Reply to APS Retake Policy change announced

Forum Index » VA Public Schools other than FCPS

Reply to "APS Retake Policy change announced"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This policy is such a classic case of having a theoretical plan that goes wrong in the real world.

Of course the kids taking advantage will be the panicked A hunters.  I agree with what a PP said.  In this messed up environment, it is fully accurate that one B will blow your chances at a whole class of colleges.  And they know it.  These are very motivated kids and there are plenty of them.

The kids pulling Cs and Ds and failing and not getting the material who this policy was meant to capture and help.  Are they really more motivated by this policy?  Probably not much.

In my view this was all predictable, but hey they figured it out in the real world I guess.[/quote]

Yes- it was all very foreseeable. But it was a policy created by the admin with teacher input (see above comment). I am shocked that aps made a mid year change that is to the detriment of the students. This will negatively impact the students. I think the lesson that kids are learning here is “adults will leave you high and dry if they get to do less work.” I think there could have been some structural changes that aps could have made that would have reduced teacher workload without changing the policy at the expense of students.

A nearby school district implement a very similar policy a few years ago. It was a complete sh!tshow the first year with a ton of extra work. But teachers worked together in their course content areas. All of the intensified chem teachers made one retake and then they took turns one day a week holding re-takes. So each teacher didn’t have to stay after every week. They only stayed after once or twice a month, and they didn’t have to make their own retakes they worked together. There are so many ways that aps could have made modifications. Of course, aps just listens to the loudest voices. The nearby school district did make changes in the summer for the next year. But no changes were allowed for the students. They had to keep whatever they said on the syllabus. The syllabus is a binding document that really cannot be changed, at least that’s how the nearby school district  views it. I wish aps had the same honor and integrity to their students. [/quote]

I think this is overblown really.  As long as all students are treated the same and the change in policy is clearly stated ahead of tests in the 3rd quarter it is what it is.  The idea that the syllabus is some holy document that must not be changed or APS lacks integrity is just a lot.  You might not like it, but I think it's within bounds.
[/quote]

Kids made decision in August/September based on the policies in front of them. They decided to stay in a challenging class because they knew they could work hard and had a re-take option if needed. They are maintaining a B in class working hard and using the re-take policy. Now they could very easily get a C, because the policy has changed mid year. Like it or not, outside forces as mentioned above don’t really allow for you to get a C in a class and still get into a lot of colleges. You need to get As and very few Bs to get into many selective colleges. I think it’s unfortunate and I think a syllabus lays out the policies of the class at the beginning of the year. It has transparency and clear expectations. A very large school district near us does not allow for any changes to the syllabus that could potentially negatively impact the students mid year. I think that shows integrity and models that for students. [/quote]

I don't get it though and I have a kid in high school.  Figure it out to get the grade you want on the first test.  I agree this will take adjustments to how kids might be operating.  But as a general plan, doing poorly on the first test and then figuring it out to take the re-take was not a good plan in the first place.[/quote]

I think “figuring it out” is a bit of a naive strategy. Best practices say that teachers should be giving formative (pre test) assignments to give students feedback so they can realize if they are “figuring it out.” But in many classes, due to class size, HW only graded for completion, teachers over confidence that they know inherently that the students are getting the material, many times the unit test is the first chance to get real feedback that you were misunderstanding a concept. Then you get that feedback, study again and do better. That is truly happening for many students. Previous opportunities to “figure it out” weren’t there. Math lunch labs are not truly operated in reality. The teachers talk about them at back to school night, but when kids show up, teachers are shocked and just tell kids to practice quietly in the back. It’s not a true opportunity. I am happy that your high schooler has figured it out, but all kids are different.[/quote]

It's the approach to teaching that needs to change - not making policies that require kids to do double the work and take up extra time to re-do and re-take. Fix the TEACHING. Make teachers TEACH.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics