Grading Policy Discussion

There are many reports on changing the grading system, Seven Reasons for Standards-Based Grading and The Power of the "I" to name two. As Rock Hill's Superintendent has stated, this is something we should talk about. The Charlotte Observe received student comments which you can read by clicking here.  Education has changed a lot over the years, and there have been folks all along the way wanting to keep from making changes. This 7 minute video shows some of the changes:

But there are other issues to discuss. Should the question be a discussion of grading, or the root causes for students not performing. Is a grading policy change the equivalent to using a band-aide for a broken bone? Could we be making the root problem worse? The next short video talks about a marshmallow test - one to evaluate executive function. Shouldn't we be evaluating this? If we still have problems at the high school level, wouldn't this mean we should go back to the earlier grades and do more for executive function?

One aspect of proposed changes is to minimize the chance of failure by eliminating penalties and giving multiple chances - but - throughout history - there are examples of  people who have made great successes after failure. Would they have made those successes without the failure? Watch the short video for examples.

And lastly, I have referred to some of the discussion as putting a square peg into a round hole. Why does one side have to lose for another to win the argument? This short clip from the movie "Apollo 13" should serve as an inspiration.

This doesn't mean I support all the proposed changes. Students should be held accountable for  their actions and work. This doesn't mean there shouldn't be opportunities for limited recovery. There are problems with  some classroom grading systems. Students shouldn't be given extra credit for bringing supplies to class. The penalty for cheating, if it becomes non-academic, should be much more severe. We have an obligation to reinforce society and community standards. That's my opinion.

As a board member, I don't have to agree with all aspects. In the absence of data, and we were told not to expect much from our school trials, I want to be sure there is  teacher support (ie: no one being forced to drink the cool-aide) and  parent support before I can approve the changes.