Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child's physics class has seven tests for grading. Seven.

Of course each test is broken down into four skills fro a total of 28 grades. But in the entire year there were only 7 days my child was actually assessed in their class.

So no homework, no quizzes, just 7 tests? Were they taken on a single day and no retakes? And so if say are 20 questions, they assess 4 skills each for 80 points- very very rough math here. My question is if student doesn’t understand 1 question, do they grt points for writing well even if answer wrong- is that a skill? Or are tests multiple choice in which case is it just more questions to cover more skills?

Anonymous wrote:My child's physics class has seven tests for grading. Seven.

Of course each test is broken down into four skills fro a total of 28 grades. But in the entire year there were only 7 days my child was actually assessed in their class.

My child's physics class has seven tests for grading. Seven.

I am indeed talking about world history. English seems to have about the same.

Are you talking about World Hiatory by any chance? We have typically had 1 assessment per quarter that counts for an ever increasing number of skills. Now there is a project assigned this week and due next week that assesses every skill. No feedback all year all though I’ve heard there is some verbal feedback in class.

We are nearing the end of the school year and even though I had been warming up to SBG, I think I've swung back in the other direction. In history class, there are only a total of 16 grades!!! For the entire year. One bad grade makes it incredibly difficult to recover from when there are so few grades. The country requires 9 grades per quarter for every other high school, I don't see why Madison should have an exception to this.

I'm not disagreeing with you on your issues. I'm just saying that pinpointing standards based grading on one issue is what enables these proponents to pick apart that issue rather than discuss the merits of standards based grading which they are woefully unable to do other than to say it hasn't affected their child.

Anonymous wrote:I think the most significant issue is no longer having retakes. It is so painful to try to replace a grade with a new skill that is so arbitrary and has nothing to do with the original material where the grade is being replaced. On the other hand the retakes would ensure kids learn the material. Also the practices where my son has As (ie Chemistry) because they are not actually graded is a problem- he has an inflated sense of his grade in the class until the practice is marked not for grading. Overall it is a mess at Madison . . . .

That's your opinion on the most significant issue. I have an issue with work not getting graded at all. I have an issue with the simplicity of the grading. I have an issue with time it takes a teacher to grade per skills based grading. We all have different issues with skills based grading.

The proponents have not been able to pinpoint anything beyond my kid doesn't have a problem. They likely wouldn't have a problem anywhere. This program was not supposed to support high achieving kids by giving them enrichment like math counts or something. It was supposed to help all students and particularly struggling students and it's not doing that at least not in any way that supports actual learning.

I think the most significant issue is no longer having retakes. It is so painful to try to replace a grade with a new skill that is so arbitrary and has nothing to do with the original material where the grade is being replaced. On the other hand the retakes would ensure kids learn the material. Also the practices where my son has As (ie Chemistry) because they are not actually graded is a problem- he has an inflated sense of his grade in the class until the practice is marked not for grading. Overall it is a mess at Madison . . . .

16:22. I guarantee that the tests that are given to your child haven't changed at all from 2 years ago. Unless this specific skill has somehow been a flag for your child to learn, the old system which honestly has been around for decades taught and graded skills in the exact same way other than the label. The units used to at least have a sub unit number and you would know you had to relearn the skills from Unit 2.1 Algebra II graphing quadratic functions etc. even if you didn't know that skill fell under the umbrella category of graphing. Likely the subcategory gave away what issue you had with the section before.

Anonymous wrote:To any poster that likes SBG, parent or student, can you please post why you like it? I am a parent that has been trying to understand it and can’t see any positives from it. Maybe short term that if you get a low grade it can be replaced but that isn’t great for the kids in so many ways in real life. My kid also can’t explain any positives to me. I am at a loss. Willing to listen and possibly be more accepting but I am really struggling with how this is great for students. I am also shocked that the school doesn’t value families concerns about it more. Please, would love to understand why people find this is a good system. I am struggling understanding the logic even after asking several teachers.

My child is in the 9th grade at Madison, so i have known no other system to positively/negatively compare it to. They are enjoying school, making all A's, and (except for one class with a very poor quality teacher) he understands what is expected/needed to perform.

For his Algebra II class, the school year began roughly with some very poor test results. My child eventually figured things out, raised his efforts and understanding of the testing style, and was able to perform much better. The replacing of grades for the same skill definitely helped them escape a worrying start. Being tested multiple times on a "skill" has forced my child to remember what was learned rather than the all-to-common learn-it-and-forget-it method.

Other classes seem to arbitrarily call something a skill, but it doesn't seem to change the focus of the class. There are still good projects and lectures that are not too focused rigid skill adherence.

To any poster that likes SBG, parent or student, can you please post why you like it? I am a parent that has been trying to understand it and can’t see any positives from it. Maybe short term that if you get a low grade it can be replaced but that isn’t great for the kids in so many ways in real life. My kid also can’t explain any positives to me. I am at a loss. Willing to listen and possibly be more accepting but I am really struggling with how this is great for students. I am also shocked that the school doesn’t value families concerns about it more. Please, would love to understand why people find this is a good system. I am struggling understanding the logic even after asking several teachers.

Sure admin

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am warming up to SBG. This year seems better than last year. I’m hoping moving to the 100 pt scale will get rid of the bias against As since the spread will be 93-100 vs 3.8 to 4.0.

Because of what? Again, nothing concrete as a plus. Most complaints btw are not just about grades but how it affects the entire course.

It's so weird... because somehow my kid is learning a lot! Curious that your kid keeps having a hard time.

Anonymous wrote:I am warming up to SBG. This year seems better than last year. I’m hoping moving to the 100 pt scale will get rid of the bias against As since the spread will be 93-100 vs 3.8 to 4.0.

Because of what? Again, nothing concrete as a plus. Most complaints btw are not just about grades but how it affects the entire course.