Changes to grading for all MCPS high school students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New policy approved: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/18/mcps-new-grading-policies/

Cna someone replace Jawando with a sound board where every button just yells "That's racist!" It would be cheaper and easier than carting him around everywhere, and nothing would be lost.

LOL.

[Anonymous]

This is terrible! Why would they do this? Kids who loved school will now learn to hate it. They make it so unfun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is terrible! Why would they do this? Kids who loved school will now learn to hate it. They make it so unfun.

Kids who were skipping school were one of the main reasons for changing the policy, because once they had their first or third quarter grade set, they could blow off the second or fourth quarter classes and still pass.

[Anonymous]

Students knew that if they earned a C in the 1st or 3rd quarter. Example: 69.5… they could then fail the subsequent marking period (2nd or 4th quarter) and still pass for the semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New policy approved: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/18/mcps-new-grading-policies/

Cna someone replace Jawando with a sound board where every button just yells "That's racist!" It would be cheaper and easier than carting him around everywhere, and nothing would be lost.

They should more clearly report the rounding does not account for the percentage. So 79.5 is still an 80. Also they should note that only ES/MS are year long courses. All HS courses are semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Garbage in, garbage out.

They are playing with the calculations but doing nothing about mapping performance to numbers, except in the zifty (zero/fifty percent) case.

Oh they are, and the people who are going to be held to account on that part are the principals. Taylor promised MCPS schools would achieve 4 star or above ratings on the School report card, and they are mapping SIP plans directly with MCAP scores. These are also mapped more directly into the Strategic Plan.

Yup. Which is why I'm confused as to why MCAAP does not see how they are being set up and get busy holding Taylor's feet to the fire?

Teachers as well should start being clear on their boundaries and how they going to grade. What extra activities they are participating in or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New policy approved: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/18/mcps-new-grading-policies/

Cna someone replace Jawando with a sound board where every button just yells "That's racist!" It would be cheaper and easier than carting him around everywhere, and nothing would be lost.

They should more clearly report the rounding does not account for the percentage. So 79.5 is still an 80. Also they should note that only ES/MS are year long courses. All HS courses are semester.

What about the middle school courses that count towards earned HS credit such as Foreign Language and Advanced Math classes? Will those classes be held to the high school grading standards despite being offered in middle school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is terrible! Why would they do this? Kids who loved school will now learn to hate it. They make it so unfun.

Kids who were skipping school were one of the main reasons for changing the policy, because once they had their first or third quarter grade set, they could blow off the second or fourth quarter classes and still pass.

They should instead have a policy where if you have more than 6 unexcused absences or what ever number you fail the class. Or make attendance part of the grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is terrible! Why would they do this? Kids who loved school will now learn to hate it. They make it so unfun.

Kids who were skipping school were one of the main reasons for changing the policy, because once they had their first or third quarter grade set, they could blow off the second or fourth quarter classes and still pass.

They should instead have a policy where if you have more than 6 unexcused absences or what ever number you fail the class. Or make attendance part of the grade.

Mcps did away with the LC policy over 15 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New policy approved: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/18/mcps-new-grading-policies/

Cna someone replace Jawando with a sound board where every button just yells "That's racist!" It would be cheaper and easier than carting him around everywhere, and nothing would be lost.

They should more clearly report the rounding does not account for the percentage. So 79.5 is still an 80. Also they should note that only ES/MS are year long courses. All HS courses are semester.

What about the middle school courses that count towards earned HS credit such as Foreign Language and Advanced Math classes? Will those classes be held to the high school grading standards despite being offered in middle school?

The new regulations apply to grades 6-12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is terrible! Why would they do this? Kids who loved school will now learn to hate it. They make it so unfun.

Kids who were skipping school were one of the main reasons for changing the policy, because once they had their first or third quarter grade set, they could blow off the second or fourth quarter classes and still pass.

They should instead have a policy where if you have more than 6 unexcused absences or what ever number you fail the class. Or make attendance part of the grade.

We had that. I do miss the LC policy, but the truth is that it was never applied with fidelity. Every middle class parent I knew (myself included) gamed the system by writing notes to cover our kids’ absences and tardies. Low income parents didn’t know this. In some cases, I told parents what to write in a note so I didn’t have to LC their kid for things other kids were getting away with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New policy approved: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/18/mcps-new-grading-policies/

Cna someone replace Jawando with a sound board where every button just yells "That's racist!" It would be cheaper and easier than carting him around everywhere, and nothing would be lost.

They should more clearly report the rounding does not account for the percentage. So 79.5 is still an 80. Also they should note that only ES/MS are year long courses. All HS courses are semester.

What about the middle school courses that count towards earned HS credit such as Foreign Language and Advanced Math classes? Will those classes be held to the high school grading standards despite being offered in middle school?

Yes, the change is for secondary school, not just hs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is terrible! Why would they do this? Kids who loved school will now learn to hate it. They make it so unfun.

Kids who were skipping school were one of the main reasons for changing the policy, because once they had their first or third quarter grade set, they could blow off the second or fourth quarter classes and still pass.

They should instead have a policy where if you have more than 6 unexcused absences or what ever number you fail the class. Or make attendance part of the grade.

We had that. I do miss the LC policy, but the truth is that it was never applied with fidelity. Every middle class parent I knew (myself included) gamed the system by writing notes to cover our kids’ absences and tardies. Low income parents didn’t know this. In some cases, I told parents what to write in a note so I didn’t have to LC their kid for things other kids were getting away with.

Why do you assume low income families wouldn't know or do this as well? They can make it so you have a doctors note after a certain number to deal with irresponsible parents like you. Why is it you blame others for your bad behavior.