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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]And I'm not for the participation medals in sports either, but I'm usually outvoted on this.[/quote]

I agree!

In regard to OP's question... what is to be gained from the ranking in the elementary schools?  I actually was opposed to the new FCPS report cards that got rid of As/Bs/Cs and went to 4, 3, 2, 1.  After thinking about it a little more, I realized my attachment to the old A/B/C scale was in part b/c of the idea that an "A" means you did better than others (comparison with other kids).  The new scale (4, 3, 2, 1) takes away the comparison and gives every child a chance to reach the "top" grade b/c each child is compared with an academic expectation, not with the average score of the class.  As a kid who always got As, I know it became a security blanket for me -- I identified myself based on my grades.  My kids don't seem to be as connected to the identity of being an "A" student b/c they have never had A/B/Cs (they had O, G, S, N)  and with the new system, they won't for several more years.

I think it's for the best that teachers are comparing kids to an objective standard rather than to each other.   I know, there's not as much pride to be taken from a "4" rating as one might have hearing that one's child is "top of the class" -- but I can get over it.  It's better for my kids' self esteem to NOT get attached to the letter grades or comparative rankings and just focus on whether they have learned the material well or need to work harder.   Lastly, if there were rankings and my kid was at the lower end (which 50% of the class would be) -- what would that do to a kid's motivation?  I can imagine that it would constantly give the lower 50% of kids a mesage that they are the "dumb" ones and they might as well quit.  Nothing to be gained for the lower end and very little for the upper end.  [/quote]

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