Reply to Should/ Do students at MCPS get 50% for just being able to write their name on assignments

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Reply to "Should/ Do students at MCPS get 50% for just being able to write their name on assignments"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If the work is not done or not turned in, it gets 0.

If the work is done in a mediocre way, it gets 50%.

If the work is done incredibly well, it gets 90%.

This would make it easy for colleges to select accordingly :-)

[/quote]

It doesn't make it easier.

In a system where 50% of the grade is based solely on whether you turn stuff in, your report card reflects behavior more than knowledge.  If you have 2 kids,

Kid A -- takes 2 assessments, scores solidly (85%, indicating mastery) on both, and then doesn't turn in the 3rd due to a medical emergency, or other issue.

Kid B -- takes all 3 assessments.  Gets a D- on all 3.  Clearly does not know the material at all.

Kid A fails and Kid B passes.

The grade is much more about behavior than it is about understanding and mastery.

Switching to a grading system like that used for AP tests, and IB tests, where the difference between an F and a D is the same as the difference between an A and a B changes that.  It stops kids who dont understand by skating by on participation, and reduces the consequences for kids who do understand the concepts, but don't have the stability in their lives to get everything turned in.  It also means that if a kid gets off to a weak start, there's a chance for people to intervene and turn things around, because those early F's don't drag them down.

Having the grading scale go from 50 to 100 means that mathematically it mirrors the G.P.A. scale.  Getting caught up in the idea that 50% means they are getting credit is dumb.  If we changed instead to grading assignments from 0 - 4, with 0 being F and 4 being A, then the math would work out the same, but we'd have fewer complaints.[/quote]

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