Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those saying that their kids are receiving zeroes in FCPS.....is that class/school using a 4.0 scale? If so, they absolutely can receive a zero. The 50% rule only applies to those schools using a 100 point grading scale. It is very difficult to recover from a zero when using 100 point scale. That is a lot to overcome and will destroy any motivation to try.

Not saying this is a perfect solution but as others have said, the A students are not getting hurt by this policy and it gives the lower students a fighting chance and a reason to keep trying.

-FCPS teacher

I honestly think it helps the A student. A smart kid can do the math and decide to skip homework that will have little impact on their grade and spend the time on essays or projects that will. That's how I dealt with a packed schedules in high school and I still managed to graduate third in my class. I think there is value to teaching kids to prioritize strategically- it's a skill that they will need to learn at some point. The guaranteed 50% makes it even easier to take that approach.

Previous college professor...this is exactly what I am saying. But in spite of all the bellyaching, a lot of people like grading everything because 1. they don't find value in doing work unless it "counts and 2. Grading those assignments inflates grades. A student who bombs a test or essay can do better if every assignment counts for something. But that doesn't mean they have learned anything,

High school students are not college students. They NEED the incentive of the homework “counting”
so they will actually do it and learn. This is pretty basic behavioral psychology. Making the entire grade contingent on one high-stakes test or essay also seems sort of the opposite of good pedagogy, and rewards a certain type of learner.

Homework "counting" is an example of extrinsic motivation. We need to move toward intrinsic motivation for students.

do we? lol. how about your job move towards intrinsic motivation and stop paying you?

what we actually need to do is figure out how kids gain mastery, and do that.

Personally, I do not think that school equates to a student's "job." I think school should be about learning and trying to instill a desire to learn. But with all that said, ultimately, inflating grades with highly weighted homework and classwork assignments is not good educational practice.

You’re missing the entire point. Homework is supposed to teach. It’s not supposed to be “inflating” meaningless paperwork. And the high-stakes test at the end of the semester that counts for 80% of the grade under your system is the opposite of behaviorally shaping intrinsic learning.

Homework is supposed to teach... yes. Homework is supposed to help students gain mastery... yes. Homework is assigned... yes. But we should not expect homework to count much in the final course grade. The majority of the final grade should be summative projects, papers, assessments, etc.

DP. Well, yes, but the problem is that you're expecting high school kids to have the maturity to recognize that they need to do the homework and the discipline to sit down and do it. When it counts for almost nothing, a lot of kids just won't do it. Then, they fail to learn the material and fail the assessments. College kids are perfectly capable of handling classes where homework is simply recommended and everything rests on test performance. High schoolers need a lot more handholding and coddling. If having homework count as enough of the grade encourages kids to actually do it, and thus actually learn the material, it's better to handle things that way than it is to set a lot of kids up for failure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those saying that their kids are receiving zeroes in FCPS.....is that class/school using a 4.0 scale? If so, they absolutely can receive a zero. The 50% rule only applies to those schools using a 100 point grading scale. It is very difficult to recover from a zero when using 100 point scale. That is a lot to overcome and will destroy any motivation to try.

Not saying this is a perfect solution but as others have said, the A students are not getting hurt by this policy and it gives the lower students a fighting chance and a reason to keep trying.

-FCPS teacher

I honestly think it helps the A student. A smart kid can do the math and decide to skip homework that will have little impact on their grade and spend the time on essays or projects that will. That's how I dealt with a packed schedules in high school and I still managed to graduate third in my class. I think there is value to teaching kids to prioritize strategically- it's a skill that they will need to learn at some point. The guaranteed 50% makes it even easier to take that approach.

Previous college professor...this is exactly what I am saying. But in spite of all the bellyaching, a lot of people like grading everything because 1. they don't find value in doing work unless it "counts and 2. Grading those assignments inflates grades. A student who bombs a test or essay can do better if every assignment counts for something. But that doesn't mean they have learned anything,

High school students are not college students. They NEED the incentive of the homework “counting”
so they will actually do it and learn. This is pretty basic behavioral psychology. Making the entire grade contingent on one high-stakes test or essay also seems sort of the opposite of good pedagogy, and rewards a certain type of learner.

Homework "counting" is an example of extrinsic motivation. We need to move toward intrinsic motivation for students.

do we? lol. how about your job move towards intrinsic motivation and stop paying you?

what we actually need to do is figure out how kids gain mastery, and do that.

Personally, I do not think that school equates to a student's "job." I think school should be about learning and trying to instill a desire to learn. But with all that said, ultimately, inflating grades with highly weighted homework and classwork assignments is not good educational practice.

You’re missing the entire point. Homework is supposed to teach. It’s not supposed to be “inflating” meaningless paperwork. And the high-stakes test at the end of the semester that counts for 80% of the grade under your system is the opposite of behaviorally shaping intrinsic learning.

Homework is supposed to teach... yes. Homework is supposed to help students gain mastery... yes. Homework is assigned... yes. But we should not expect homework to count much in the final course grade. The majority of the final grade should be summative projects, papers, assessments, etc.

DP. Well, yes, but the problem is that you're expecting high school kids to have the maturity to recognize that they need to do the homework and the discipline to sit down and do it. When it counts for almost nothing, a lot of kids just won't do it. Then, they fail to learn the material and fail the assessments. College kids are perfectly capable of handling classes where homework is simply recommended and everything rests on test performance. High schoolers need a lot more handholding and coddling. If having homework count as enough of the grade encourages kids to actually do it, and thus actually learn the material, it's better to handle things that way than it is to set a lot of kids up for failure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those saying that their kids are receiving zeroes in FCPS.....is that class/school using a 4.0 scale? If so, they absolutely can receive a zero. The 50% rule only applies to those schools using a 100 point grading scale. It is very difficult to recover from a zero when using 100 point scale. That is a lot to overcome and will destroy any motivation to try.

Not saying this is a perfect solution but as others have said, the A students are not getting hurt by this policy and it gives the lower students a fighting chance and a reason to keep trying.

-FCPS teacher

I honestly think it helps the A student. A smart kid can do the math and decide to skip homework that will have little impact on their grade and spend the time on essays or projects that will. That's how I dealt with a packed schedules in high school and I still managed to graduate third in my class. I think there is value to teaching kids to prioritize strategically- it's a skill that they will need to learn at some point. The guaranteed 50% makes it even easier to take that approach.

Previous college professor...this is exactly what I am saying. But in spite of all the bellyaching, a lot of people like grading everything because 1. they don't find value in doing work unless it "counts and 2. Grading those assignments inflates grades. A student who bombs a test or essay can do better if every assignment counts for something. But that doesn't mean they have learned anything,

High school students are not college students. They NEED the incentive of the homework “counting”
so they will actually do it and learn. This is pretty basic behavioral psychology. Making the entire grade contingent on one high-stakes test or essay also seems sort of the opposite of good pedagogy, and rewards a certain type of learner.

Homework "counting" is an example of extrinsic motivation. We need to move toward intrinsic motivation for students.

do we? lol. how about your job move towards intrinsic motivation and stop paying you?

what we actually need to do is figure out how kids gain mastery, and do that.

Personally, I do not think that school equates to a student's "job." I think school should be about learning and trying to instill a desire to learn. But with all that said, ultimately, inflating grades with highly weighted homework and classwork assignments is not good educational practice.

You’re missing the entire point. Homework is supposed to teach. It’s not supposed to be “inflating” meaningless paperwork. And the high-stakes test at the end of the semester that counts for 80% of the grade under your system is the opposite of behaviorally shaping intrinsic learning.

Homework is supposed to teach... yes. Homework is supposed to help students gain mastery... yes. Homework is assigned... yes. But we should not expect homework to count much in the final course grade. The majority of the final grade should be summative projects, papers, assessments, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those saying that their kids are receiving zeroes in FCPS.....is that class/school using a 4.0 scale? If so, they absolutely can receive a zero. The 50% rule only applies to those schools using a 100 point grading scale. It is very difficult to recover from a zero when using 100 point scale. That is a lot to overcome and will destroy any motivation to try.

Not saying this is a perfect solution but as others have said, the A students are not getting hurt by this policy and it gives the lower students a fighting chance and a reason to keep trying.

-FCPS teacher

I honestly think it helps the A student. A smart kid can do the math and decide to skip homework that will have little impact on their grade and spend the time on essays or projects that will. That's how I dealt with a packed schedules in high school and I still managed to graduate third in my class. I think there is value to teaching kids to prioritize strategically- it's a skill that they will need to learn at some point. The guaranteed 50% makes it even easier to take that approach.

Previous college professor...this is exactly what I am saying. But in spite of all the bellyaching, a lot of people like grading everything because 1. they don't find value in doing work unless it "counts and 2. Grading those assignments inflates grades. A student who bombs a test or essay can do better if every assignment counts for something. But that doesn't mean they have learned anything,

High school students are not college students. They NEED the incentive of the homework “counting”
so they will actually do it and learn. This is pretty basic behavioral psychology. Making the entire grade contingent on one high-stakes test or essay also seems sort of the opposite of good pedagogy, and rewards a certain type of learner.

Homework "counting" is an example of extrinsic motivation. We need to move toward intrinsic motivation for students.

do we? lol. how about your job move towards intrinsic motivation and stop paying you?

what we actually need to do is figure out how kids gain mastery, and do that.

Personally, I do not think that school equates to a student's "job." I think school should be about learning and trying to instill a desire to learn. But with all that said, ultimately, inflating grades with highly weighted homework and classwork assignments is not good educational practice.

You’re missing the entire point. Homework is supposed to teach. It’s not supposed to be “inflating” meaningless paperwork. And the high-stakes test at the end of the semester that counts for 80% of the grade under your system is the opposite of behaviorally shaping intrinsic learning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those saying that their kids are receiving zeroes in FCPS.....is that class/school using a 4.0 scale? If so, they absolutely can receive a zero. The 50% rule only applies to those schools using a 100 point grading scale. It is very difficult to recover from a zero when using 100 point scale. That is a lot to overcome and will destroy any motivation to try.

Not saying this is a perfect solution but as others have said, the A students are not getting hurt by this policy and it gives the lower students a fighting chance and a reason to keep trying.

-FCPS teacher

I honestly think it helps the A student. A smart kid can do the math and decide to skip homework that will have little impact on their grade and spend the time on essays or projects that will. That's how I dealt with a packed schedules in high school and I still managed to graduate third in my class. I think there is value to teaching kids to prioritize strategically- it's a skill that they will need to learn at some point. The guaranteed 50% makes it even easier to take that approach.

Previous college professor...this is exactly what I am saying. But in spite of all the bellyaching, a lot of people like grading everything because 1. they don't find value in doing work unless it "counts and 2. Grading those assignments inflates grades. A student who bombs a test or essay can do better if every assignment counts for something. But that doesn't mean they have learned anything,

High school students are not college students. They NEED the incentive of the homework “counting”
so they will actually do it and learn. This is pretty basic behavioral psychology. Making the entire grade contingent on one high-stakes test or essay also seems sort of the opposite of good pedagogy, and rewards a certain type of learner.

Homework "counting" is an example of extrinsic motivation. We need to move toward intrinsic motivation for students.

do we? lol. how about your job move towards intrinsic motivation and stop paying you?

what we actually need to do is figure out how kids gain mastery, and do that.

Personally, I do not think that school equates to a student's "job." I think school should be about learning and trying to instill a desire to learn. But with all that said, ultimately, inflating grades with highly weighted homework and classwork assignments is not good educational practice.

You’re missing the entire point. Homework is supposed to teach. It’s not supposed to be “inflating” meaningless paperwork. And the high-stakes test at the end of the semester that counts for 80% of the grade under your system is the opposite of behaviorally shaping intrinsic learning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those saying that their kids are receiving zeroes in FCPS.....is that class/school using a 4.0 scale? If so, they absolutely can receive a zero. The 50% rule only applies to those schools using a 100 point grading scale. It is very difficult to recover from a zero when using 100 point scale. That is a lot to overcome and will destroy any motivation to try.

Not saying this is a perfect solution but as others have said, the A students are not getting hurt by this policy and it gives the lower students a fighting chance and a reason to keep trying.

-FCPS teacher

I honestly think it helps the A student. A smart kid can do the math and decide to skip homework that will have little impact on their grade and spend the time on essays or projects that will. That's how I dealt with a packed schedules in high school and I still managed to graduate third in my class. I think there is value to teaching kids to prioritize strategically- it's a skill that they will need to learn at some point. The guaranteed 50% makes it even easier to take that approach.

Previous college professor...this is exactly what I am saying. But in spite of all the bellyaching, a lot of people like grading everything because 1. they don't find value in doing work unless it "counts and 2. Grading those assignments inflates grades. A student who bombs a test or essay can do better if every assignment counts for something. But that doesn't mean they have learned anything,

High school students are not college students. They NEED the incentive of the homework “counting”
so they will actually do it and learn. This is pretty basic behavioral psychology. Making the entire grade contingent on one high-stakes test or essay also seems sort of the opposite of good pedagogy, and rewards a certain type of learner.

Homework "counting" is an example of extrinsic motivation. We need to move toward intrinsic motivation for students.

do we? lol. how about your job move towards intrinsic motivation and stop paying you?

what we actually need to do is figure out how kids gain mastery, and do that.

Personally, I do not think that school equates to a student's "job." I think school should be about learning and trying to instill a desire to learn. But with all that said, ultimately, inflating grades with highly weighted homework and classwork assignments is not good educational practice.

Anonymous wrote:Counting homework and class work is the biggest grade fluffing there is. Every year I’m dropping the percent it counts more and more as I realize it. Kids who get Cs on math tests should have Cs for a final grade. The fact that they can “work hard” and get Bs and then sign up for higher level courses with inflated confidence is troubling. They are struggling going forward.

It’s now 85% assessments, 15% other work. Since they get 7.5% baseline, that means a brilliant kid who gets 100 on everything could still have an A doing no work. That seems fair. Ideally I’d get it down to 5% but I’m pretty sure kids who need to do the practice would stop doing it at that point.

Anonymous wrote:This makes me crazy. I live in NJ. When my kid doesn't do an assignment, they get a 0. Not a 50. They don't ever get to retake an exam, or do corrections. As a result, they have As, Bs, and Cs on their transcript. No wonder all the stats on the college forum are so magically perfect. Signed, mom of imperfect kid who does not live in the DMV.

Anonymous wrote:Counting homework and class work is the biggest grade fluffing there is. Every year I’m dropping the percent it counts more and more as I realize it. Kids who get Cs on math tests should have Cs for a final grade. The fact that they can “work hard” and get Bs and then sign up for higher level courses with inflated confidence is troubling. They are struggling going forward.

It’s now 85% assessments, 15% other work. Since they get 7.5% baseline, that means a brilliant kid who gets 100 on everything could still have an A doing no work. That seems fair. Ideally I’d get it down to 5% but I’m pretty sure kids who need to do the practice would stop doing it at that point.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those saying that their kids are receiving zeroes in FCPS.....is that class/school using a 4.0 scale? If so, they absolutely can receive a zero. The 50% rule only applies to those schools using a 100 point grading scale. It is very difficult to recover from a zero when using 100 point scale. That is a lot to overcome and will destroy any motivation to try.

Not saying this is a perfect solution but as others have said, the A students are not getting hurt by this policy and it gives the lower students a fighting chance and a reason to keep trying.

-FCPS teacher

I honestly think it helps the A student. A smart kid can do the math and decide to skip homework that will have little impact on their grade and spend the time on essays or projects that will. That's how I dealt with a packed schedules in high school and I still managed to graduate third in my class. I think there is value to teaching kids to prioritize strategically- it's a skill that they will need to learn at some point. The guaranteed 50% makes it even easier to take that approach.

Previous college professor...this is exactly what I am saying. But in spite of all the bellyaching, a lot of people like grading everything because 1. they don't find value in doing work unless it "counts and 2. Grading those assignments inflates grades. A student who bombs a test or essay can do better if every assignment counts for something. But that doesn't mean they have learned anything,

High school students are not college students. They NEED the incentive of the homework “counting”
so they will actually do it and learn. This is pretty basic behavioral psychology. Making the entire grade contingent on one high-stakes test or essay also seems sort of the opposite of good pedagogy, and rewards a certain type of learner.

Homework "counting" is an example of extrinsic motivation. We need to move toward intrinsic motivation for students.

do we? lol. how about your job move towards intrinsic motivation and stop paying you?

what we actually need to do is figure out how kids gain mastery, and do that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This article cites Joe Feldman as to the overall impact of equity grading (so beyond just the 50% rule discussed here).
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52813/how-teachers-are-changing-grading-practices-with-an-eye-on-equity

"For his part, Joe Feldman wasn’t sure these practices would work when he first started developing them, so he invested in external evaluation of grade distribution among teachers who were changing their grading practices. The results from independent evaluator Leading Edge Advisors showed that the rates of D's and F's went down, but the number of A's also went down. One immediate response to this might be that teachers lowered their expectations, but Feldman says grading this way actually made it harder to do well.

The decreases in D's and F's were clustered among Latinx, African-American, low-income, and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Meanwhile the decrease in A's mostly affected white students. “It reflects how the current system has been benefiting and punishing certain students disproportionately,” Feldman said."

““I was really surprised because after students started failing the assessments they started realizing the only way to improve their grades was to improve their understanding.”

So basically - “equitable” grading is a giant hide-the-ball exercise where students just have to figure out on their own what homework to do (ie how to study) rather than being given a clear signal through graded homework. And one wonders if teachers take this as an excuse to stop providing any feedback on homework, leaving students even more adrift?

Anonymous wrote:This article cites Joe Feldman as to the overall impact of equity grading (so beyond just the 50% rule discussed here).
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52813/how-teachers-are-changing-grading-practices-with-an-eye-on-equity

"For his part, Joe Feldman wasn’t sure these practices would work when he first started developing them, so he invested in external evaluation of grade distribution among teachers who were changing their grading practices. The results from independent evaluator Leading Edge Advisors showed that the rates of D's and F's went down, but the number of A's also went down. One immediate response to this might be that teachers lowered their expectations, but Feldman says grading this way actually made it harder to do well.

The decreases in D's and F's were clustered among Latinx, African-American, low-income, and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Meanwhile the decrease in A's mostly affected white students. “It reflects how the current system has been benefiting and punishing certain students disproportionately,” Feldman said."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those saying that their kids are receiving zeroes in FCPS.....is that class/school using a 4.0 scale? If so, they absolutely can receive a zero. The 50% rule only applies to those schools using a 100 point grading scale. It is very difficult to recover from a zero when using 100 point scale. That is a lot to overcome and will destroy any motivation to try.

Not saying this is a perfect solution but as others have said, the A students are not getting hurt by this policy and it gives the lower students a fighting chance and a reason to keep trying.

-FCPS teacher

I honestly think it helps the A student. A smart kid can do the math and decide to skip homework that will have little impact on their grade and spend the time on essays or projects that will. That's how I dealt with a packed schedules in high school and I still managed to graduate third in my class. I think there is value to teaching kids to prioritize strategically- it's a skill that they will need to learn at some point. The guaranteed 50% makes it even easier to take that approach.

Previous college professor...this is exactly what I am saying. But in spite of all the bellyaching, a lot of people like grading everything because 1. they don't find value in doing work unless it "counts and 2. Grading those assignments inflates grades. A student who bombs a test or essay can do better if every assignment counts for something. But that doesn't mean they have learned anything,

High school students are not college students. They NEED the incentive of the homework “counting”
so they will actually do it and learn. This is pretty basic behavioral psychology. Making the entire grade contingent on one high-stakes test or essay also seems sort of the opposite of good pedagogy, and rewards a certain type of learner.

Homework "counting" is an example of extrinsic motivation. We need to move toward intrinsic motivation for students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This article cites Joe Feldman as to the overall impact of equity grading (so beyond just the 50% rule discussed here).
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52813/how-teachers-are-changing-grading-practices-with-an-eye-on-equity

"For his part, Joe Feldman wasn’t sure these practices would work when he first started developing them, so he invested in external evaluation of grade distribution among teachers who were changing their grading practices. The results from independent evaluator Leading Edge Advisors showed that the rates of D's and F's went down, but the number of A's also went down. One immediate response to this might be that teachers lowered their expectations, but Feldman says grading this way actually made it harder to do well.

The decreases in D's and F's were clustered among Latinx, African-American, low-income, and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Meanwhile the decrease in A's mostly affected white students. “It reflects how the current system has been benefiting and punishing certain students disproportionately,” Feldman said."

That's quite the conclusion, Mr Feldman.