Reply to WaPo article on new grading system

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Second, the O/S/I and letter grade reporting structure did not demonstrate what information the student learned any more than the current grading structure does. An  A in social studies (for example) tells you that the teacher thinks the child did well. But what did the child learn?  And did the A demonstrate that the child learned 90%+ of the material? And was this child who got an A performing at the same level as that child who got an A? And what if most of the class got an A?

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It's important to note that the O/S/I/N system was only in place for K-2.  I no longer have children this young, but if the C2.0 report card has supplanted this system, it doesn't matter so much because the two are essentially the same.

The real problem is that the C2.0 report card system of ES/P/I/N has now supplanted the former A/B/C/D/E system that used to be in place from grade 3 to 5.  This is a critical stage where kids are increasingly expected to acquire academic skills, which if they are not acquired will mean that the student perpetually becomes consigned to being behind grade level.  Formerly, an A meant that on a test or group of tests you demonstrated an ability to answer 90% or more of the questions, B/80%, etc.  Parents could see the tests and could understand what material the student was missing.  This no longer happens in C2.0.  Now in many schools kids are not being given a clear opportunity to earn an ES, so the whole grading system has essentially become pass/fail, except that they are calling "fail" "in progress" until the very last opportunity that a child can demonstrate "proficiency" and then if at the end of the year the child has not become proficient the "fail" is called "Not proficient".

This is the same smoke and mirrors grading that exists for the MSA, where "basic" appears to not be negative to parents when instead it really means that a child did not acquire expected grade level skills. And, where there is no motivation for the school to get kids to anything more than 1 point above "basic" cut scores.

ITA with other posters who say that the new grading system is extremely dangerous for the special education population, because schools often use the phrase "achieving at grade level" to deny services.  Many parents rely on more granular grade reports to show during the IEP process that their child is not responding to instruction and needs special instruction.  This is now almost impossible to show for many, many kids.  It's bad for kids, but will save a lot of money!  [/quote]

This is very informative.  My child is in 5th grade in a HGC and we have missed the entire C2.0 rollout so far but I wonder what to expect next year in middle school.  Does anyone know if they will use the new grading system in middle school?  Right now, dc gets points for every assignment and test.  They are given different weights depending on the subject (in Math, the tests and quizzes matter more than the homework assignments) and we can see how much dc earned on each assignment and test and what dc's overall grade is.  90+ is an "A", 80+ is a "B" and so on.  I find this very easy to understand and I can also tell at a glance the cause of a falling or improving grade.  I hope this continues in middle school when it will be much more challenging to get feedback from teachers on a particular child's progress or lack thereof. [/quote]

Not in middle school right now.  I'm not clear whether the new grading system is or isn't under consideration for MS.  I am a middle school parent, and I would fight LONG and HARD to oppose taking away the A/B/C/D/E system in middle school.  This is an important time for kids to acclimate to a grading system before it counts in high school, as well as an important time for parents to understand where there kids are skill-wise before HS, again, when it really counts.  [/quote]

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