Reply to MCPS report cards -- how common is ES?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

No, that is not what I am saying.  Sorry if I was not completely clear.  In MS algebra, the student receives a grade based his performance on assessments.  It's possible that he can fully comprehend the material, but choose to put forth no effort [i]on the test[/i], and therefore fail.  The teacher couldn't just say "But I know he knows it, he gets an A."  If the same student were in 3rd grade and put forth no effort on an assessment, it is the teacher's job to find another way for him to show that he knows the material (through the "mutiple and varied ways of assessment"), especially if the teacher is confident that the student has in fact mastered the material.  Obviously if the student receives an A in MS algebra, he has acquired the skills AND shown that he has acquired the skills.  But if he fails, it does not automatically mean that he has not acquired the skills; it means that he has not [i]shown [/i]that he has.  Similarly, a student in high school could have great understanding of social studies, but rush through essays or tests and not try very hard.  Therefore her grade reflects the effort she put into demonstrating what she knows.  In elementary school, she should receive a P (or ES) because she IS proficient in that concept.  The teacher just needs to find a way for her to demonstrate that.

The elementary report card is showing what the student has learned.  MS/HS is showing what the student has done.

Like I said, this is the way of thinking with the new report cards, not a perfect representation.  I don't find it meaningless, just different than it was in previous years.  If you look at it in this way, it makes more sense.  If you don't want to look at it in this way, you will be just as baffled/outraged/frustrated as before.
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Sorry, I called BS.  That was not a nice way to make my point.  I understand what you are saying.  I agree that in elementary school teachers should make a bigger effort to find out what the child actually knows, not just what they are willing to demonstrate at a point in time, and that in middle school, kids are assumed to put forth effort to demonstrate knowledge.  IME, it actually happens very little that the elementary school teacher goes the extra mile to see what a child who isn't performing in one situation actually knows.  IMO, the new report card really doesn't measure kids better than the old one.  Even in the old curriculum/report card, teachers were using a variety of graded situations to assess whether a child "knew" the skill or not.  Yes, there were "formal" tests, but there was no need to switch to a new curriculum or report card format just to show that a child "IS" proficient in a concept.  The old system was capable of assessing that as well.  If MCPS wanted to de-emphasize the importance of one test as a measure of "proficiency" they could have done that just by changing the weighted value of a test in the broad cross-section of graded work in a particular unit.

BTW, if a middle school teacher thinks a child is not demonstrating proficiency but really does know the material, it is absolutely his/her moral obligation to get to the bottom of why rather than just letting that child fail and slip through the cracks.  
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