Post by brassmonkey on Apr 8, 2009 13:56:41 GMT -5
Continuing on the path to hell, one school district considers alternative grading for middle schoolers based on good intentions and feelings...
Plano officials consider alternative grading policy for middle schools
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 8, 2009
By MATTHEW HAAG
Cheat on a test, get a zero. Turn in a late assignment, the grade suffers.
They are the long-established rules of engagement in school.
But now a growing philosophical shift is putting more emphasis on what students are learning overall, rather than mostly focusing on a grade that can be pulled down by smaller assignments, quizzes, bad behavior or poor study skills.
Plano school officials are exploring a policy for middle schoolers that would not dock grades for cheating or late assignments. And teachers wouldn't grade some homework at all.
Plano ISD officials had hoped to roll out the new policy next school year, but the changes have been delayed because several teachers raised concerns they wouldn't be able to hold students accountable, according to documents and e-mails obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
But for some parents and teachers, such policies lower expectations and soften consequences for students who don't do work.
The debate touched down in Dallas schools this fall, when officials revamped grading rules to allow high school students to make up work and to retake tests without taking hits to their grade-point averages. Educators nationwide are abuzz with policies that challenge current student grading models, said David Chard, dean of the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University.
"It's certainly not isolated to Plano," Chard said. "I do think it's a significant change, and I think we are seeing changes like this reflected in a lot of state and federal policy."
What's best
Plano's proposal brings up a question that other districts are asking: How should assessment enhance student learning?
"A lot of the times, our grading practices are things we do just because that's the way we've done them historically," said Jim Wussow, who oversees the district's secondary curriculum. "We've been examining why we do what we do."
Plano administrators hope such a policy would encourage teachers to shift their focus from delivering grades to providing individual feedback to help make sure students are mastering concepts. They also say the rules would also create a uniform grading policy across middle schools.
But some Plano parents say the proposed changes would legitimize cheating and would encourage students to blow off homework. They said they fear the district's academic rigor would diminish and tarnish Plano ISD's high-standards reputation.
"It's a terrible idea," said Candy Noble, who has had three children go through Plano Independent School District. "I haven't heard a parent say a good thing about it so far."
Some of the proposed policies run counter to how Plano's middle school teachers currently assign grades. For example, students caught cheating receive an automatic zero or failing grade on that assignment. Instead, teachers and school officials would set a different consequence so that student behavior doesn't pull down grades.
Students would be given homework, but teachers wouldn't grade all assignments.
Students who turn in late work wouldn't receive a lower grade under the proposed policies, in an effort to get students to finish the work rather than just take a bad grade and move on.
"We have thought that whenever we assess how a student is learning, we assign a grade to that," said Susan Modisette, Plano ISD's director of secondary curriculum and instruction. "Rather than me assign you a grade, as a teacher, I'm going to give you some feedback so that you have practice time to master that skill. That's where homework comes into this."
Reactions
The Dallas Morning News requested documents and e-mails from the school district related to the proposed grading policy to see what conversations have occurred on the topic.
In an e-mail to Haggard Middle School's principal, one teacher expressed concern that parents might not buy into the new mindset.
"Will parents really see the value in this report? For many parents, it just all comes down to the grade."
Cyndi Campbell, who has a seventh-grade daughter at the school, said she worries that students wouldn't value homework and wouldn't establish personal responsibility.
She said kids don't want to do homework and need to be shown consequences for not doing it.
"[Her kids] know that it will come back and backfire on them because they didn't do the work," she said. "They are going to be tested at some point."
The philosophy behind Plano's proposal is not aimed at diminishing student accountability or reducing academic rigor, said Jim McMillan, an education professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Recent research shows that assigning grades by themselves, without teachers providing consistent and specific feedback, doesn't aid student progress, he said. He supports policies such as the one Plano is considering.
"When you don't turn in your assignment, it's more of a reflection of responsibility than what you know," he said. "It's hard when you try to combine those into a single grade."
Other districts' results
Dallas ISD implemented a policy this year that garnered national attention because it eliminated homework deadlines, minimized homework grades and wouldn't allow grades to fall lower than 50. The district hoped to stem staggering student dropout rates.
The policies received mixed reviews from teachers and principals in a district survey. It's too early to tell how the policy is affecting student performance. First semester DISD data shows that slightly fewer students were flunking courses and performance on end-of-course exams has not changed. The effect on dropout rates is not yet known.
A few months ago, Pittsburgh public schools made a 50 percent the lowest grade a student could receive. Public criticism led the district to alter the policy in March.
Plano public school officials said they want to spend more time collecting feedback from teachers and principals before finalizing a plan.
For now, the proposal focuses on middle schools. But e-mails between some Plano ISD officials shows they have discussed pitching the idea for high schools as well, sometime in the future.
Plano officials consider alternative grading policy for middle schools
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 8, 2009
By MATTHEW HAAG
Cheat on a test, get a zero. Turn in a late assignment, the grade suffers.
They are the long-established rules of engagement in school.
But now a growing philosophical shift is putting more emphasis on what students are learning overall, rather than mostly focusing on a grade that can be pulled down by smaller assignments, quizzes, bad behavior or poor study skills.
Plano school officials are exploring a policy for middle schoolers that would not dock grades for cheating or late assignments. And teachers wouldn't grade some homework at all.
Plano ISD officials had hoped to roll out the new policy next school year, but the changes have been delayed because several teachers raised concerns they wouldn't be able to hold students accountable, according to documents and e-mails obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
But for some parents and teachers, such policies lower expectations and soften consequences for students who don't do work.
The debate touched down in Dallas schools this fall, when officials revamped grading rules to allow high school students to make up work and to retake tests without taking hits to their grade-point averages. Educators nationwide are abuzz with policies that challenge current student grading models, said David Chard, dean of the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University.
"It's certainly not isolated to Plano," Chard said. "I do think it's a significant change, and I think we are seeing changes like this reflected in a lot of state and federal policy."
What's best
Plano's proposal brings up a question that other districts are asking: How should assessment enhance student learning?
"A lot of the times, our grading practices are things we do just because that's the way we've done them historically," said Jim Wussow, who oversees the district's secondary curriculum. "We've been examining why we do what we do."
Plano administrators hope such a policy would encourage teachers to shift their focus from delivering grades to providing individual feedback to help make sure students are mastering concepts. They also say the rules would also create a uniform grading policy across middle schools.
But some Plano parents say the proposed changes would legitimize cheating and would encourage students to blow off homework. They said they fear the district's academic rigor would diminish and tarnish Plano ISD's high-standards reputation.
"It's a terrible idea," said Candy Noble, who has had three children go through Plano Independent School District. "I haven't heard a parent say a good thing about it so far."
Some of the proposed policies run counter to how Plano's middle school teachers currently assign grades. For example, students caught cheating receive an automatic zero or failing grade on that assignment. Instead, teachers and school officials would set a different consequence so that student behavior doesn't pull down grades.
Students would be given homework, but teachers wouldn't grade all assignments.
Students who turn in late work wouldn't receive a lower grade under the proposed policies, in an effort to get students to finish the work rather than just take a bad grade and move on.
"We have thought that whenever we assess how a student is learning, we assign a grade to that," said Susan Modisette, Plano ISD's director of secondary curriculum and instruction. "Rather than me assign you a grade, as a teacher, I'm going to give you some feedback so that you have practice time to master that skill. That's where homework comes into this."
Reactions
The Dallas Morning News requested documents and e-mails from the school district related to the proposed grading policy to see what conversations have occurred on the topic.
In an e-mail to Haggard Middle School's principal, one teacher expressed concern that parents might not buy into the new mindset.
"Will parents really see the value in this report? For many parents, it just all comes down to the grade."
Cyndi Campbell, who has a seventh-grade daughter at the school, said she worries that students wouldn't value homework and wouldn't establish personal responsibility.
She said kids don't want to do homework and need to be shown consequences for not doing it.
"[Her kids] know that it will come back and backfire on them because they didn't do the work," she said. "They are going to be tested at some point."
The philosophy behind Plano's proposal is not aimed at diminishing student accountability or reducing academic rigor, said Jim McMillan, an education professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Recent research shows that assigning grades by themselves, without teachers providing consistent and specific feedback, doesn't aid student progress, he said. He supports policies such as the one Plano is considering.
"When you don't turn in your assignment, it's more of a reflection of responsibility than what you know," he said. "It's hard when you try to combine those into a single grade."
Other districts' results
Dallas ISD implemented a policy this year that garnered national attention because it eliminated homework deadlines, minimized homework grades and wouldn't allow grades to fall lower than 50. The district hoped to stem staggering student dropout rates.
The policies received mixed reviews from teachers and principals in a district survey. It's too early to tell how the policy is affecting student performance. First semester DISD data shows that slightly fewer students were flunking courses and performance on end-of-course exams has not changed. The effect on dropout rates is not yet known.
A few months ago, Pittsburgh public schools made a 50 percent the lowest grade a student could receive. Public criticism led the district to alter the policy in March.
Plano public school officials said they want to spend more time collecting feedback from teachers and principals before finalizing a plan.
For now, the proposal focuses on middle schools. But e-mails between some Plano ISD officials shows they have discussed pitching the idea for high schools as well, sometime in the future.
