students. |