50% rule question - do different schools interpret it different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think any serious person is concerned about the 50% rule. People need to get a life.

On the contrary, most people who are serious about MCPS being a quality school district are very concerned about that. Including the students themselves.

https://thermtide.com/9320/popular/the-mcps-50-percent-rule-inadequately-prepares-students-for-the-future/

https://thermtide.com/8225/news/50-percent-rule-undermines-student-work-ethic/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our teachers do give lower than 50% so if you get an assignment wrong you are better off not doing it but we have not seen 50%, just 0 or low scores. They are not allowed to make up tests or quizzes, just a limited number of some assignments. Its not consistent.

This is literally against mcps policy

Given that MCPS policy is dumb and stupid, it should be actively ignored

Teachers ignore policy all the time. In fact, the policy is more of a gentle guideline.

Depends on the school. At my school, assigning 50% to missing work is the only option.

[Anonymous]

I had a MS kid who was absent 65 times last year. Thanks to the 50% rule he got D’s and C’s in every class because he wrote his name in make up work the last week of the quarter. I guess it’s good he hasn’t dropped out yet, but he doesn’t pass standardized tests and doesn’t come to school more often than before. So what is the point again? Why even have grades? Why not have a checklist of which benchmark skills the kid has achieved or work habits?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a MS kid who was absent 65 times last year. Thanks to the 50% rule he got D’s and C’s in every class because he wrote his name in make up work the last week of the quarter. I guess it’s good he hasn’t dropped out yet, but he doesn’t pass standardized tests and doesn’t come to school more often than before. So what is the point again? Why even have grades? Why not have a checklist of which benchmark skills the kid has achieved or work habits?

What school?
And what grading policy are you guys using? What you described is not the 50% rule.

[Anonymous]

But if you're a new teacher without support or protection vindictive admin can really stick it to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a MS kid who was absent 65 times last year. Thanks to the 50% rule he got D’s and C’s in every class because he wrote his name in make up work the last week of the quarter. I guess it’s good he hasn’t dropped out yet, but he doesn’t pass standardized tests and doesn’t come to school more often than before. So what is the point again? Why even have grades? Why not have a checklist of which benchmark skills the kid has achieved or work habits?

What school?
And what grading policy are you guys using? What you described is not the 50% rule.

But it makes such a wonderful talking point! Who cares if it's true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But if you're a new teacher without support or protection vindictive admin can really stick it to you.

Getting more concise. Strunk and White would approve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think any serious person is concerned about the 50% rule. People need to get a life.

On the contrary, most people who are serious about MCPS being a quality school district are very concerned about that. Including the students themselves.

https://thermtide.com/9320/popular/the-mcps-50-percent-rule-inadequately-prepares-students-for-the-future/

https://thermtide.com/8225/news/50-percent-rule-undermines-student-work-ethic/

No, they aren't. The only people concerned about it are far-right extremists who love to insist the sky is falling. This policy has little to no impact on anything worth worrying about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think any serious person is concerned about the 50% rule. People need to get a life.

On the contrary, most people who are serious about MCPS being a quality school district are very concerned about that. Including the students themselves.

https://thermtide.com/9320/popular/the-mcps-50-percent-rule-inadequately-prepares-students-for-the-future/

https://thermtide.com/8225/news/50-percent-rule-undermines-student-work-ethic/

No, they aren't. The only people concerned about it are far-right extremists who love to insist the sky is falling. This policy has little to no impact on anything worth worrying about.

Well if an op-ed piece in a student newspaper says so, it must be true!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a high school teacher at Wheaton. We are not allowed to give anything below a 50% in the All Task Category (90% of the grade). If the student “tries” (basically puts their name on it), we have to give at least a 55%.

For the Practice Prep Category (10% of the grade), we are allowed to give 0% for assignments not turned in by the due date. Some teachers still give 50%. IMO, PP is worth so little of the grade, a 0% does nothing. I don’t give 50% for PP because I feel like it’s the only piece of accountability the teacher still has left. I also refuse to grade tons of late PP at the end of the quarter. It literally stands for “Practice.” If the kids are not practicing on time, what good does it do to turn it in last minute?

Someone at Wheaton HS told me that you get 55% rather than 50% for missing work. Is that true

No. Missing is 50%. If they try, the lowest they can get is a 55%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a MS kid who was absent 65 times last year. Thanks to the 50% rule he got D’s and C’s in every class because he wrote his name in make up work the last week of the quarter. I guess it’s good he hasn’t dropped out yet, but he doesn’t pass standardized tests and doesn’t come to school more often than before. So what is the point again? Why even have grades? Why not have a checklist of which benchmark skills the kid has achieved or work habits?

How does writing your name get you a C or D? Shouldn't it be a 50?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think any serious person is concerned about the 50% rule. People need to get a life.

On the contrary, most people who are serious about MCPS being a quality school district are very concerned about that. Including the students themselves.

https://thermtide.com/9320/popular/the-mcps-50-percent-rule-inadequately-prepares-students-for-the-future/

https://thermtide.com/8225/news/50-percent-rule-undermines-student-work-ethic/

No, they aren't. The only people concerned about it are far-right extremists who love to insist the sky is falling. This policy has little to no impact on anything worth worrying about.

So the students who wrote the articles you're ignoring are lying? It must be fun creating your own reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think any serious person is concerned about the 50% rule. People need to get a life.

On the contrary, most people who are serious about MCPS being a quality school district are very concerned about that. Including the students themselves.

https://thermtide.com/9320/popular/the-mcps-50-percent-rule-inadequately-prepares-students-for-the-future/

https://thermtide.com/8225/news/50-percent-rule-undermines-student-work-ethic/

No, they aren't. The only people concerned about it are far-right extremists who love to insist the sky is falling. This policy has little to no impact on anything worth worrying about.

I would disagree with you. Plenty of progressive teachers I know also are concerned/ don’t support the 50% rule. And little to no impact is not true… The 50% rule is literally inflating their grades. Students who are graduating with Bs or Cs become shocked when they cannot keep up in a higher academic setting. I had one student last quarter attend maybe 10 times? She turned in one or two assignments at the end… combined with all the 50%s she was able to pass with a D.

The 50% rule is setting the bar so low for our students it’s practically on the floor. This is not helping their work/study habits or preparing them at all.

[Anonymous]

Colleges look at a 4.0 from MCPS as a 3.7 due to all the quarter grade rounding up and 50% rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colleges look at a 4.0 from MCPS as a 3.7 due to all the quarter grade rounding up and 50% rule.

Selective colleges renormalize to suit their needs, often on a class by class basis.