Anonymous
06/26/2025 06:31
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This thread is a perfect example of “FCPS can’t win”.
When homework was cut, parents cried that their children are getting a subpar education.
When homework is required, parents cry that the workload is too much.
When retakes are allowed to 100, parents cried that their students who got As the first time around can’t stand out.
When retakes are capped at 90, parents cry that their A- children can’t get As.
When teachers made classwork 50% of the grade, parents complained that their kid who knew the content was penalized for not doing busy work.
When gradebooks were mandated 70/30, parents complained that it’s too much pressure on assessments for their students.
When teachers only put in a few assignments, there’s too much weight on a single task.
When teachers put in daily assignments, the workload is too high.
When it was quarterly gradebooks, parents complained that 4th quarter was weighted the same but had barely any assignments in it. They complained the final grade was a surprise. They complained about end of quarter stress.
When they went to rolling gradebooks, parents complained that kids felt they never got a clean slate to recover from mistakes.
What do you want? What is the ideal system? I don’t think it exists, and each kid can’t have their own personal setup.
My god if you’re a parent…you are an absolute gem and I freaking applaud you! Spitting straight facts with this post.
+1000
Anonymous
06/25/2025 19:59
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:I would like common sense. Art, PE etc do not need homework. Assigning it just to be consistent is just plain stupid. OTOH I have been dieing for FCPS to require HW for math because my kid needs to do it and right now it is very hard for me to track if he IS doing it as there is nothing in SIS to indicate if it is done and they don’t turn it in on paper for me to be like, yep all finished.
HW is absolutely needed for math class. For others it depends on the class but just mandating it for all seems like a very bureaucratic approach to impose.
+1,000 this exactly! PE doesn’t need homework! JFC!!!!!
Anonymous
06/25/2025 18:43
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:This thread is a perfect example of “FCPS can’t win”.
When homework was cut, parents cried that their children are getting a subpar education.
When homework is required, parents cry that the workload is too much.
When retakes are allowed to 100, parents cried that their students who got As the first time around can’t stand out.
When retakes are capped at 90, parents cry that their A- children can’t get As.
When teachers made classwork 50% of the grade, parents complained that their kid who knew the content was penalized for not doing busy work.
When gradebooks were mandated 70/30, parents complained that it’s too much pressure on assessments for their students.
When teachers only put in a few assignments, there’s too much weight on a single task.
When teachers put in daily assignments, the workload is too high.
When it was quarterly gradebooks, parents complained that 4th quarter was weighted the same but had barely any assignments in it. They complained the final grade was a surprise. They complained about end of quarter stress.
When they went to rolling gradebooks, parents complained that kids felt they never got a clean slate to recover from mistakes.
What do you want? What is the ideal system? I don’t think it exists, and each kid can’t have their own personal setup.
My god if you’re a parent…you are an absolute gem and I freaking applaud you! Spitting straight facts with this post.
Anonymous
06/25/2025 18:30
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
I'd like no HW except in math. 60/40 summative/formative and retakes up to 100 but my wish list isn't happening. Just answering what parents want with what I want.
Anonymous
06/21/2025 12:29
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
I am happy for there to be homework and tests and for those to have some sort of 70/30 value. I am also happy for retake opportunities for kids who are struggling with the content. But let's be honest and agree that a good portion of kids who fell in the B range did NOT need to retest.
Anonymous
06/21/2025 12:19
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:This thread is a perfect example of “FCPS can’t win”.
When homework was cut, parents cried that their children are getting a subpar education.
When homework is required, parents cry that the workload is too much.
When retakes are allowed to 100, parents cried that their students who got As the first time around can’t stand out.
When retakes are capped at 90, parents cry that their A- children can’t get As.
When teachers made classwork 50% of the grade, parents complained that their kid who knew the content was penalized for not doing busy work.
When gradebooks were mandated 70/30, parents complained that it’s too much pressure on assessments for their students.
When teachers only put in a few assignments, there’s too much weight on a single task.
When teachers put in daily assignments, the workload is too high.
When it was quarterly gradebooks, parents complained that 4th quarter was weighted the same but had barely any assignments in it. They complained the final grade was a surprise. They complained about end of quarter stress.
When they went to rolling gradebooks, parents complained that kids felt they never got a clean slate to recover from mistakes.
What do you want? What is the ideal system? I don’t think it exists, and each kid can’t have their own personal setup.
I was finally happy with this year’s grading system at Madison after four years of misery. So of course they will change it yet again.
Anonymous
06/21/2025 06:15
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
I would like common sense. Art, PE etc do not need homework. Assigning it just to be consistent is just plain stupid. OTOH I have been dieing for FCPS to require HW for math because my kid needs to do it and right now it is very hard for me to track if he IS doing it as there is nothing in SIS to indicate if it is done and they don’t turn it in on paper for me to be like, yep all finished.
HW is absolutely needed for math class. For others it depends on the class but just mandating it for all seems like a very bureaucratic approach to impose.
HW is absolutely needed for math class. For others it depends on the class but just mandating it for all seems like a very bureaucratic approach to impose.
Anonymous
06/20/2025 11:32
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
This thread is a perfect example of “FCPS can’t win”.
When homework was cut, parents cried that their children are getting a subpar education.
When homework is required, parents cry that the workload is too much.
When retakes are allowed to 100, parents cried that their students who got As the first time around can’t stand out.
When retakes are capped at 90, parents cry that their A- children can’t get As.
When teachers made classwork 50% of the grade, parents complained that their kid who knew the content was penalized for not doing busy work.
When gradebooks were mandated 70/30, parents complained that it’s too much pressure on assessments for their students.
When teachers only put in a few assignments, there’s too much weight on a single task.
When teachers put in daily assignments, the workload is too high.
When it was quarterly gradebooks, parents complained that 4th quarter was weighted the same but had barely any assignments in it. They complained the final grade was a surprise. They complained about end of quarter stress.
When they went to rolling gradebooks, parents complained that kids felt they never got a clean slate to recover from mistakes.
What do you want? What is the ideal system? I don’t think it exists, and each kid can’t have their own personal setup.
When homework was cut, parents cried that their children are getting a subpar education.
When homework is required, parents cry that the workload is too much.
When retakes are allowed to 100, parents cried that their students who got As the first time around can’t stand out.
When retakes are capped at 90, parents cry that their A- children can’t get As.
When teachers made classwork 50% of the grade, parents complained that their kid who knew the content was penalized for not doing busy work.
When gradebooks were mandated 70/30, parents complained that it’s too much pressure on assessments for their students.
When teachers only put in a few assignments, there’s too much weight on a single task.
When teachers put in daily assignments, the workload is too high.
When it was quarterly gradebooks, parents complained that 4th quarter was weighted the same but had barely any assignments in it. They complained the final grade was a surprise. They complained about end of quarter stress.
When they went to rolling gradebooks, parents complained that kids felt they never got a clean slate to recover from mistakes.
What do you want? What is the ideal system? I don’t think it exists, and each kid can’t have their own personal setup.
Anonymous
06/20/2025 09:27
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
I am completely fine with them curbing the B crowd who absolutely needed an A. So much work for teachers and they took away from those that needed help.
Anonymous
06/20/2025 09:20
Subject: Re:All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:+1. A student can get a 91% and they aren’t allowed to retake, yet another student could get a 68% and do the retake to get a 90%— almost an identical grade to the first student.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The homework is a small part of the grade and I don’t think that adding homework to all classes is a bad thing. MY kid had homework in 7th grade this year, 90% of the time he could finish it in school. He had friends who were working on it at home. I don’t think this is a huge change for Honors and AAP classes.
What thrills me is that they are starting to course correct the retakes. No more 100% retake options. You have to score below a 90% and can only earn up to a 90%. I would guess that they choose that threshold because the majority of retakes were kids scoring 90-93% and wanting an A.
If true that majority of retakes were kids who scored 90-93 and don’t want them to be able to retake, then stop ALL retakes. But if a B+ kid can retake to get an A- and a B kid can retake to get an A- and so on down the line, then an A- kid should be able to retake to improve their grade too. Either allow grade improvement for all or just shut retakes down entirely, which the latter is what assume teachers would prefer.
I agree with this. It’s not fair the A kids are punished. If they get an A- they now aren’t allowed to improve their grade. Meanwhile all the other idiots can get up to an A-. Not fair.
I would guess that less then 5% of the kids who had a C or D grade that retook a test ended up with a 90% or higher. The kids who normally do well in school and had an off day because they were sick or something upsetting happened are the ones who would retake and score what they normally scored. The kid who regularly scores a 68% and is retaking probably ends up with a 70something grade, maybe a low B. But it doesn't matter because those were not the majority of kids retakign exams. The teachers on this board said that the majority of kids retaking exams were kids with a high B, low A- that wanted to get an A. Dropping the max score to a 90% means that the kids who had been retaking to get the A no longer can and it saves the teachers a ton of work.
I know from talking to my friends with MS and HS kids this year that a number of them commented that their kid would blow off studying for one test to focus on a second test because they knew they could make up the other test. They tended to ignore the class they were stronger in in the hopes of doing well enough to not have to retake but knowing that it would be easier for them to do the work to retake then the harder class. Changing the threshold means that the kids who were full on gaming the system will have to study for both tests and not blow one off because they can retake to an A.
Kids aren’t “gaming the system” when they are acting within the exact parameters that FCPS gives them. What is gaming the system is not allowing all students to improve and arbitrarily designating a percent above which FCPS says no improvement allowed. Either all allowed or shut it all down and based on teacher input, shut all retakes down. IEP kids that need more time and other assistance for tests can separately be handled according to their plans.
It is gaming the system when they choose not to study for a test because they know they can retake it if they don’t like the grade. It creates extra work for the teachers that takes them away from prep, helping kids who need help, and grading all because kids are choosing not to study because they know they can retake the test. I would bring it back to no retakes if a grade is over an 80% and cannot be higher then an 80% recovered.
My son is a rising senior in Gen Ed classes, and had multiple assessments every week. It is a constant grind. Sometimes, when you have multiple tests on the same day (it happens), you have to prioritize. These kids weren't trying to "game the system", they were making wise decisions about how best to allocate limited resources (time and energy). Perhaps if FCPS didn't have so many assessments, kids could study for the ones they have and not need as many make-ups. On the flip side, I guess, my son didn't do many retakes because by the end of the year no one assignment or test was a make or break in his grade. He finished the year with all A/A-, despite have some failing assigments/assessments and a zero here or there.
I am fine with curbing the retakes for the B+/A- crowd, but FCPS needs to examine the workload and the constant grading of every single thing the kids do. It creates a lot of unnecessary anxiety.
+1,000 my son was a freshman and I was shocked how much work it all was - every class period was a new assignment that needed to be taken home and finished before the next class. It was ridiculous! And they were time consuming. But then would only count as formative grades.
Anonymous
06/20/2025 09:15
Subject: Re:All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:+1. A student can get a 91% and they aren’t allowed to retake, yet another student could get a 68% and do the retake to get a 90%— almost an identical grade to the first student.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The homework is a small part of the grade and I don’t think that adding homework to all classes is a bad thing. MY kid had homework in 7th grade this year, 90% of the time he could finish it in school. He had friends who were working on it at home. I don’t think this is a huge change for Honors and AAP classes.
What thrills me is that they are starting to course correct the retakes. No more 100% retake options. You have to score below a 90% and can only earn up to a 90%. I would guess that they choose that threshold because the majority of retakes were kids scoring 90-93% and wanting an A.
If true that majority of retakes were kids who scored 90-93 and don’t want them to be able to retake, then stop ALL retakes. But if a B+ kid can retake to get an A- and a B kid can retake to get an A- and so on down the line, then an A- kid should be able to retake to improve their grade too. Either allow grade improvement for all or just shut retakes down entirely, which the latter is what assume teachers would prefer.
I agree with this. It’s not fair the A kids are punished. If they get an A- they now aren’t allowed to improve their grade. Meanwhile all the other idiots can get up to an A-. Not fair.
I would guess that less then 5% of the kids who had a C or D grade that retook a test ended up with a 90% or higher. The kids who normally do well in school and had an off day because they were sick or something upsetting happened are the ones who would retake and score what they normally scored. The kid who regularly scores a 68% and is retaking probably ends up with a 70something grade, maybe a low B. But it doesn't matter because those were not the majority of kids retakign exams. The teachers on this board said that the majority of kids retaking exams were kids with a high B, low A- that wanted to get an A. Dropping the max score to a 90% means that the kids who had been retaking to get the A no longer can and it saves the teachers a ton of work.
I know from talking to my friends with MS and HS kids this year that a number of them commented that their kid would blow off studying for one test to focus on a second test because they knew they could make up the other test. They tended to ignore the class they were stronger in in the hopes of doing well enough to not have to retake but knowing that it would be easier for them to do the work to retake then the harder class. Changing the threshold means that the kids who were full on gaming the system will have to study for both tests and not blow one off because they can retake to an A.
Kids aren’t “gaming the system” when they are acting within the exact parameters that FCPS gives them. What is gaming the system is not allowing all students to improve and arbitrarily designating a percent above which FCPS says no improvement allowed. Either all allowed or shut it all down and based on teacher input, shut all retakes down. IEP kids that need more time and other assistance for tests can separately be handled according to their plans.
It is gaming the system when they choose not to study for a test because they know they can retake it if they don’t like the grade. It creates extra work for the teachers that takes them away from prep, helping kids who need help, and grading all because kids are choosing not to study because they know they can retake the test. I would bring it back to no retakes if a grade is over an 80% and cannot be higher then an 80% recovered.
My son is a rising senior in Gen Ed classes, and had multiple assessments every week. It is a constant grind. Sometimes, when you have multiple tests on the same day (it happens), you have to prioritize. These kids weren't trying to "game the system", they were making wise decisions about how best to allocate limited resources (time and energy). Perhaps if FCPS didn't have so many assessments, kids could study for the ones they have and not need as many make-ups. On the flip side, I guess, my son didn't do many retakes because by the end of the year no one assignment or test was a make or break in his grade. He finished the year with all A/A-, despite have some failing assigments/assessments and a zero here or there.
I am fine with curbing the retakes for the B+/A- crowd, but FCPS needs to examine the workload and the constant grading of every single thing the kids do. It creates a lot of unnecessary anxiety.
Anonymous
06/20/2025 09:06
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Homework in PE would be ludicrous.
NP: we have been instructed that all classes must grade at least one homework assignment per week, for correctness. Math, English, PE, ceramics…doesn’t matter.
Once again vague enough that every school will implement differently.
why do they do this??? This year finally seemed to go well and now they throw these curveballs. This is so much work for the teachers. And will just lead to multiple choice/delta math type homework which is not all sufficient for the honors and AP classes.
I’m not sure how this can be true since only 7 grades per quarter are required. You’d exceed the 7 in homework alone .
^I somehow did not quote the post that said they were required to grade 1 homework assignment per week.
Anonymous
06/20/2025 08:59
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Homework in PE would be ludicrous.
NP: we have been instructed that all classes must grade at least one homework assignment per week, for correctness. Math, English, PE, ceramics…doesn’t matter.
Once again vague enough that every school will implement differently.
why do they do this??? This year finally seemed to go well and now they throw these curveballs. This is so much work for the teachers. And will just lead to multiple choice/delta math type homework which is not all sufficient for the honors and AP classes.
I’m not sure how this can be true since only 7 grades per quarter are required. You’d exceed the 7 in homework alone .
Anonymous
06/19/2025 16:43
Subject: Re:All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:This site is so helpful for understanding FCPS's changes each year.
It’s like really not though
You can read fcps grading and assessment guidelines online
You come here to read parents assume they not being in the classroom have a full grasp of the policies and how they work
So in all it’s entertainment fodder here not anything useful
Ooooh I’m a parent and my perfect daughter took a test and didn’t do goods lemme tell you how they got screwed
Anonymous
06/13/2025 13:19
Subject: All secondary classes will have homework next year(even PE)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Homework in PE would be ludicrous.
NP: we have been instructed that all classes must grade at least one homework assignment per week, for correctness. Math, English, PE, ceramics…doesn’t matter.
Once again vague enough that every school will implement differently.
why do they do this??? This year finally seemed to go well and now they throw these curveballs. This is so much work for the teachers. And will just lead to multiple choice/delta math type homework which is not all sufficient for the honors and AP classes.
This year did not go well. Retakes to 100% was a complete nightmare for teachers. Retakes to 90% isn't much better, but it's better than 100%.
We need to return to 80% cap, allowing zeroes if no attempt was made, and no requirement for accepting late work more than one block period late.
I agree with those who say go back to you can onyl retake if below80% or if you want to compromise below 82.5 (a B), then just let them get up to that 82.5%. More kids will prepare the first time around and hopefully it will help the teachers who are already asked to do too much.