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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Duran isn't perfect butt he's the best we've have  maybe since Smith. Certainly better than Murphy. New parents here who are outraged should take a breath. It's a long, hard slog, and you'll come to appreciate APS is better than most. [/quote]
I agree. Plus with the shortage of superintendent candidates, the 10 million dollar lawsuit, the outdoor lab incident and a recent overdose there’s zero chance we could get someone better[/quote]

You think the lawsuit and outdoor lab incident and overdose are bad?  wait till y'all find out about "grading for equity" that APS is mandating and what it means (don't be fooled by that name), hold tight parents.  [/quote]

It's not "grading for equity".  :roll: [/quote]

Do you mean it’s not *called* grading for equity, or that it’s not grading for *actual* equity? And can someone  tell us the basics of this thing?[/quote]

+ 1 - can someone please explain the new policy and why it's bad? [/quote]

Because no one fails so they all fail. They’re bringing everyone down to the lowest level. If you can’t understand what that’s bad I can’t help you. [/quote]

Mastery based grading is another name for this. Letter grades are dropped in favor of descriptions of the level of mastery attained. There are no failures or negative assessments. Most public school districts and some private schools are adopting aspects of this equitable and revolutionary grading system all over the country. It’s a learning process by many schools to see what works for their student population. But so far according to compiled data, this new grading system has successfully reduced the achievement gap for the first time: less A grades (or the equivalent) and no failures. Check out the book by leading proponent and educator Joe Feldman: Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms

While are a number of bespoke versions of the mastery or skills based grading, there are a number of commonalities.

In general, soft skills no longer factor into grades: These include study habits, classroom participation, tardiness, attendance, classroom behavior, homework completion, etc. Assessments solely focus on the mastery of subject matter, and nothing else.

A final assessment accounts for roughly 90% of the grade. And unlimited retests (and tutoring if needed) are offered to students to increase their level of mastery.

Notably teachers are pushing back against this new grading system that ignores soft skills and prioritizes an end of term assessment. But there are proponents among parents and school administrators. [/quote]

Thank you for taking the time to explain this. Is there a link to it? I'm a pretty involved parent, I though, but I can't find it. [/quote]

It's called "equity based" because [b]it gives the opportunity for students who don't have full supports at home[/b] -- quiet study areas, parents who can help with homework -- [b]the opportunity to excel[/b]. This doesn't diminish the opportunity for YOUR student to excel. This message that equity-based is lowering standards is a right wing talking point.
[/quote]

There are elements of the new approach that might have merit on their own, like emphasizing final assessments over lots of little assignments and homework completion, or giving people some opportunities to re-take tests. Taken together, though, the whole "Grading for Equity" approach reads more like magical thinking, because the claim seems to be that all these changes will close the achievement gap.

Advocates seem to think that the "achievement gap" is this thing that exists on paper because the way we grade students and assign weight to different assignments disadvantages kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. Those disadvantaged kids ought to have the same potential so any grading system that doesn't demonstrate that fact by statistically similar outcomes is ipso facto inequitable.

The proof will be in the pudding, too, because whatever system is going to adopt this will still have students taking SATs and participating in NAEP assessments. And when they start showing huge differences in [i]actual abilities[/i] among kids who are graduating, it will be clear that all these changes have done is serve to obscure where the deficiencies are.

Changing the way kids are graded doesn't change the way they're taught, and it doesn't change what they've learned. And it certainly hasn't done anything to help with the issues at home preventing them from reaching their full potential. The net result is just going to be making kids who aren't actually excelling feel like they are. And that's an absolutely terrible outcome. [/quote]

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