Reply to Why are kids mad about the new grading?

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[quote=Anonymous]I have a rising junior, and I've talked to her and a couple of her friends about this during the summer.  I can tell you why they are stressed/mad already for this year.

(1) No/not enough input from students and parents before final decision was made.

(2) Poor rollout/explanation of portions of the plan.  For example, none of us know/are certain whether a course like World History that has always been divided into two courses -- A and B--with two grades will become a full year course with one grade for the entire year.  What happens if someone takes AP Bio or Chem -- a two period class?  Do these classes become two full year grades?

(3) Immediate implementation.  Every system-wide grade change (except when they clarified that getting an A and B in either marking period is an A) or course implementation change (Health going from 1 to 2 semesters) that has occurred over the past 10 years has not been immediately applied to current students.  Always a grace period before implementation.  The excuse that everyone in a class has to be on the same grading system is just pure laziness on behalf of the school system.  They have plenty of time to create a program to address this issue if it is really an issue.

(4) Number of students taking AP/IB courses will drop.  Students will take Honors instead of AP because they get the same weighted grade.  Since MCPS does not distinguish courses in rankings and did not do a review of what courses should receive higher weighing before rolling out the new grading system, my junior and her friends are fearful that they will lose out in competitions for scholarships and other school awards because other students will take easier courses.

(5)  Diminishes prior grades for those entering the college application process/no time to repair any lower grades earned during junior year for admissions.  There is nothing MCPS can say to explain the grading change on transcripts that would not harm students in admissions who receive lower grades under the new system.

(6) "Will increase uniformity in grading."  There has never been uniformity in grading.  There have always been teachers that would not round anything between 89.51-89.99 to a 90.  (My sons had those teachers in AP/Honors math courses.)  There also is nothing in the plan to ensure that teachers will return work within 10 days.  My children frequently have had math and language teachers submit grades on 15-20 assignments including tests the eve of mid-term and end of marking period/semester deadlines, denying them the ability if needed to correct.  Complaints from parents and students at my kids' high school about such teachers have been ignored for years.[/quote]

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