But this was all before SBG. People aren't complaining about zeros and retakes which were already implemented since 2016. In fact zeros just came back. It's more about the lack of grading for homework and classwork and the elimination of pluses and minuses in grading. The emphasis on these standardized tests rather than all schoolwork and actually the removal of retakes and grades for homework and instead replacing grades which is incredibly confusing.

Yes, I know. I was just trying to understand the history of how this all came about. The link is to a 2021 VDOE document from the Superintendent of Instruction to district superintendents entitled "A Primer on Traditional and Equitable Grading Practices." It's interesting because it gives a breakdown of different grading practices and some of the issues with each, plus what different counties in VA have tried. It notes that SBG has become increasingly popular across the country but the there is not a lot of research to support it and the results are mixed:

Quantitative studies on whether standards-based grading should be used are mixed. A study of 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students found that standards-based grading had a stronger correlation with standardized math scores than traditional grades, suggesting that standards based grading more accurately reflects what students have learned. Another study focused on high school students found that using a standards-based grading system had no effect on GPA and negatively impacted ACT scores (-2.019 ACT math points) when compared to schools that employed traditional grading.

Also on homework: "While graded homework may not accurately reflect learning, researchers do support the use of ungraded homework as a tool for student practice and formative assessment...Lower elementary grades receive little or no academic benefit from homework while secondary-level students experience benefits from 1.5-2 hours of homework per night.44 Vatterott (2011) stipulates that when homework is assigned, it should support mastery of objectives, not task-completion and should include feedback, a practice consistent with earlier research." My other issue at Madison right now is there is little to no homework. I'm assigning homework.

"The VDOE invites school divisions to review the efficacy of current grading practices by conducting broad stakeholder engagement, exploring educational research, and performing data analysis. By ensuring that grades accurately communicate student mastery, and by creating pathways to recovery for struggling students, every school division in Virginia can advance equitable outcomes for our learners."

I am no fan of the current administration at Madison, but I also don't know what kind of pressure these principals are experiencing from VDOE and FCPS to show their grading practices are equitable. The way they've chosen to do this though is not working. Maybe FCPS needs a new magnet high school for those that like to be part of an experiment so you have to sign up to having a different grading system every year. I wish I had known before I moved to Vienna that Madison was known for experimenting. I thought I was getting a school with solid academics, but less pressure than McLean plus a great athletic program.

Anonymous wrote:It wasn't necessarily a crusade on Wormeli's part; maybe he just failed to cash in like Feldman has. Let's see, his book "Fair isn't always equal" came out in 2006. Feldman's book came out in 2018. Feldman really gets the credit for popularizing this. He also has a for-profit company called the Crescendo group. ACPS hired his group along with many other school districts in the country (https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Crescendo-Contract-Fully-Executed-dtg.pdf). His website has little to no data to back up anything he says, but he is probably making lots of money. I don't know if FCPS hired Crescendo Group. Looks like Wormeli just goes around getting speaking fees and people still buy his book.

I thought all of this came about because of Covid and trying to close the gap. But I came across this (equity grading has been in the works for sometime just in case your wondering how did this all come about): https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/VADOE/2021/01/25/file_attachments/1670340/01-25-21%20Primer%20on%20Traditional%20and%20Equitable%20Grading%20Practices.pdf

Fairfax County Public Schools
In 2016, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) announced a series of grading policy reforms for
secondary schools.60 FCPS shifted away from punitive grading practices by separating work
habits from achievement in reported grades and requiring teachers to set reasonable late work
policies that include entering an “M” for missing assignments and “I” for incomplete. The school
board also enacted a no-zero grading policy that encouraged a minimum grade of 50% on all
assignments in which reasonable attempts were made by students.61 The new guidelines
specified that zeros could be assigned in cases where multiple opportunities to complete work
had been granted but students had failed to do so.
In 2017, FCPS surveyed over 12,000 middle and high school students about their experiences
with the developed changes. Among the results, over 70% of students reported reassessment
opportunities on major exams improved either their learning, their grade, or both.62 Nearly 69%
of respondents reported the ability to turn in late work improved their learning and/or grade,
while nearly 22% reported not needing to turn in late work.

Looks like kids answered a survey and said they like retakes and turning stuff in late.

But this was all before SBG. People aren't complaining about zeros and retakes which were already implemented since 2016. In fact zeros just came back. It's more about the lack of grading for homework and classwork and the elimination of pluses and minuses in grading. The emphasis on these standardized tests rather than all schoolwork and actually the removal of retakes and grades for homework and instead replacing grades which is incredibly confusing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, I asked 1 of the top students at Madison for thoughts on SBG: student said “I think it allows kids to slack off.” I asked a student in the middle for thoughts: “I love it. It allows me to relax and slack off. Every time I see that P and realize it doesn’t count, I just relax because I’m not going to do it.”

From a teacher after some students refused to work: I can’t make them do anything

It seems very logical to me why Madison was chosen as a good candidate for this experiment. Sports is very important to a large portion of students in the school and SBG allows them to focus more of their time there without being penalized for not turning in academic work. One might argue that those students will do badly on tests if they don't put in the effort on the assignments. However, if the curriculum is sufficiently watered down, those students will not necessarily need to do much work to get good grades. Students are happier to have time for their sports, more students who were previously failing get a chance to boost their grades, and the school system can show higher grade achievement across the board.

A significant portion of kids will now be conditioned to not do assigned work and to further believe they have learned a lot because they have gotten a good grade. They will then find in college that not all classes are created equal, and that some classes require doing the homework to attain a sufficient mastery of skills needed to well on the exams. In those classes, cramming or getting a tutor at the last minute will not allow them to attain understanding.

The problem of teaching students the value of work towards achieving a higher level of understanding, is now being passed off to colleges.

You don’t have a clue. Jmhs is NOT watered down and SBG doesn’t make grading easier.

It wasn't necessarily a crusade on Wormeli's part; maybe he just failed to cash in like Feldman has. Let's see, his book "Fair isn't always equal" came out in 2006. Feldman's book came out in 2018. Feldman really gets the credit for popularizing this. He also has a for-profit company called the Crescendo group. ACPS hired his group along with many other school districts in the country (https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Crescendo-Contract-Fully-Executed-dtg.pdf). His website has little to no data to back up anything he says, but he is probably making lots of money. I don't know if FCPS hired Crescendo Group. Looks like Wormeli just goes around getting speaking fees and people still buy his book.

I thought all of this came about because of Covid and trying to close the gap. But I came across this (equity grading has been in the works for sometime just in case your wondering how did this all come about): https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/VADOE/2021/01/25/file_attachments/1670340/01-25-21%20Primer%20on%20Traditional%20and%20Equitable%20Grading%20Practices.pdf

Fairfax County Public Schools
In 2016, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) announced a series of grading policy reforms for
secondary schools.60 FCPS shifted away from punitive grading practices by separating work
habits from achievement in reported grades and requiring teachers to set reasonable late work
policies that include entering an “M” for missing assignments and “I” for incomplete. The school
board also enacted a no-zero grading policy that encouraged a minimum grade of 50% on all
assignments in which reasonable attempts were made by students.61 The new guidelines
specified that zeros could be assigned in cases where multiple opportunities to complete work
had been granted but students had failed to do so.
In 2017, FCPS surveyed over 12,000 middle and high school students about their experiences
with the developed changes. Among the results, over 70% of students reported reassessment
opportunities on major exams improved either their learning, their grade, or both.62 Nearly 69%
of respondents reported the ability to turn in late work improved their learning and/or grade,
while nearly 22% reported not needing to turn in late work.

Looks like kids answered a survey and said they like retakes and turning stuff in late.

What was the impetus of Wormelli to start this crusade? It just seems so weird of him knowing that the research is showing that the lack of practice work and regular grading has decimated the abilities of students in poor school districts.Herndon where he taught is a struggling school. How has SBG played out in the other schools it's being implemented at?

Anonymous wrote:Also, I asked 1 of the top students at Madison for thoughts on SBG: student said “I think it allows kids to slack off.” I asked a student in the middle for thoughts: “I love it. It allows me to relax and slack off. Every time I see that P and realize it doesn’t count, I just relax because I’m not going to do it.”

From a teacher after some students refused to work: I can’t make them do anything

It seems very logical to me why Madison was chosen as a good candidate for this experiment. Sports is very important to a large portion of students in the school and SBG allows them to focus more of their time there without being penalized for not turning in academic work. One might argue that those students will do badly on tests if they don't put in the effort on the assignments. However, if the curriculum is sufficiently watered down, those students will not necessarily need to do much work to get good grades. Students are happier to have time for their sports, more students who were previously failing get a chance to boost their grades, and the school system can show higher grade achievement across the board.

A significant portion of kids will now be conditioned to not do assigned work and to further believe they have learned a lot because they have gotten a good grade. They will then find in college that not all classes are created equal, and that some classes require doing the homework to attain a sufficient mastery of skills needed to well on the exams. In those classes, cramming or getting a tutor at the last minute will not allow them to attain understanding.

The problem of teaching students the value of work towards achieving a higher level of understanding, is now being passed off to colleges.

And change.org petition to expand it to all FCPS high schools. I can't wait to see all the parents and teachers sign on that sign on and their reasons for it benefitting students. Let me guess. It let's my child spend more time on his college football prospects. It let's my child come have more time to babysit their siblings. It let's me have more time at home with my family so that I don't have to grade at home. There is not a single academic benefit to the system.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went ahead and said FCPS parents against SBG. I thought about saying “concerned” but most of us know this is not the education we want for our children. At this point saying you are concerned will just be an opening for principals to say they’ve listened to stakeholders and made changes. Exhibit A - at Madison, the principal listened then implemented a system designed for failing students in FCPS but now applied to all students at Madison.

Your kid is getting the education you want, just not the grades. At least be honest.

Maybe you can start your own pro SBG thread since it's so great according to you.

Anonymous wrote:The mom of the junior is back

Oh look, the person who thinks only one other poster thinks they're a moron is back!

The mom of the junior is back

Anonymous wrote:I went ahead and said FCPS parents against SBG. I thought about saying “concerned” but most of us know this is not the education we want for our children. At this point saying you are concerned will just be an opening for principals to say they’ve listened to stakeholders and made changes. Exhibit A - at Madison, the principal listened then implemented a system designed for failing students in FCPS but now applied to all students at Madison.

Your kid is getting the education you want, just not the grades. At least be honest.

Anonymous wrote:Wonderfil I'm not sure everyone knows the acronym so hopefully people can do a search on skills based grading too.

Good point. I can change that.

The FB page is new and just a title at this point so I will post it here after I work on it a little more and have the petition up and running.

Will SBG also be coming to IB schools in FCPS?

Wonderfil I'm not sure everyone knows the acronym so hopefully people can do a search on skills based grading too.