Reply to BASIS DCPCSB to open two PK3-5 campuses

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Reply to "BASIS DCPCSB to open two PK3-5 campuses"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A bar of 60% cumulative is low. I am surprised that if you master just over HALF of the material you can be promoted. Sounds like DCPS 2.0.[/quote]

They do hold back kids in the middle school. Not a lot but there are kids who can't meet that percentage in several classes. Some do master the material a second time through and others just leave and go somewhere else.

[b]Conversely in DCPS you cannot receive a grade lower than 50% on any assignment, even if you don'y do anything beyond writing your name on the paper. And students must be given unlimited opportunities for makeup work. That's not how BASIS works, for better or worse[/b].

[/quote]

I'd call it for worse.  %50 is still a failing grade -- it prevents a single failing grade from overly weighing down average scores, since DCPS would never consider median for evaluation.  Why shouldn't a motivated student be given an opportunity to improve on past poor performance?  Isn't that the point of repeating a grade?  Unless of course the incentives/disincentives are designed to be punitive.   Makeup work is a less draconian approach which discourages disengagement when there's little to be gained from trying.[/quote]

Maybe. I agree the BASIS appraoch is beyond insane at the elementary level.

But for higher grades including high school - where DCPS still does this - I disagree. The DCPS grading guidelines already ensure that ALL tests in a grading period can't be worth even half a student's grade, and homework and participation count for a huge amount. [/quote]

I see your point but I wasn't referring to test grades alone.  Students get graded on assignments  which can be as valuable as tests.  It's tough where some students fail for lack of effort and others for lack of ability.  The effort can be encouraged without pandering if the ability is there.[/quote]

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