Other behaviors that research suggests could be separated from grading include oral presentations, class participation, work habits and neatness, effort, class attendance, punctuality of assignments or class behavior/attitude.
I believe behaviors that should be graded are those that are consistently measured from teacher to teacher. For example, homework completion, class attendance, and punctuality of assignments, all mean the same thing no matter who is doing the grading.
What other thoughts/concerns do you have regarding recommendation one?
I think that grading on my "behavior" as a whole is very subjective. Each teachers' perspective of observable behaviors can lead to students to be graded differently. For example, class participation to one teacher could mean raising your hand often, and to another teacher it could simply mean participating in activities rather than being off task.
Below are sample grading scales for review. Next to each scale are calculations of how 3 students (high achieving, mid-achieving & low achieving) would fare academically if 6 of their assignments were graded using that scale. Do you have suggestions of a grading scale for the committee to consider?
Why not just do a 5 grade scale with each grade worth 20%.... A=80-100%, B=60-79%, C=40-59%... etc. this allows for 60 passing opportunities and only 40 failing.
What other thoughts/concerns do you have regarding recommendation two?
I agree that a student should have more of an opportunity to succeed and that scores of 70-100 does not provide enough opportunity for that; however, I feel that VBCPS would be doing the students a disservice if the grading scale was modified so much that failing is almost impossible. That would not teach them anything and truly would set them up for future failure.
What other areas of grading inconsistency do you feel are most pressing in our schools? This could include, but is not limited to, the use of retakes/redos on assignments, the weighting of grades, the assignment of extra credit and the acceptance of late work.
As a special education teacher, I do not have to worry about the general education grading systems as we report progress on IEP objectives rather than grade level standards; however, I am also the Special Education Committee chairperson and hear a lot of teachers say, "well, he earned a P in participation because he was able to meet the standard requirements on such and such occasion". But, the students they are referring about are in ISS or OSS more often than not, and continuously act out in class. So, to me that grading scale is a bit skewed and I feel it doesn't provide the student, the parent, or the teacher of the next grade, an adequate description of the students abilities.
What other thoughts/concerns do you have regarding recommendation three?
The only concern would be where the money is going to come from to fund this committee. I know our budget is already so tight as is. Money that would go into funding this committee could be used towards actual programs for the students or for other student learning opportunities.
VBCPS E-Town Hall is not a certified voting system or ballot box. As with any public comment process, participation in VBCPS E-Town Hall is voluntary. The responses in this record are not necessarily representative of the whole population, nor do they reflect the opinions of any government agency or elected officials.
Translate
Other behaviors that research suggests could be separated from grading include oral presentations, class participation, work habits and neatness, effort, class attendance, punctuality of assignments or class behavior/attitude.
I believe behaviors that should be graded are those that are consistently measured from teacher to teacher. For example, homework completion, class attendance, and punctuality of assignments, all mean the same thing no matter who is doing the grading.
What other thoughts/concerns do you have regarding recommendation one?
I think that grading on my "behavior" as a whole is very subjective. Each teachers' perspective of observable behaviors can lead to students to be graded differently. For example, class participation to one teacher could mean raising your hand often, and to another teacher it could simply mean participating in activities rather than being off task.
Below are sample grading scales for review. Next to each scale are calculations of how 3 students (high achieving, mid-achieving & low achieving) would fare academically if 6 of their assignments were graded using that scale. Do you have suggestions of a grading scale for the committee to consider?
Why not just do a 5 grade scale with each grade worth 20%.... A=80-100%, B=60-79%, C=40-59%... etc. this allows for 60 passing opportunities and only 40 failing.
What other thoughts/concerns do you have regarding recommendation two?
I agree that a student should have more of an opportunity to succeed and that scores of 70-100 does not provide enough opportunity for that; however, I feel that VBCPS would be doing the students a disservice if the grading scale was modified so much that failing is almost impossible. That would not teach them anything and truly would set them up for future failure.
What other areas of grading inconsistency do you feel are most pressing in our schools? This could include, but is not limited to, the use of retakes/redos on assignments, the weighting of grades, the assignment of extra credit and the acceptance of late work.
As a special education teacher, I do not have to worry about the general education grading systems as we report progress on IEP objectives rather than grade level standards; however, I am also the Special Education Committee chairperson and hear a lot of teachers say, "well, he earned a P in participation because he was able to meet the standard requirements on such and such occasion". But, the students they are referring about are in ISS or OSS more often than not, and continuously act out in class. So, to me that grading scale is a bit skewed and I feel it doesn't provide the student, the parent, or the teacher of the next grade, an adequate description of the students abilities.
What other thoughts/concerns do you have regarding recommendation three?
The only concern would be where the money is going to come from to fund this committee. I know our budget is already so tight as is. Money that would go into funding this committee could be used towards actual programs for the students or for other student learning opportunities.