APS Most Likely Moving to Standards-Based Grading/Grading for Equity Next School Year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS and the School Board last night had their first working session to discuss setting a new grading policy by the end of this school year, with changes driven by equity concerns (based off of the book "Grading for Equity" by Joe Feldman, which 100+ at APS are reading right now and every SB member received a copy of last night).

Some proposals include:
a) Eliminating late penalties for turning in homework late
b) Allowing retakes of tests
c) Eliminating extra credit
d) Having more ungraded formative assessments (and presumably less graded homework, classwork and labs)

Here are the board slides:
https://rb.gy/cl2icr

And the working session video:
https://www.apsva.us/school-board-meetings/school-board-work-sessions-meetings/

Thoughts? Anyone know about empirical results? Downsides?

See TC Williams/Alexandria High School.

That will give you all the "results" you need on these kind of policies.

Up until just a few years ago, they had a rule if a student did nothing, nothing at all, no homework, no participation, no tests, they would still get a a grade of 50%. So let's say a student did one assignment, the teacher could give them enough points to get their grade to a D and viola they passed! The new rule was the student didn't automatically get a grade of 50%. And parents and students complained it was 'unfair". So you can see the kind of mindset that settles in after a years of low expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My APS middle schooler's school started this last year, and it has been mostly a frustrating experience. So they use SBG for the assignments, but convert to A/B/C etc. for the report cards... but each teacher seems to convert the grades differently.

For example, some teachers decided that having more than one 3 = a B. So if a kid has ten 4s and two 3s, they get a B. If they have more than one 2, a C and so on... in traditional grading, scores are averaged, so a good grade can help bring up a bad one, but not in that way of using SBG. You could have 100 4s but those two 3s still bring you down an entire letter grade. Other teachers equate 4 to A, 3 to B, etc., but this is confusing because is a 4 a 90, a 95, or a 100? It doesn't really make sense.

Most of the work the kids do does not count for a grade at all. In some cases, only 2-3 assignments per quarter count for a grade. Since kids were blowing off the "formative" (not for a grade) assignments last year, this year, they made a rule that kids are not allowed to take the "summative" (for a grade) tests, etc. unless they have completed all of the formative work.

Being able to retake tests has been nice (for the kids), but there wasn't consistency regarding how many retakes were allowed (most teachers just allowed one; some allowed as many as the students wanted).

Also, the kids need to write a paragraph "justifying" their grade at the end of each quarter-- proving why they should get the grade they claim. Then the teacher can approve it, or not. That seems like the opposite of equity to me. Grades to be based on data, no persuasive writing skills (unless that's the assignment).

Finally, no extra credit allowed, even if you are only using the resources APS provides, like the ipad. They claim extra credit isn't "fair," but that only makes sense if it's extra credit requiring supplies provided at home, for example. I have tried to read more about SBG to better understand it, but so far, NOT a fan.

This is what my DC had in Latin 3 last year. It was super confusing and I couldn't tell from the gradebook how he was doing. Thankfully he ended up with As, but it was a total surprise each quarter.

[Anonymous]

Which APS middle schools are already doing standards based grading?

I have one kid in 7th at HBW and they still get letter grades... Is this changing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which APS middle schools are already doing standards based grading?

I have one kid in 7th at HBW and they still get letter grades... Is this changing?

Gunston. Don’t know about others. They do still get letter grades on each report card, though (for now).

[Anonymous]

My kid at Yorktown had classes with standards-based grading. It was a joke - little to no homework, endless test corrections allowed. He got A's because he went to class. But then when he got to college and he almost flunked out because he didn't know how to manage his time or study for tests.

It's like spoon-feeding - has no relation to the real world and setting them up for failure later on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid at Yorktown had classes with standards-based grading. It was a joke - little to no homework, endless test corrections allowed. He got A's because he went to class. But then when he got to college and he almost flunked out because he didn't know how to manage his time or study for tests.

It's like spoon-feeding - has no relation to the real world and setting them up for failure later on.

This is EXACTLY why we moved both my kids to private for HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid at Yorktown had classes with standards-based grading. It was a joke - little to no homework, endless test corrections allowed. He got A's because he went to class. But then when he got to college and he almost flunked out because he didn't know how to manage his time or study for tests.

It's like spoon-feeding - has no relation to the real world and setting them up for failure later on.

Bingo. These “standards” don’t apply in the real world of higher education and the workplace. They exist solely to game the metrics with which we judge k-12 educational disparities. Which of course are at a basic level, income based.

SBG will simply lull kids into underachievement and then shock them when they find out everyone else thinks those standards are bogus. Including admissions officers.

[Anonymous]

The second pillar under equitable grading in this weird series of slides is concerning. No real problem with the other two.

[Anonymous]

Ranking and comparing others is fundamental to the upper middle class focus on “meritocracy.” This plan really hits that where it hurts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS and the School Board last night had their first working session to discuss setting a new grading policy by the end of this school year, with changes driven by equity concerns (based off of the book "Grading for Equity" by Joe Feldman, which 100+ at APS are reading right now and every SB member received a copy of last night).

Some proposals include:
a) Eliminating late penalties for turning in homework late
b) Allowing retakes of tests
c) Eliminating extra credit
d) Having more ungraded formative assessments (and presumably less graded homework, classwork and labs)

Here are the board slides:
https://rb.gy/cl2icr

And the working session video:
https://www.apsva.us/school-board-meetings/school-board-work-sessions-meetings/

Thoughts? Anyone know about empirical results? Downsides?

Honest question here: What is the problem they think they need to fix? I'm not sure I understand. Is there a teacher on this forum who can help me follow this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS and the School Board last night had their first working session to discuss setting a new grading policy by the end of this school year, with changes driven by equity concerns (based off of the book "Grading for Equity" by Joe Feldman, which 100+ at APS are reading right now and every SB member received a copy of last night).

Some proposals include:
a) Eliminating late penalties for turning in homework late
b) Allowing retakes of tests
c) Eliminating extra credit
d) Having more ungraded formative assessments (and presumably less graded homework, classwork and labs)

Here are the board slides:
https://rb.gy/cl2icr

And the working session video:
https://www.apsva.us/school-board-meetings/school-board-work-sessions-meetings/

Thoughts? Anyone know about empirical results? Downsides?

Honest question here: What is the problem they think they need to fix? I'm not sure I understand. Is there a teacher on this forum who can help me follow this?

Not a teacher, but it sounds like APS is concerned about consistency across schools and maybe even within schools. Seems like a reasonable concern.

[Anonymous]

APS only cares about doing what is easier, and then covering up their true reasons with the fig leaf of "equity". They don't really care about equity - the concept just happens to overlap with the principle of getting away with the least work possible.

It was easier to shut down school for the whole year without any kind of a vote - it did not promote equity.

It is easier to give multiple opportunities to reach a desired testing outcome instead of holding anyone accountable.

It is easier to just give everyone a day off for any random holiday rather than creating a calendar that makes hard trade offs in the name of educating children.

It is easier for the SB to have opinions on boundary lines than anything substantive regarding pedagogical methods.

It is harder to stand up a virtual school - and look how successful they were with that! But starting a virtual school is easier than building a physical school, so kudos for that perverted kind of long-term planning, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have to fight against them watering down the grading anymore.

I have a current middle schooler who told me that he didn't bother to start trying until 6th grade because nothing was graded. I was a bit taken aback. But sure, makes sense. The elementary report card system of "Meets Expectations" are utter useless crap. I don't even bother reading them. I just read the comments at the top.

No, they said "equity," that means you can't fight it.

[Anonymous]

Just an aside, but wow, these people in the me were big have a tremendous mask game. Good for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just an aside, but wow, these people in the me were big have a tremendous mask game. Good for them.

^ meeting