APS Retake Policy change announced

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s worrisome for strong students. If everyone has an A in APS grades will quickly be meaningless. Having a 4.0 in APS will mean nothing at all. Ugh.

FCPS has a modification of the policy that aps adopted at the beginning of the school year and they do not seem to have issues getting people into colleges. FCPS schools are ranked in the highest in the state, many above aps schools.

At my kids FCPS, it is optional to allow retake but you can’t retake to more than an 80. I do think that student grades under the “retake to an A” policy will be viewed suspiciously. If colleges know about it.

Of course colleges already know about it. And at my DSs FCPS high school each course can decide their own retake policy. So all FCPS schools have to allow a retake to an 80 and then each course can decide if they want to go above it or stay with the 80. All retakes have to be offered and completed in two weeks with some exceptions. Also in FCPS, any work that is a reasonable attempt cannot get a zero. You must receive above a 50%. Only work that is not handed in can receive a zero. So FCPS has a more lenient grading policy than aps and has had one for years. Those kids have not gotten lazy and no one in FCPS has accused kids of making a mockery of the system. They have passed tons of AP exams, been national merit semi finalists, won science, history, literary, annd quiz bowl awards, etc etc. I don’t think the previous aps retake policy was a travesty. Yes- there could have been data driven revisions this summer, but ending it mid year based on teacher comments is not necessarily a transparent decision.

I’m confused. My DC is at FCPS and was not allowed to retake a test she scored under an 80 on. Are you sure this is a FCPS policy?

The fact that APS can retake tests to an A and MCPS gives 1.0 bump for honors classes, illustrates the problems with comparing students from different school systems.

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-and-reporting/secondary/grading-assignments-and-assessments
I can’t speak to your specific situation. There are modifiers- it might be a PBA or it might be something else where he had feedback in chunks through the process. I don’t know. But that link confirms what is stated in the quote you replied to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh my kid is very stressed about this new policy. I don't think I realized how much he really cared about getting 100%s for everything 😞

Then it’s good for him. Do you want him to go to college and get a 93% and freak out? Or worse, an actual B.

Of course not. I think it is just a bit of a wakeup call that we need to address his anxiety.

I don’t think you are alone. The grade inflation is rampant and sets kids up for a belief that they should and can, without much work for many of them, be perfect. Without the negative feedback, they don’t learn how to really study or write or think critically. And, even more
importantly, they don’t learn resiliency and coping in the face of perceived “failure” (which, in my view, is way more important than any of the crud they are stuffing in their brains instead and will forget in a year.)

Oh agree 100%. He is my kid where academic stuff has always come easy to him. I have another kid that has had to work his butt off academic wise. The kid who works his butt off is 100% times more resilient.

[Anonymous]

I'm definitely worried about resiliency and I don't know what to do about it.

[Anonymous]

It just makes APS look incompetent to completely change a policy mid year in such a major way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the policy. My senior failed 2 calculus tests initially, went over the mistakes with his teacher, studied again with a better knowledge, and got As. He wouldn't have mastered the content without the opportunity.

Is this pertaining to quizzes or exams? Or is it both?

DP. Summative means tests.

So in the above example, perhaps more quizzes along the way would have been beneficial to assess the student's understanding and need for reviewing mistakes with the teacher prior to the test. Math is a subject that warrants frequent evaluation and check-ins.

I am a different PP, but DC's math teacher announced new, regular quizzes. So there at least will be an idea if ZdC understands or not before the test given that homework isn't graded. DC ended up with a C in this class for the quarter, so I guess the retakes helped him not fail, but there was no A emerging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the policy. My senior failed 2 calculus tests initially, went over the mistakes with his teacher, studied again with a better knowledge, and got As. He wouldn't have mastered the content without the opportunity.

Is this pertaining to quizzes or exams? Or is it both?

DP. Summative means tests.

So in the above example, perhaps more quizzes along the way would have been beneficial to assess the student's understanding and need for reviewing mistakes with the teacher prior to the test. Math is a subject that warrants frequent evaluation and check-ins.

I am a different PP, but DC's math teacher announced new, regular quizzes. So there at least will be an idea if ZdC understands or not before the test given that homework isn't graded. DC ended up with a C in this class for the quarter, so I guess the retakes helped him not fail, but there was no A emerging.

**DC not Zdc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm definitely worried about resiliency and I don't know what to do about it.

\

PP here. I am not sure either! With my kid he is in scouts which has helped somewhat in other areas (like I think he could survive in the middle of the woods lol) but I am not sure how to increase/encourage academic resiliency. If he gets anything challenging or has negative feedback it is really hard for him to take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm definitely worried about resiliency and I don't know what to do about it.

\

PP here. I am not sure either! With my kid he is in scouts which has helped somewhat in other areas (like I think he could survive in the middle of the woods lol) but I am not sure how to increase/encourage academic resiliency. If he gets anything challenging or has negative feedback it is really hard for him to take.

Repeated encounters with increasingly significant "failures." Practice, practice, practice.
If it's really so bad to the point of self-destruction or mental breakdown, professional counseling. But if it's just "really hard for him to take," he just needs to take it and see that he still survives disappointments. Share your stories of learning from and surviving disappointments and failures. Same way we all did. Same way others learn it. You don't learn it if you don't encounter it and see examples of others being successful after challenges or criticism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s worrisome for strong students. If everyone has an A in APS grades will quickly be meaningless. Having a 4.0 in APS will mean nothing at all. Ugh.

FCPS has a modification of the policy that aps adopted at the beginning of the school year and they do not seem to have issues getting people into colleges. FCPS schools are ranked in the highest in the state, many above aps schools.

At my kids FCPS, it is optional to allow retake but you can’t retake to more than an 80. I do think that student grades under the “retake to an A” policy will be viewed suspiciously. If colleges know about it.

Of course colleges already know about it. And at my DSs FCPS high school each course can decide their own retake policy. So all FCPS schools have to allow a retake to an 80 and then each course can decide if they want to go above it or stay with the 80. All retakes have to be offered and completed in two weeks with some exceptions. Also in FCPS, any work that is a reasonable attempt cannot get a zero. You must receive above a 50%. Only work that is not handed in can receive a zero. So FCPS has a more lenient grading policy than aps and has had one for years. Those kids have not gotten lazy and no one in FCPS has accused kids of making a mockery of the system. They have passed tons of AP exams, been national merit semi finalists, won science, history, literary, annd quiz bowl awards, etc etc. I don’t think the previous aps retake policy was a travesty. Yes- there could have been data driven revisions this summer, but ending it mid year based on teacher comments is not necessarily a transparent decision.

I’m confused. My DC is at FCPS and was not allowed to retake a test she scored under an 80 on. Are you sure this is a FCPS policy?

The fact that APS can retake tests to an A and MCPS gives 1.0 bump for honors classes, illustrates the problems with comparing students from different school systems.

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-and-reporting/secondary/grading-assignments-and-assessments
I can’t speak to your specific situation. There are modifiers- it might be a PBA or it might be something else where he had feedback in chunks through the process. I don’t know. But that link confirms what is stated in the quote you replied to.

Wow. I did not know about this policy. I thought each teacher was different.

[Anonymous]

We got several emails from teachers today about the new policy. One openly said we'd had to cut a lot of content and projects out of class due to the time demands of all the retakes and corrections so now we can add back some content to the school year.

That is eye opening.

I'm glad they changed mid-year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. You have kids trying to take multiple summer classes so they have more space in their schedule for more AP classes. They are told that competition is so fierce that there is no room for error. These kids are super stressed.

Unfortunately though, there’s more than a grain of truth to this. There are more and more people, but spot numbers for anything and everything have not increased proportionally, only become more expensive. Instead everywhere is overcrowded, no matter what class, what activity, or which path, it’s always full, try outs and wait lists for everything. Not to mention In-state schools for college are more and more difficult to get into, accepting 1/3 or 1/4 of applicants, and I’m sure this is true for other states and privates as well.

IMO kids wouldn’t be super stressed, if it was all only parental anxiety with no basis in reality. Kids already see this for themselves before they get to high school; that there is no space for everyone - anywhere, no matter their interests.

[Anonymous]

A message was sent today stating that teachers have discretion to offer retakes to students scoring above 80%. So it sounds just like the FCPS policy, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A message was sent today stating that teachers have discretion to offer retakes to students scoring above 80%. So it sounds just like the FCPS policy, I guess.

Who sent this? Which school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s worrisome for strong students. If everyone has an A in APS grades will quickly be meaningless. Having a 4.0 in APS will mean nothing at all. Ugh.

FCPS has a modification of the policy that aps adopted at the beginning of the school year and they do not seem to have issues getting people into colleges. FCPS schools are ranked in the highest in the state, many above aps schools.

At my kids FCPS, it is optional to allow retake but you can’t retake to more than an 80. I do think that student grades under the “retake to an A” policy will be viewed suspiciously. If colleges know about it.

Of course colleges already know about it. And at my DSs FCPS high school each course can decide their own retake policy. So all FCPS schools have to allow a retake to an 80 and then each course can decide if they want to go above it or stay with the 80. All retakes have to be offered and completed in two weeks with some exceptions. Also in FCPS, any work that is a reasonable attempt cannot get a zero. You must receive above a 50%. Only work that is not handed in can receive a zero. So FCPS has a more lenient grading policy than aps and has had one for years. Those kids have not gotten lazy and no one in FCPS has accused kids of making a mockery of the system. They have passed tons of AP exams, been national merit semi finalists, won science, history, literary, annd quiz bowl awards, etc etc. I don’t think the previous aps retake policy was a travesty. Yes- there could have been data driven revisions this summer, but ending it mid year based on teacher comments is not necessarily a transparent decision.

I’m confused. My DC is at FCPS and was not allowed to retake a test she scored under an 80 on. Are you sure this is a FCPS policy?

The fact that APS can retake tests to an A and MCPS gives 1.0 bump for honors classes, illustrates the problems with comparing students from different school systems.

And FCPS gives .05 bump for honors courses, which APS does not. Also, the APS policy just changed (the reason for this thread). The policy allowing kids to retake a test if they got over an 80 was in effect for ONE SEMESTER. FCPS has allowed retake since 2020

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A message was sent today stating that teachers have discretion to offer retakes to students scoring above 80%. So it sounds just like the FCPS policy, I guess.

Who sent this? Which school?

Wakefield