Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a 50 makes sense. Why are elementary grades only 1-4 (why did they get rid of the five) and yet grades in high should range from 0-100? It never made sense. 50-100 is a reasonable range and it’s even. 50 is F. 60 is D. 70 is D. 80 is B. 90 is A. Except I think actually FCPS starts their D to A at the 4 so there is actually a 14 point spread from F to D.

A 50% makes sense for someone who doesn't turn in any work? My kid doesn't turn in homework and gets a 50%? No, my kid turned in nothing, that is a 0% because they did 0 work. 0-59% is an F. It is a wider grade range but it allows for people to receive what they actually earn. Turn in nothing and earn nothing.

Anonymous wrote:FCPS high school teacher here. The elimination of 0 grades has killed education. Kids have no consequences because they get 50 no matter what. I have students with 20 absences already, yet they still have a C. Kids are selective when they want to try because they know there is no consequences.

Don't even get me started on the social studies PBA instead of the SOL. What a farse. Kids just sneeze on a piece of paper and they get the verified credit.

I'm hoping Youngkin will get rid of the 50 minimum, SOL for social studies, truancy fines/punishments.

What are the odds any of these ever come back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is ridiculous. I think it is ridiculous that parents allow their kids to get away with this crap.

Agree that the parents play a role. I have a number of friends who accept their kids grades, knowing that htey are getting the benefit of this, knowing their kids can submit late assignments for full credit, knowing their kids can do re-takes to increase grades if the initial grade is low enough.

Have some standards for your children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is ridiculous. I think it is ridiculous that parents allow their kids to get away with this crap.

Agree that the parents play a role. I have a number of friends who accept their kids grades, knowing that htey are getting the benefit of this, knowing their kids can submit late assignments for full credit, knowing their kids can do re-takes to increase grades if the initial grade is low enough.

Have some standards for your children.

At our MS you can retake any test. You can retake a 98% if you want. Guess who's kid re-takes a majority of her tests? Mine. I have standards and want my kid to get the best grade possible. Don't think taking retakes says otherwise. She's never score less than an 89% on any original test but why settle for a B+ or A- when you can get an A.

You are going to hurt your child with that attitude. A's are great but studying and getting a B+ or an A- on a test is not a bad thing. Those are good grades. Your kid is being taught that they are only doing well if they score an A and that is going to hurt her when she gets to a place where retakes are not allowed. She is going to freak out about having a B+ or an A- for no good reason.

Our standard is that DS makes his best effort. Did he do his homework and study? Then he earned the grade that he earned and we can accept that. If he needs a tutor because he is not fully understanding the concepts, then fine. But making an kid with an A- retake a test is a bit much. I mean, you are going to do your thing but there can be some negative consequences to that type of extra pressure on a kid who is doing well in school.

Unfortunately, these games need to be played to stand a chance at the more competitive colleges. I agree that aiming for perfectionism with retakes isn't innately helping children be better learners, but it's the kind of thing that you have to do because everyone else is doing it. It's another way that grades are inflated and the floor is higher as a result. And that 0.33-0.5 GPA difference is meaningful enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people just want to take away all decision making from locally elected bodies of government?

If the school board has said that a kid not turning in work still starts with a 50%, then yeah, that needs to go away. Attendance does not equal a grade. Students need to be turning in work on time. Students not turning in work should earn a 0 on the assignment. Students turning in work late should lose points for turning in the assignment late. I promise you that these types of policies are not doing students any good. It is inflating grades and moving kids ahead when they are not ready. They are not teaching kids habits that will help them in life.

When they do not turn in an assignment, not only should students earn a 0, they should get the additional assignment of having to use algebra to calculate their new overall class grade with that newly earned 0. If they don't turn in their grade calculation, that's another 0.

and then the kid realizes that even though it's only October, there's basically nothing they can do to pass the class. and then what? they just sit there. and distract others. and don't learn anything. they have no motivation to. that's why I have very mixed feelings on the no zero policy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people just want to take away all decision making from locally elected bodies of government?

If the school board has said that a kid not turning in work still starts with a 50%, then yeah, that needs to go away. Attendance does not equal a grade. Students need to be turning in work on time. Students not turning in work should earn a 0 on the assignment. Students turning in work late should lose points for turning in the assignment late. I promise you that these types of policies are not doing students any good. It is inflating grades and moving kids ahead when they are not ready. They are not teaching kids habits that will help them in life.

When they do not turn in an assignment, not only should students earn a 0, they should get the additional assignment of having to use algebra to calculate their new overall class grade with that newly earned 0. If they don't turn in their grade calculation, that's another 0.

and then the kid realizes that even though it's only October, there's basically nothing they can do to pass the class. and then what? they just sit there. and distract others. and don't learn anything. they have no motivation to. that's why I have very mixed feelings on the no zero policy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is ridiculous. I think it is ridiculous that parents allow their kids to get away with this crap.

Agree that the parents play a role. I have a number of friends who accept their kids grades, knowing that htey are getting the benefit of this, knowing their kids can submit late assignments for full credit, knowing their kids can do re-takes to increase grades if the initial grade is low enough.

Have some standards for your children.

At our MS you can retake any test. You can retake a 98% if you want. Guess who's kid re-takes a majority of her tests? Mine. I have standards and want my kid to get the best grade possible. Don't think taking retakes says otherwise. She's never score less than an 89% on any original test but why settle for a B+ or A- when you can get an A.

You are going to hurt your child with that attitude. A's are great but studying and getting a B+ or an A- on a test is not a bad thing. Those are good grades. Your kid is being taught that they are only doing well if they score an A and that is going to hurt her when she gets to a place where retakes are not allowed. She is going to freak out about having a B+ or an A- for no good reason.

Our standard is that DS makes his best effort. Did he do his homework and study? Then he earned the grade that he earned and we can accept that. If he needs a tutor because he is not fully understanding the concepts, then fine. But making an kid with an A- retake a test is a bit much. I mean, you are going to do your thing but there can be some negative consequences to that type of extra pressure on a kid who is doing well in school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is ridiculous. I think it is ridiculous that parents allow their kids to get away with this crap.

Agree that the parents play a role. I have a number of friends who accept their kids grades, knowing that htey are getting the benefit of this, knowing their kids can submit late assignments for full credit, knowing their kids can do re-takes to increase grades if the initial grade is low enough.

Have some standards for your children.

At our MS you can retake any test. You can retake a 98% if you want. Guess who's kid re-takes a majority of her tests? Mine. I have standards and want my kid to get the best grade possible. Don't think taking retakes says otherwise. She's never score less than an 89% on any original test but why settle for a B+ or A- when you can get an A.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people just want to take away all decision making from locally elected bodies of government?

If the school board has said that a kid not turning in work still starts with a 50%, then yeah, that needs to go away. Attendance does not equal a grade. Students need to be turning in work on time. Students not turning in work should earn a 0 on the assignment. Students turning in work late should lose points for turning in the assignment late. I promise you that these types of policies are not doing students any good. It is inflating grades and moving kids ahead when they are not ready. They are not teaching kids habits that will help them in life.

When they do not turn in an assignment, not only should students earn a 0, they should get the additional assignment of having to use algebra to calculate their new overall class grade with that newly earned 0. If they don't turn in their grade calculation, that's another 0.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people just want to take away all decision making from locally elected bodies of government?

If the school board has said that a kid not turning in work still starts with a 50%, then yeah, that needs to go away. Attendance does not equal a grade. Students need to be turning in work on time. Students not turning in work should earn a 0 on the assignment. Students turning in work late should lose points for turning in the assignment late. I promise you that these types of policies are not doing students any good. It is inflating grades and moving kids ahead when they are not ready. They are not teaching kids habits that will help them in life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 50 is an F

Yup. But the grade is recoverable. Why put a struggling student into situation from which he cannot recover? Why would they even try if they know there is no hope of passing the class? I think the policy is a good one.

Because when they "graduate", that 50 percent policy instantly converts to 0 percent policy with real life consequences.

These kids aren't stupid. The idea that getting a 50% on a chemistry exam when they actually earned a 30% is somehow going to create adults who can't figure out how to be productive members of society is rather short sighted.

High school isn't "real life". It's a bubble we've artificially created where students learn random things that have no purpose in most of their futures. If you want kids to care and show up and participate fully, then we need to allow them to study things they are interested in instead of forcing every student to take algebra 2, biology, and literature at age 16.

I taught in Virgina schools from 1976 until 2013. I taught at all grade levels from 3 to 12. In the upper grades I taught only mathematics. In the "old days" it was accepted that some students progressed in mathematics more slowly than others. A few "slower" students, for example, might master in a year only half of what others learned. In Grade 6, they were mastering Grade 3 and 4 objectives. But, eventually, maybe in high school, they mastered basic arithmetic skills, including fractions, percents, and beginning alegebra skills. In recent decades, students have been moved along in math without mastery of prerequisite skills. Many enter Algebra 1 in high school with little understanding of fractions or percents, knowledge of -- in my opinion-- is more important than secondary algebra and geometry. So, grading policies that "help a student pass", such as the 50% policy and "test corrections" (getting half credit back for correcting a test answer as a teacher goes over answers) are necessary!