"P" grade even if incomplete or not all correct?

[Anonymous]

My 3rd grader brings home graded worksheets with "P"s. Some of these, however, contain one inattention error out of a dozen math questions (marked as such by the teacher) or an incomplete answer (for example, child was asked to answer yes or no, then explain his answer, and my child just said yes or no).

This is surprising to me, since the 2nd grade teacher would invariable mark as "I" any worksheet with even the slightest mistake or incomplete answer. Being rather slow, my child would as a result often come home with "I"s for not fully answering the question, and received a couple of "I"s on his report card.

Have you noticed this much variability?

[Anonymous]

In my experience, a P usually means that everything or almost everything was correct. Sometimes everything, sometimes almost everything.

Have you considered the possibility that this is just a personality difference between the second-grade teacher and the third-grade teacher?

[Anonymous]

My child is in 4th grade. The grading system makes no sense to me. My child will get everything right and get a P. She will get 4 questions wrong and get a P. She will half-ass a writing piece and get a P. She can write something really good and get a P. To me, this sends the message that, virtually any work will get a P (so no need to try to hard, right?). Unfortunately, my child is picking up on this very message. She says no matter how hard I work, I get a P.:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is in 4th grade. The grading system makes no sense to me. My child will get everything right and get a P. She will get 4 questions wrong and get a P. She will half-ass a writing piece and get a P. She can write something really good and get a P. To me, this sends the message that, virtually any work will get a P (so no need to try to hard, right?). Unfortunately, my child is picking up on this very message. She says no matter how hard I work, I get a P.:

The message I try to send my children in elementary school is that they should do their best in order to do their best, not that they should do their best in order to get a good grade.

And they know the difference between something they did their best on and something they didn't do their best on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is in 4th grade. The grading system makes no sense to me. My child will get everything right and get a P. She will get 4 questions wrong and get a P. She will half-ass a writing piece and get a P. She can write something really good and get a P. To me, this sends the message that, virtually any work will get a P (so no need to try to hard, right?). Unfortunately, my child is picking up on this very message. She says no matter how hard I work, I get a P.:

That is a teacher issue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is in 4th grade. The grading system makes no sense to me. My child will get everything right and get a P. She will get 4 questions wrong and get a P. She will half-ass a writing piece and get a P. She can write something really good and get a P. To me, this sends the message that, virtually any work will get a P (so no need to try to hard, right?). Unfortunately, my child is picking up on this very message. She says no matter how hard I work, I get a P.:

The message I try to send my children in elementary school is that they should do their best in order to do their best, not that they should do their best in order to get a good grade.

And they know the difference between something they did their best on and something they didn't do their best on.

If that is what you teach your kids (and it happens to be what I teach mine too) you should be bothered by the "everything is a P" grading system. It undermines the idea that hard work results in something different than mediocre (or even bad) work. Sure as adults we know there I'd intrinsic value in a job well done, but let's be realistic: this sends the wrong message about hard work. Also, let's say you worked for a company that promoted and paid the unproductive or bad workers in the same way they promoted/compensated the high achievers? Would you really want to put in the long hours, biz trips away from home, etc knowing there was no difference in your comp. C'mon.

[Anonymous]

No, I am not bothered. First, not everything is a P. Second, these are elementary school children, not adults. Third, elementary school is not a competition.

Hard work does result in something different than mediocre or bad work -- namely, it results in you having done your best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I am not bothered. First, not everything is a P. Second, these are elementary school children, not adults. Third, elementary school is not a competition.

Hard work does result in something different than mediocre or bad work -- namely, it results in you having done your best.

Then using your logic, why grade anything? Just tell kids to do their best and no need to have anything graded. Teachers can assign a subjective grade for reporting purposes to the county. It doesn't matter, we patents told them to do their best, no feedback is required. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, I am not bothered. First, not everything is a P. Second, these are elementary school children, not adults. Third, elementary school is not a competition.

Hard work does result in something different than mediocre or bad work -- namely, it results in you having done your best.

Then using your logic, why grade anything? Just tell kids to do their best and no need to have anything graded. Teachers can assign a subjective grade for reporting purposes to the county. It doesn't matter, we patents told them to do their best, no feedback is required. Give me a break.

16:48 here again. I agree with you - give me a break indeed. Unfortunately, some parents buy into the circular logic of this new grading system. What happens when all of these "P" students have to take actual assessments like SATs and entrance exams. Tell us again how none of these things matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, I am not bothered. First, not everything is a P. Second, these are elementary school children, not adults. Third, elementary school is not a competition.

Hard work does result in something different than mediocre or bad work -- namely, it results in you having done your best.

Then using your logic, why grade anything? Just tell kids to do their best and no need to have anything graded. Teachers can assign a subjective grade for reporting purposes to the county. It doesn't matter, we patents told them to do their best, no feedback is required. Give me a break.

Yes, actually, I would be happy with no grades in elementary school. There are other forms of feedback from teachers that are much more useful. And in elementary school especially, children should be learning to love learning for the sake of learning, not for the sake of grades.

(This is another difference between elementary school and the adult workplace, given that adults typically do not work for the sake of working, but rather for the sake of getting paid.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, I am not bothered. First, not everything is a P. Second, these are elementary school children, not adults. Third, elementary school is not a competition.

Hard work does result in something different than mediocre or bad work -- namely, it results in you having done your best.

Then using your logic, why grade anything? Just tell kids to do their best and no need to have anything graded. Teachers can assign a subjective grade for reporting purposes to the county. It doesn't matter, we patents told them to do their best, no feedback is required. Give me a break.

16:48 here again. I agree with you - give me a break indeed. Unfortunately, some parents buy into the circular logic of this new grading system. What happens when all of these "P" students have to take actual assessments like SATs and entrance exams. Tell us again how none of these things matter.

Then your kid must be a damn genius taking the SAT in elementary school, cause last time I looked mudfle and high school reverts back to the traditional grading system.
Not only that but if someone's kid is taught to do their best, and go back and "learn" what they may have missed or misunderstand how is that setting them up for failure!

[Anonymous]

Honestly it's just variable because teachers are human and interpreting the system differently. My 5th graders teacher gives a bunch of Is (which have motivated my slacker 5th grader who got all As previously out of just 'mailing it in'). She now works her butt off to get those Ps. My 1st grader seems to get ES'es for completing his assignments, even if he is clearly writing asinine answers designed to impress his little buddies. Oh well...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly it's just variable because teachers are human and interpreting the system differently. My 5th graders teacher gives a bunch of Is (which have motivated my slacker 5th grader who got all As previously out of just 'mailing it in'). She now works her butt off to get those Ps. My 1st grader seems to get ES'es for completing his assignments, even if he is clearly writing asinine answers designed to impress his little buddies. Oh well...

And this is why the system is worse than grades. It just seems so much more subjective.

[Anonymous]

I looked at my son's homework today (first year under 2.0) and several assignments said P and several said I, but there were no other remarks at all. So how do we tell why an I and why an P? This is useless grading--but I suspect this is a teacher issue, rather than a curriculum issue. At least in math I can still tell what's going on . . .

[Anonymous]

PP, I assume you are talking about a reading/writing assignment? What grade? In 2nd grade it was pretty obvious when something was wrong.

I have no issue with the P/I thing what I do have an issue with is that there is no way to get an ES in math or spelling. At least not at our school.