Reply to APS and Grading for Equity

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am moving my son from Catholic school back to public for more flexible grading polices and extended homework time at APS. It is difficult for him currently complete homework and study some nights due to getting out from school extended day at 5 or 6 PM and then sports practices some evenings. (Yes, we think 11-year-olds should be allowed to play sports on several school weeknights nights after sitting indoors for most of the day, 8-6).

Catholic and private schools have rigid grading polices, points lost for late homework and NO test make-up or retake polices. One poor test grade and a missing homework assignment or 2 can bring a good student down to a "D" grade! And teachers do not care about outside commitments therefore will not give parents homework in advance for weekends.

I think a reasonable approach of a few extra days to turn in assignments or occasional test retakes to help boost a grade (but not totally wipe it out) is a good compromise. [/quote]

Agree that "no excuses" rigid policies are not good for lots of kids. And it's unfair to hold kids to account for things they have no control over. Those are things grading for equity gets right. Alot of the implementation gets it really wrong. Appreciate the teachers speaking out about it. [/quote]

+1 Some flexibility is good but no deadlines at all and many retakes don't help kids learn what they need. Soft skills matter in life. When my DS was in MS, their school had a multiple-retakes policy for tests. By the time DD got to the same grade, the policy was removed. The teacher said the students basically didn't study for the first test just to see how they did, planning to study if they had to for the retake (which many did). So she was practically doubling her grading time so they could figure out how much to slack off. No way.

DD has a 504 for her ADHD and when we discussed extended time for assignments in HS, she recognized that unlimited time would do her no favors since she would likely let work pile up without that accountability. Instead, it was written as extended time - based on discussion with her teacher. This was helpful because she had to learn to speak up, discuss her particular problem with the teacher, and negotiate the deadline. All good life skills. I realize this isn't really feasible for a HS teacher to do with 100+ students so I don't know what the answer is. But we all know that when there is no deadline or an extended deadline, most kids will work to the latest date they are given.[/quote]

Great self-advocating! And a good example of why these policies actually hurt some kids that it claims to help. [/quote]

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