Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older now (middle and high school) so I can tell you another downside to standards based grading, and why the middle school teachers in particular don’t like it. Our kids hit 6th grade and have no idea how to calibrate the time and effort they need to be successful in school. The over-achieving type kids freak out if they don’t get 100% on everything, because they aren’t used to getting anything marked up on their papers. They don’t understand that an A is an A in APS, regardless of whether you get a 90% or a 100%. (Unlike FCPS, APS doesn’t give an A-.) Then there are the smart, but laid back kids who have skated through elementary school with half-ass effort, but nobody called them out because their SOL scores were okay. Those kids start getting Bs and Cs when they don’t turn in work or don’t study, and they don’t even realize why they need to care. Both groups get ignored from an academic and social-emotional perspective, because APS middle and high schools are huge, so the focus is on the kids who are truly struggling to meet grade standards. It is unfortunate too, because a lot of these kids will take high-school credit math and language classes starting in 7th grade. They have no idea what that means. We should be bringing back the A-B-C scale at least for 5th grade, so the kids have a less pressured year to adjust to real grades and understand why they matter on transcripts.

Meh.

Most kids are not taking algebra in 7th grade. Most are taking a language. But it’s also very easy to drop the high school credits taken in middle school off transcript and in fact many kids who get As in them do because with weighting it helps their GPA to drop them.

Middle school IS the time to sort out all the things you are describing. How to study, how to plan work, what to do when you bomb a test, learning how to advocate to the teacher or ask for help. That’s what it’s for and it’s a good time to do it. Let elementary school be elementary school.

APS isn't helping kids do that in middle school. Very little homework and no effort to build executive functioning skills.

Tell that to my kid who has spent the last two weekends doing nothing but homework as a 7th grader in APS.

How many complete novels have been assigned reading this year?

He has read 3 in Spanish and just picked out one for English. They do get to pick their own.

Your 7th grader has read three complete books in Spanish? I'm guessing this isn't Spanish 1 because mine just is still learning basic "My name is xxx." And what school is this? My 7th grader (in all intesified classes) hasn't done more than a day's worth of homework cumutively this year.

Their kid is probably in immersion.
My kid in intensified 7 read the outsiders, had a lengthy writing assignment and has a reading log. He did reading class last year and they read a few novels as a class and had a reading log/review assignment each quarter. I will agree there is not much homework but my kid works efficiently in class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older now (middle and high school) so I can tell you another downside to standards based grading, and why the middle school teachers in particular don’t like it. Our kids hit 6th grade and have no idea how to calibrate the time and effort they need to be successful in school. The over-achieving type kids freak out if they don’t get 100% on everything, because they aren’t used to getting anything marked up on their papers. They don’t understand that an A is an A in APS, regardless of whether you get a 90% or a 100%. (Unlike FCPS, APS doesn’t give an A-.) Then there are the smart, but laid back kids who have skated through elementary school with half-ass effort, but nobody called them out because their SOL scores were okay. Those kids start getting Bs and Cs when they don’t turn in work or don’t study, and they don’t even realize why they need to care. Both groups get ignored from an academic and social-emotional perspective, because APS middle and high schools are huge, so the focus is on the kids who are truly struggling to meet grade standards. It is unfortunate too, because a lot of these kids will take high-school credit math and language classes starting in 7th grade. They have no idea what that means. We should be bringing back the A-B-C scale at least for 5th grade, so the kids have a less pressured year to adjust to real grades and understand why they matter on transcripts.

Meh.

Most kids are not taking algebra in 7th grade. Most are taking a language. But it’s also very easy to drop the high school credits taken in middle school off transcript and in fact many kids who get As in them do because with weighting it helps their GPA to drop them.

Middle school IS the time to sort out all the things you are describing. How to study, how to plan work, what to do when you bomb a test, learning how to advocate to the teacher or ask for help. That’s what it’s for and it’s a good time to do it. Let elementary school be elementary school.

APS isn't helping kids do that in middle school. Very little homework and no effort to build executive functioning skills.

Tell that to my kid who has spent the last two weekends doing nothing but homework as a 7th grader in APS.

How many complete novels have been assigned reading this year?

He has read 3 in Spanish and just picked out one for English. They do get to pick their own.

Your 7th grader has read three complete books in Spanish? I'm guessing this isn't Spanish 1 because mine just is still learning basic "My name is xxx." And what school is this? My 7th grader (in all intesified classes) hasn't done more than a day's worth of homework cumutively this year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older now (middle and high school) so I can tell you another downside to standards based grading, and why the middle school teachers in particular don’t like it. Our kids hit 6th grade and have no idea how to calibrate the time and effort they need to be successful in school. The over-achieving type kids freak out if they don’t get 100% on everything, because they aren’t used to getting anything marked up on their papers. They don’t understand that an A is an A in APS, regardless of whether you get a 90% or a 100%. (Unlike FCPS, APS doesn’t give an A-.) Then there are the smart, but laid back kids who have skated through elementary school with half-ass effort, but nobody called them out because their SOL scores were okay. Those kids start getting Bs and Cs when they don’t turn in work or don’t study, and they don’t even realize why they need to care. Both groups get ignored from an academic and social-emotional perspective, because APS middle and high schools are huge, so the focus is on the kids who are truly struggling to meet grade standards. It is unfortunate too, because a lot of these kids will take high-school credit math and language classes starting in 7th grade. They have no idea what that means. We should be bringing back the A-B-C scale at least for 5th grade, so the kids have a less pressured year to adjust to real grades and understand why they matter on transcripts.

Meh.

Most kids are not taking algebra in 7th grade. Most are taking a language. But it’s also very easy to drop the high school credits taken in middle school off transcript and in fact many kids who get As in them do because with weighting it helps their GPA to drop them.

Middle school IS the time to sort out all the things you are describing. How to study, how to plan work, what to do when you bomb a test, learning how to advocate to the teacher or ask for help. That’s what it’s for and it’s a good time to do it. Let elementary school be elementary school.

APS isn't helping kids do that in middle school. Very little homework and no effort to build executive functioning skills.

Tell that to my kid who has spent the last two weekends doing nothing but homework as a 7th grader in APS.

How many complete novels have been assigned reading this year?

He has read 3 in Spanish and just picked out one for English. They do get to pick their own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older now (middle and high school) so I can tell you another downside to standards based grading, and why the middle school teachers in particular don’t like it. Our kids hit 6th grade and have no idea how to calibrate the time and effort they need to be successful in school. The over-achieving type kids freak out if they don’t get 100% on everything, because they aren’t used to getting anything marked up on their papers. They don’t understand that an A is an A in APS, regardless of whether you get a 90% or a 100%. (Unlike FCPS, APS doesn’t give an A-.) Then there are the smart, but laid back kids who have skated through elementary school with half-ass effort, but nobody called them out because their SOL scores were okay. Those kids start getting Bs and Cs when they don’t turn in work or don’t study, and they don’t even realize why they need to care. Both groups get ignored from an academic and social-emotional perspective, because APS middle and high schools are huge, so the focus is on the kids who are truly struggling to meet grade standards. It is unfortunate too, because a lot of these kids will take high-school credit math and language classes starting in 7th grade. They have no idea what that means. We should be bringing back the A-B-C scale at least for 5th grade, so the kids have a less pressured year to adjust to real grades and understand why they matter on transcripts.

Meh.

Most kids are not taking algebra in 7th grade. Most are taking a language. But it’s also very easy to drop the high school credits taken in middle school off transcript and in fact many kids who get As in them do because with weighting it helps their GPA to drop them.

Middle school IS the time to sort out all the things you are describing. How to study, how to plan work, what to do when you bomb a test, learning how to advocate to the teacher or ask for help. That’s what it’s for and it’s a good time to do it. Let elementary school be elementary school.

APS isn't helping kids do that in middle school. Very little homework and no effort to build executive functioning skills.

Tell that to my kid who has spent the last two weekends doing nothing but homework as a 7th grader in APS.

How many complete novels have been assigned reading this year?

He has read 3 in Spanish and just picked out one for English. They do get to pick their own.

Really, they aren’t assigned like To Kill a Mockingbird to all read and then discuss in class and write analysis?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older now (middle and high school) so I can tell you another downside to standards based grading, and why the middle school teachers in particular don’t like it. Our kids hit 6th grade and have no idea how to calibrate the time and effort they need to be successful in school. The over-achieving type kids freak out if they don’t get 100% on everything, because they aren’t used to getting anything marked up on their papers. They don’t understand that an A is an A in APS, regardless of whether you get a 90% or a 100%. (Unlike FCPS, APS doesn’t give an A-.) Then there are the smart, but laid back kids who have skated through elementary school with half-ass effort, but nobody called them out because their SOL scores were okay. Those kids start getting Bs and Cs when they don’t turn in work or don’t study, and they don’t even realize why they need to care. Both groups get ignored from an academic and social-emotional perspective, because APS middle and high schools are huge, so the focus is on the kids who are truly struggling to meet grade standards. It is unfortunate too, because a lot of these kids will take high-school credit math and language classes starting in 7th grade. They have no idea what that means. We should be bringing back the A-B-C scale at least for 5th grade, so the kids have a less pressured year to adjust to real grades and understand why they matter on transcripts.

Meh.

Most kids are not taking algebra in 7th grade. Most are taking a language. But it’s also very easy to drop the high school credits taken in middle school off transcript and in fact many kids who get As in them do because with weighting it helps their GPA to drop them.

Middle school IS the time to sort out all the things you are describing. How to study, how to plan work, what to do when you bomb a test, learning how to advocate to the teacher or ask for help. That’s what it’s for and it’s a good time to do it. Let elementary school be elementary school.

APS isn't helping kids do that in middle school. Very little homework and no effort to build executive functioning skills.

Tell that to my kid who has spent the last two weekends doing nothing but homework as a 7th grader in APS.

How many complete novels have been assigned reading this year?

He has read 3 in Spanish and just picked out one for English. They do get to pick their own.

Really, they aren’t assigned like To Kill a Mockingbird to all read and then discuss in class and write analysis?

I think they read one book a year all together (as a class) with my high schooler was in MS. TKAM is a 9th grade book in APS. They are supposed to read it in English 9.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older now (middle and high school) so I can tell you another downside to standards based grading, and why the middle school teachers in particular don’t like it. Our kids hit 6th grade and have no idea how to calibrate the time and effort they need to be successful in school. The over-achieving type kids freak out if they don’t get 100% on everything, because they aren’t used to getting anything marked up on their papers. They don’t understand that an A is an A in APS, regardless of whether you get a 90% or a 100%. (Unlike FCPS, APS doesn’t give an A-.) Then there are the smart, but laid back kids who have skated through elementary school with half-ass effort, but nobody called them out because their SOL scores were okay. Those kids start getting Bs and Cs when they don’t turn in work or don’t study, and they don’t even realize why they need to care. Both groups get ignored from an academic and social-emotional perspective, because APS middle and high schools are huge, so the focus is on the kids who are truly struggling to meet grade standards. It is unfortunate too, because a lot of these kids will take high-school credit math and language classes starting in 7th grade. They have no idea what that means. We should be bringing back the A-B-C scale at least for 5th grade, so the kids have a less pressured year to adjust to real grades and understand why they matter on transcripts.

Meh.

Most kids are not taking algebra in 7th grade. Most are taking a language. But it’s also very easy to drop the high school credits taken in middle school off transcript and in fact many kids who get As in them do because with weighting it helps their GPA to drop them.

Middle school IS the time to sort out all the things you are describing. How to study, how to plan work, what to do when you bomb a test, learning how to advocate to the teacher or ask for help. That’s what it’s for and it’s a good time to do it. Let elementary school be elementary school.

APS isn't helping kids do that in middle school. Very little homework and no effort to build executive functioning skills.

Tell that to my kid who has spent the last two weekends doing nothing but homework as a 7th grader in APS.

How many complete novels have been assigned reading this year?

He has read 3 in Spanish and just picked out one for English. They do get to pick their own.

Really, they aren’t assigned like To Kill a Mockingbird to all read and then discuss in class and write analysis?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older now (middle and high school) so I can tell you another downside to standards based grading, and why the middle school teachers in particular don’t like it. Our kids hit 6th grade and have no idea how to calibrate the time and effort they need to be successful in school. The over-achieving type kids freak out if they don’t get 100% on everything, because they aren’t used to getting anything marked up on their papers. They don’t understand that an A is an A in APS, regardless of whether you get a 90% or a 100%. (Unlike FCPS, APS doesn’t give an A-.) Then there are the smart, but laid back kids who have skated through elementary school with half-ass effort, but nobody called them out because their SOL scores were okay. Those kids start getting Bs and Cs when they don’t turn in work or don’t study, and they don’t even realize why they need to care. Both groups get ignored from an academic and social-emotional perspective, because APS middle and high schools are huge, so the focus is on the kids who are truly struggling to meet grade standards. It is unfortunate too, because a lot of these kids will take high-school credit math and language classes starting in 7th grade. They have no idea what that means. We should be bringing back the A-B-C scale at least for 5th grade, so the kids have a less pressured year to adjust to real grades and understand why they matter on transcripts.

Meh.

Most kids are not taking algebra in 7th grade. Most are taking a language. But it’s also very easy to drop the high school credits taken in middle school off transcript and in fact many kids who get As in them do because with weighting it helps their GPA to drop them.

Middle school IS the time to sort out all the things you are describing. How to study, how to plan work, what to do when you bomb a test, learning how to advocate to the teacher or ask for help. That’s what it’s for and it’s a good time to do it. Let elementary school be elementary school.

APS isn't helping kids do that in middle school. Very little homework and no effort to build executive functioning skills.

Tell that to my kid who has spent the last two weekends doing nothing but homework as a 7th grader in APS.

How many complete novels have been assigned reading this year?

He has read 3 in Spanish and just picked out one for English. They do get to pick their own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older now (middle and high school) so I can tell you another downside to standards based grading, and why the middle school teachers in particular don’t like it. Our kids hit 6th grade and have no idea how to calibrate the time and effort they need to be successful in school. The over-achieving type kids freak out if they don’t get 100% on everything, because they aren’t used to getting anything marked up on their papers. They don’t understand that an A is an A in APS, regardless of whether you get a 90% or a 100%. (Unlike FCPS, APS doesn’t give an A-.) Then there are the smart, but laid back kids who have skated through elementary school with half-ass effort, but nobody called them out because their SOL scores were okay. Those kids start getting Bs and Cs when they don’t turn in work or don’t study, and they don’t even realize why they need to care. Both groups get ignored from an academic and social-emotional perspective, because APS middle and high schools are huge, so the focus is on the kids who are truly struggling to meet grade standards. It is unfortunate too, because a lot of these kids will take high-school credit math and language classes starting in 7th grade. They have no idea what that means. We should be bringing back the A-B-C scale at least for 5th grade, so the kids have a less pressured year to adjust to real grades and understand why they matter on transcripts.

Meh.

Most kids are not taking algebra in 7th grade. Most are taking a language. But it’s also very easy to drop the high school credits taken in middle school off transcript and in fact many kids who get As in them do because with weighting it helps their GPA to drop them.

Middle school IS the time to sort out all the things you are describing. How to study, how to plan work, what to do when you bomb a test, learning how to advocate to the teacher or ask for help. That’s what it’s for and it’s a good time to do it. Let elementary school be elementary school.

APS isn't helping kids do that in middle school. Very little homework and no effort to build executive functioning skills.

Tell that to my kid who has spent the last two weekends doing nothing but homework as a 7th grader in APS.

How many complete novels have been assigned reading this year?