DCPS 4th advisory grades

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have to be an equal number of credit and extra credit assignments. Do they have to be weighted the same in Aspen?

Yes

According to what source? Equal number doesn't have to mean equal weight.

Sigh. I KNOW they don't mean the same thing. According to the DCPS 4th advisory grading policy posted on the previous page. Also discussed with, I would assume, all faculty during PD on Friday. Since you can't be bothered to read the previous page, here is the relevant quote for you, bolded. You're welcome.

Assigning an Equal Balance of Regular Credit and Extra Credit
We believe that it is important that students have multiple routes to earn credit during this period of at home learning, so we ask that teachers assign two assignments per week in term 4. One assignment should count as regular credit and the next should count as extra-credit. The assignments should carry equal value (they should be out of the same number of points). At the end of the term, the term 4 gradebook should contain an equal number of points for regular credit and extra credit assignments. This adjustment will give students an opportunity to earn high term 4 grades and increase their overall course grade.

[Anonymous]

Wilson teachers are tone-deaf. We have a major research paper due- the date has been moved up and a unit assessment test this Friday. Why is there such a disconnect between admin and teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wilson teachers are tone-deaf. We have a major research paper due- the date has been moved up and a unit assessment test this Friday. Why is there such a disconnect between admin and teachers?

You can be assigned a paper. But you can turn it in without penalty until May 29. And your teacher has to offer extra credit of equal weight to that paper. They are not supposed to give assessments. Email the principal and the superintendent. They have been very clear about the grading policies around types of assignments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS Teacher: In a Staff Meeting I was in on Friday, here is what the District Offices per the Mayor told us...

1. Students receive 50% for all Assignments and 50% for Participation. (Definition of Participation was unclear)

2. Students CAN fail if they do not meet traditional grading policy guidelines.

3. Distance Learning Summer School is being developed for students who do not meet criteria.

I’d like to give more, but by the end of our meeting, there were more questions than answers.

Students absolutely cannot fail unless they receive an "I" and don't make up the missing work by JANUARY 2021!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilson teachers are tone-deaf. We have a major research paper due- the date has been moved up and a unit assessment test this Friday. Why is there such a disconnect between admin and teachers?

You can be assigned a paper. But you can turn it in without penalty until May 29. And your teacher has to offer extra credit of equal weight to that paper. They are not supposed to give assessments. Email the principal and the superintendent. They have been very clear about the grading policies around types of assignments.

You can turn it in without penalty until May 29. The last day for students and staff is May 29.

DCPS IS CLUELESS and will remain so until parents actually open their mouths and complain. The 4th advisory grading policy is dense and confusing. They expect teachers to do be math and technology experts instead of setting the grading system in Aspen up properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilson teachers are tone-deaf. We have a major research paper due- the date has been moved up and a unit assessment test this Friday. Why is there such a disconnect between admin and teachers?

You can be assigned a paper. But you can turn it in without penalty until May 29. And your teacher has to offer extra credit of equal weight to that paper. They are not supposed to give assessments. Email the principal and the superintendent. They have been very clear about the grading policies around types of assignments.

You can turn it in without penalty until May 29. The last day for students and staff is May 29.

DCPS IS CLUELESS and will remain so until parents actually open their mouths and complain. The 4th advisory grading policy is dense and confusing. They expect teachers to do be math and technology experts instead of setting the grading system in Aspen up properly.

I agree with most of this except the math expert part. As long as for every credit assignment you have an extra credit assignment in the same category for equal points then you are good to go. Now changing Aspen settings at this point is insane. And the density of the policy is absurd as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilson teachers are tone-deaf. We have a major research paper due- the date has been moved up and a unit assessment test this Friday. Why is there such a disconnect between admin and teachers?

You can be assigned a paper. But you can turn it in without penalty until May 29. And your teacher has to offer extra credit of equal weight to that paper. They are not supposed to give assessments. Email the principal and the superintendent. They have been very clear about the grading policies around types of assignments.

You can turn it in without penalty until May 29. The last day for students and staff is May 29.

DCPS IS CLUELESS and will remain so until parents actually open their mouths and complain. The 4th advisory grading policy is dense and confusing. They expect teachers to do be math and technology experts instead of setting the grading system in Aspen up properly.

I agree with most of this except the math expert part. As long as for every credit assignment you have an extra credit assignment in the same category for equal points then you are good to go. Now changing Aspen settings at this point is insane. And the density of the policy is absurd as well.

So one extra credit assignment for each regular assignment? That's all we need to do to balance it out? If you can't tell, we have no tech help at my school. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilson teachers are tone-deaf. We have a major research paper due- the date has been moved up and a unit assessment test this Friday. Why is there such a disconnect between admin and teachers?

You can be assigned a paper. But you can turn it in without penalty until May 29. And your teacher has to offer extra credit of equal weight to that paper. They are not supposed to give assessments. Email the principal and the superintendent. They have been very clear about the grading policies around types of assignments.

You can turn it in without penalty until May 29. The last day for students and staff is May 29.

DCPS IS CLUELESS and will remain so until parents actually open their mouths and complain. The 4th advisory grading policy is dense and confusing. They expect teachers to do be math and technology experts instead of setting the grading system in Aspen up properly.

I agree with most of this except the math expert part. As long as for every credit assignment you have an extra credit assignment in the same category for equal points then you are good to go. Now changing Aspen settings at this point is insane. And the density of the policy is absurd as well.

So one extra credit assignment for each regular assignment? That's all we need to do to balance it out? If you can't tell, we have no tech help at my school. Thanks in advance!

Yes that’s my understanding of that dense grading policy we received, and what my AP told us. In terms of tech help, I think DCPS is in for a rude awakening when teachers start trying to mess with Aspen settings!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilson teachers are tone-deaf. We have a major research paper due- the date has been moved up and a unit assessment test this Friday. Why is there such a disconnect between admin and teachers?

You can be assigned a paper. But you can turn it in without penalty until May 29. And your teacher has to offer extra credit of equal weight to that paper. They are not supposed to give assessments. Email the principal and the superintendent. They have been very clear about the grading policies around types of assignments.

You can turn it in without penalty until May 29. The last day for students and staff is May 29.

DCPS IS CLUELESS and will remain so until parents actually open their mouths and complain. The 4th advisory grading policy is dense and confusing. They expect teachers to do be math and technology experts instead of setting the grading system in Aspen up properly.

I agree with most of this except the math expert part. As long as for every credit assignment you have an extra credit assignment in the same category for equal points then you are good to go. Now changing Aspen settings at this point is insane. And the density of the policy is absurd as well.

So one extra credit assignment for each regular assignment? That's all we need to do to balance it out? If you can't tell, we have no tech help at my school. Thanks in advance!

Yes that’s my understanding of that dense grading policy we received, and what my AP told us. In terms of tech help, I think DCPS is in for a rude awakening when teachers start trying to mess with Aspen settings!

Did anyone else end up with third advisory "grades" in the 300s? C- students jumped up to 138s... And that was just with 1/4 extra credit...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilson teachers are tone-deaf. We have a major research paper due- the date has been moved up and a unit assessment test this Friday. Why is there such a disconnect between admin and teachers?

You can be assigned a paper. But you can turn it in without penalty until May 29. And your teacher has to offer extra credit of equal weight to that paper. They are not supposed to give assessments. Email the principal and the superintendent. They have been very clear about the grading policies around types of assignments.

You can turn it in without penalty until May 29. The last day for students and staff is May 29.

DCPS IS CLUELESS and will remain so until parents actually open their mouths and complain. The 4th advisory grading policy is dense and confusing. They expect teachers to do be math and technology experts instead of setting the grading system in Aspen up properly.

I agree with most of this except the math expert part. As long as for every credit assignment you have an extra credit assignment in the same category for equal points then you are good to go. Now changing Aspen settings at this point is insane. And the density of the policy is absurd as well.

So one extra credit assignment for each regular assignment? That's all we need to do to balance it out? If you can't tell, we have no tech help at my school. Thanks in advance!

Yes that’s my understanding of that dense grading policy we received, and what my AP told us. In terms of tech help, I think DCPS is in for a rude awakening when teachers start trying to mess with Aspen settings!

Did anyone else end up with third advisory "grades" in the 300s? C- students jumped up to 138s... And that was just with 1/4 extra credit...

I didn’t and I had a lot of angry students who moved only one letter grade for me, but ended up with grades of well over 100 in their other classes. I didn’t check the extra credit box because it increases grades too much. I left blanks for assignments that weren’t submitted and gave full credit if they were. There is no reason for averages of 105 and 106 because of extra credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilson teachers are tone-deaf. We have a major research paper due- the date has been moved up and a unit assessment test this Friday. Why is there such a disconnect between admin and teachers?

You can be assigned a paper. But you can turn it in without penalty until May 29. And your teacher has to offer extra credit of equal weight to that paper. They are not supposed to give assessments. Email the principal and the superintendent. They have been very clear about the grading policies around types of assignments.

You can turn it in without penalty until May 29. The last day for students and staff is May 29.

DCPS IS CLUELESS and will remain so until parents actually open their mouths and complain. The 4th advisory grading policy is dense and confusing. They expect teachers to do be math and technology experts instead of setting the grading system in Aspen up properly.

I agree with most of this except the math expert part. As long as for every credit assignment you have an extra credit assignment in the same category for equal points then you are good to go. Now changing Aspen settings at this point is insane. And the density of the policy is absurd as well.

So one extra credit assignment for each regular assignment? That's all we need to do to balance it out? If you can't tell, we have no tech help at my school. Thanks in advance!

Yes that’s my understanding of that dense grading policy we received, and what my AP told us. In terms of tech help, I think DCPS is in for a rude awakening when teachers start trying to mess with Aspen settings!

Did anyone else end up with third advisory "grades" in the 300s? C- students jumped up to 138s... And that was just with 1/4 extra credit...

A lot of teachers in my school did. There are ways to avoid that and still follow the extra credit policy but it takes more calculating on your part to determine the total extra credit possible. I wouldn't worry about it. This is what DCPS wants. It's just not fair to the kids who don't have access to what's needed for distance learning. But that's on DCPS too for creating this extra credit policy.

[Anonymous]

https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/FAQ-on-Term-4-Grading-Promotion-and-Graduation-English-FINAL.pdf

Term 4 Secondary Grading
While teachers will not administer exams during this time, our expectation is that students will participate in learning at home as best as possible. To give all 6th to 12th grade students chances to improve their academic standing, term 4 grades will be weighted equally between Practice & Application and Participation; there will be weekly opportunities to earn extra credit; and work may be turned in at any time without penalty. Students will receive term 4 grades on the A-F scale.

Practice & Application
50% of grade will cover all packet work and other assignments.

Participation
50% of grade will be used for participation in learning at home. This could include activities such as watching a lesson in real time and engaging with the teacher, or it could take place on a student’s own schedule by completing a reflection afterwards.

Teachers will assign two assignments per week in term 4, each with the same number of points. One assignment should count as regular credit and the next should count as extra
credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/FAQ-on-Term-4-Grading-Promotion-and-Graduation-English-FINAL.pdf

Term 4 Secondary Grading
While teachers will not administer exams during this time, our expectation is that students will participate in learning at home as best as possible. To give all 6th to 12th grade students chances to improve their academic standing, term 4 grades will be weighted equally between Practice & Application and Participation; there will be weekly opportunities to earn extra credit; and work may be turned in at any time without penalty. Students will receive term 4 grades on the A-F scale.

Practice & Application
50% of grade will cover all packet work and other assignments.

Participation
50% of grade will be used for participation in learning at home. This could include activities such as watching a lesson in real time and engaging with the teacher, or it could take place on a student’s own schedule by completing a reflection afterwards.

Teachers will assign two assignments per week in term 4, each with the same number of points. One assignment should count as regular credit and the next should count as extra
credit.

So kids will be able to earn a 200% this advisory....

[Anonymous]

Grades will be meaningless for this entire year from DCPS. Almost anyone who showed up will have straight As.

It's going to be rough for high schoolers because colleges will see through this and will toss the entire year. They can't distinguish between applicants when every applicant from an entire city has As for a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grades will be meaningless for this entire year from DCPS. Almost anyone who showed up will have straight As.

It's going to be rough for high schoolers because colleges will see through this and will toss the entire year. They can't distinguish between applicants when every applicant from an entire city has As for a year.

I agree grades are meaningless this year but trust me that lots of kids don't have As. Many don't have access to technology or the time or the space at home. Many just stopped working who had Cs or Bs already.