Reply to WaPo article on new grading system

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]I think that one of the advantages of the new grading system is that it foils the idea that you should do your best so that you get a good grade, and another one of the advantages is that it foils the idea that how well you do is related to how well other people do.[/quote]

Wow, I couldn't disagree more. First, why on earth would anyone want to foil the idea that you should do your best to get a good grade? I understand that from the county's perspective it only matters that a high enough % of students achieve proficiency. This is their goal and not in the interest of the individual student. An individual student should learn how to do their best and that putting forth effort is the way to succeed. This is one of the most important messages that you can develop in students. Achievement doesn't just come from genetic luck, its merit driven.

The new grading system doesn't do anything differently in terms of comparative data. The new grading system provides less information on the individual student's performance which is where the problem exists. Neither system provided comparative data. Frankly, comparative data is actually a good measurement. Its often used to identify learning disabilities. [/quote]

I was the PP, and I did not mean to say that you shouldn't do your best. I meant to say that you shouldn't do your best [b]so that you get a good grade[/b]. Rather, you should do your best because you want to learn and because doing something in a shoddy manner is a waste of everybody's time (including yours).

And I agree that the new grading system doesn't actually do anything differently in terms of comparative data (which, yes, is useful), but it certainly does something differently in terms of perception. For all anybody knows, most of the class used to get As or Os, just as (people say that) most of the class now gets Ps. But parents whose children got As or Os could still preen themselves on the superiority of their children. Whereas it is much more difficult for parents to preen themselves on the superiority of their children when their children get Ps.[/quote]

It sounds like you have quite a bias here.  You seem to think that the reason a parent would want their child to get good grades is to "preen."  I disagree.  Parents want (and deserve) to be able to see data that demonstrates what information the student has learned.  This information used to be readily accessible in MCPS schools.  Under the new reporting structure and report cards, it isn't accessible at all.  Sure, a teacher can claim that all students have earned a 'P" but what, really does this mean.  Does it mean that the student learned 70% of the material, 80%, 90%?  Sure, one could argue that somewhere between 70-90% is proficient, but as a parent, I want to know whether it is the former or the latter.  The is quite a difference between 70% and 90% and when the schools want to put the vast majority of kids into the "P" category, it means that kids who are actually earning on the lower end will look like stronger students and, perhaps, will not get the extra help they need.
Time to stop vilifying the motives of parents and time to examine why a large school system would want to artificially make it appear that most of the kids are performing at exactly the same level.[/quote]

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