Reply to do B's matter in elementary school?

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[quote=Anonymous]I taught in an elementary school where we used a grading scale of 1-5. On the report cards it said that 5 meant “above and beyond.” Since this isn’t Lake Wobegone, I was comfortable grading students at 4 when that’s where their written work placed them, and few were showing achievement/knowledge that beat the standards. Parents freaked out that 4=B, which isn’t good enough. The number of phone calls and meetings I took that winter taught me that it was better to give inauthentic assessment scores than provoke parental anxiety.

In a lot of contexts (from reading remediation to professional certifications), a grade of 80% or better indicates mastery. Also, elementary assessments are short. Kids with attention issues and learning differences (15-50% of any classroom) often miss a couple of questions. It can be hard to keep an average above 90% in those situations. However, short frequent assessments are much more developmentally appropriate and less overwhelming than long assessments.

I’ve taught a lot of high-achieving kids, and so many of them are discouraged and experiencing low self concept because their parents pick apart every less-than-perfect grade they bring home. [/quote]

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