New FCPS grading policy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way to prepare the kids for college or the real world.

No retakes in college. Boss might go easy have to redo something every once in a while but not often.

Of course this really sucks for the teacher as well.

Just save time and give everyone As. Kids who want to learn will, kids who don’t will wind up on the dole.

I am a teacher. This is the logical conclusion.

Unlimited retakes is not going to happen. Just dumb down the test and viola happy kids and parents and principals.

Maybe make it an option to take some tests for a grade since half the kids don't seem to even want to learn the material. Instead of dumbing down just offer extra credit for those who care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way to prepare the kids for college or the real world.

No retakes in college. Boss might go easy have to redo something every once in a while but not often.

Of course this really sucks for the teacher as well.

Just save time and give everyone As. Kids who want to learn will, kids who don’t will wind up on the dole.

I am a teacher. This is the logical conclusion.

Unlimited retakes is not going to happen. Just dumb down the test and viola happy kids and parents and principals.

Maybe make it an option to take some tests for a grade since half the kids don't seem to even want to learn the material. Instead of dumbing down just offer extra credit for those who care.

Offering extra credit requires the teacher to work, and they hate that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids who actually need the retakes almost never take them. They should put a limit on who can retake a test (eg, c or lower).

Nah. If a kid wants to make sure he gets an A in the class instead of a B, nothing wrong with that at all.

Too bad this new grading policy wont be enforced for all Fairfax high schools. Apparently equity only matters if you have a principal who cares about their students more than their own careers. Why is the school board and administration allowing this to happen?

Where does it say this policy will not take place at all high schools? It looks like this is a new policy to standardize all the high schools since they currently all have different policies.

I do wonder how this will affect the schools using the SBG method though.

This won’t apply to schools with SBG. There are no retakes. New grades can replace old ones, but not on the same material. Supposedly on the same “skills.” It is a hot mess and everyone knows it, otherwise the new grading policy would be SBG rather than something new. It is unfortunate that kids at Madison and Herndon have a totally separate grading policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way to prepare the kids for college or the real world.

No retakes in college. Boss might go easy have to redo something every once in a while but not often.

Of course this really sucks for the teacher as well.

Just save time and give everyone As. Kids who want to learn will, kids who don’t will wind up on the dole.

I am a teacher. This is the logical conclusion.

Unlimited retakes is not going to happen. Just dumb down the test and viola happy kids and parents and principals.

Maybe make it an option to take some tests for a grade since half the kids don't seem to even want to learn the material. Instead of dumbing down just offer extra credit for those who care.

Offering extra credit requires the teacher to work, and they hate that.

Why create more work? Grades should just be grades. You got a B, C- or A, that’s the grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid gets retakes in college. It is very professor dependent. Not a college policy.

What college? Never heard of this and I have two in college.

My daughter is at Wellesley College

That's because they need to keep their bread and butter full-pay families happy and confident in a choice that recognizes the superiority of their offspring. Brown has P/F for lots of classes. Hard to get below a B at Harvard. Etc.

Regardless of the reason (albeit true or not) the point is it happens so the argument about "how will they function in college?" doesn't hold weight. My kid also has retakes in 2 of her college classes. My nephew had to retake the NY bar. In life, there are retakes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way to prepare the kids for college or the real world.

No retakes in college. Boss might go easy have to redo something every once in a while but not often.

Of course this really sucks for the teacher as well.

Just save time and give everyone As. Kids who want to learn will, kids who don’t will wind up on the dole.

I am a teacher. This is the logical conclusion.

Unlimited retakes is not going to happen. Just dumb down the test and viola happy kids and parents and principals.

Maybe make it an option to take some tests for a grade since half the kids don't seem to even want to learn the material. Instead of dumbing down just offer extra credit for those who care.

Offering extra credit requires the teacher to work, and they hate that.

Why create more work? Grades should just be grades. You got a B, C- or A, that’s the grade.

The point of the class is to learn the material. If the student takes a test, and this shows they don’t know the material, then they go back and learn it and pass the test the next time, their grade should reflect that.

[Anonymous]

I hate this new policy. A cap of 90% would be much better. This is going to be more work for teachers as kids who gets A minuses now and call it a day will try to retest each time to get the max points. It will add stress to those kids too by trying to be perfectionist about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate this new policy. A cap of 90% would be much better. This is going to be more work for teachers as kids who gets A minuses now and call it a day will try to retest each time to get the max points. It will add stress to those kids too by trying to be perfectionist about it.

I teach at a school that already has the 100% retake policy. Some teachers have 2/3 or more of their students retaking, with the corresponding increase in grading workload. The other side effect is that between that and the 50% quarterly minimum, overall grades are much higher and mean a lot less than they used to.

[Anonymous]

I didn’t realize any schools already had the 100% retake! It’s a ridiculous policy that means teachers will have more work and grades are less meaningful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid gets retakes in college. It is very professor dependent. Not a college policy.

What college? Never heard of this and I have two in college.

My daughter is at Wellesley College

Ah a snowflake school where everyone graduates with a 3.8 or higher. Just delays the reality of life, unless there is a sufficient trust fund.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate this new policy. A cap of 90% would be much better. This is going to be more work for teachers as kids who gets A minuses now and call it a day will try to retest each time to get the max points. It will add stress to those kids too by trying to be perfectionist about it.

I teach at a school that already has the 100% retake policy. Some teachers have 2/3 or more of their students retaking, with the corresponding increase in grading workload. The other side effect is that between that and the 50% quarterly minimum, overall grades are much higher and mean a lot less than they used to.

No. They mean the kids did the extra work needed to master the material. If they do better on the retake, then they mastered the material, they deserve the higher grade, and the grade means what it says.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids who actually need the retakes almost never take them. They should put a limit on who can retake a test (eg, c or lower).

Nah. If a kid wants to make sure he gets an A in the class instead of a B, nothing wrong with that at all.

Too bad this new grading policy wont be enforced for all Fairfax high schools. Apparently equity only matters if you have a principal who cares about their students more than their own careers. Why is the school board and administration allowing this to happen?

Where does it say this policy will not take place at all high schools? It looks like this is a new policy to standardize all the high schools since they currently all have different policies.

I do wonder how this will affect the schools using the SBG method though.

This won’t apply to schools with SBG. There are no retakes. New grades can replace old ones, but not on the same material. Supposedly on the same “skills.” It is a hot mess and everyone knows it, otherwise the new grading policy would be SBG rather than something new. It is unfortunate that kids at Madison and Herndon have a totally separate grading policy.

Is this stated somewhere? Board docs or elsewhere?

I can't believe I'm learning about grading policy changes by FCPS from the newspaper and DCUM and haven't received any communication from the school or the school board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate this new policy. A cap of 90% would be much better. This is going to be more work for teachers as kids who gets A minuses now and call it a day will try to retest each time to get the max points. It will add stress to those kids too by trying to be perfectionist about it.

I teach at a school that already has the 100% retake policy. Some teachers have 2/3 or more of their students retaking, with the corresponding increase in grading workload. The other side effect is that between that and the 50% quarterly minimum, overall grades are much higher and mean a lot less than they used to.

How does the grade mean less if that is the grade they got? They retook a different test after remediation and with time better understood the material. That is an earned grade. Way more earned than a curve, which ALL AP classes do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid gets retakes in college. It is very professor dependent. Not a college policy.

What college? Never heard of this and I have two in college.

My daughter is at Wellesley College

Ah a snowflake school where everyone graduates with a 3.8 or higher. Just delays the reality of life, unless there is a sufficient trust fund.

Don't be jealous your kid couldn't get in. It's an excellent school and very hard to get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids who actually need the retakes almost never take them. They should put a limit on who can retake a test (eg, c or lower).

Nah. If a kid wants to make sure he gets an A in the class instead of a B, nothing wrong with that at all.

Too bad this new grading policy wont be enforced for all Fairfax high schools. Apparently equity only matters if you have a principal who cares about their students more than their own careers. Why is the school board and administration allowing this to happen?

Where does it say this policy will not take place at all high schools? It looks like this is a new policy to standardize all the high schools since they currently all have different policies.

I do wonder how this will affect the schools using the SBG method though.

This won’t apply to schools with SBG. There are no retakes. New grades can replace old ones, but not on the same material. Supposedly on the same “skills.” It is a hot mess and everyone knows it, otherwise the new grading policy would be SBG rather than something new. It is unfortunate that kids at Madison and Herndon have a totally separate grading policy.

Is this stated somewhere? Board docs or elsewhere?

I can't believe I'm learning about grading policy changes by FCPS from the newspaper and DCUM and haven't received any communication from the school or the school board.

Emails only I think. I have written to the school board and gatehouse. But no one cares and now I’ve given up.