The lesson to learn from this is not about grading policy, but that parents are partners. They should be involved from the beginning - not as by-standers (groups to be communicated to) but as developers - similar to what was done when Rock Hill Schools implemented standard dress in the middle schools.
From their web sites:
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NO "F's" &"CHEATERS RETAKING TESTS" POLICIES
FAIRGRADE would like to draw your attention to recent news coverage in the Washington Post concerning experimental grading and testing policies at one of FCPS' 25 high schools.
• NO "F's" & "CHEATERS RETAKING TESTS" POLICIES IMPLEMENTED & THEN RESCINDED •
FAIRGRADE learned from the Washington Post last week that West Potomac High School was implementing controversial grading policies that left many parents countywide wondering if these policies would be implemented at all FCPS high schools. The policies, which originated from the FCPS Department of Instructional Services, proposed the following:
1. Eliminate giving "F's" on a student's record and instead give the student an "Incomplete" until the subject content is mastered or completed assignments are eventually turned in to the teacher for a grade.
2. Permit students who cheat to retake tests rather than receive a zero in order to separate the "disciplinary" consequence from the "academic" consequence.
To be clear, The Washington Post has reported that WPHS has now rescinded both the "F" policy and the "Cheaters Retake Test" policy.
FAIRGRADE's primary concern is that FCPS elected to "pilot" these controversial policies before communicating with the broader FCPS community (School Board, teachers, parents, students)first. Parents countywide had to learn about these new grading policies from the media rather than FCPS officials directly. It took nearly a week before FCPS administrators officially addressed this issue in the press, leaving only the WPHS principal to comment.
FAIRGRADE continues to rely on you - our vigilant supporters - to keep us informed about the grading policies and "pilot programs" at your school(s). Our advocacy remains focused on bringing your collective concerns to the attention of School Board members and other FCPS officials. Please continue sending us your feedback to FAIRGRADE Co-Founders Louise Epstein atlepstein@cox.net OR Megan McLaughlin at macfiveva@gmail.com.
• FAIRFAX EDUCATION COALITION (FEC) •
As noted earlier this year, FAIRGRADE leaders joined forces with other parent advocacy groups and two Fairfax County teachers associations to form the “Fairfax Education Coalition” (FEC). Please take a moment and register with the FEC website to learn more about School Board actions and policy matters that affect your child/children and your school(s). Sign-up FREE at:www.FairfaxEducationCoalition.org
FEC is closely following several important issues including: the court case concerning the closure of Clifton ES, the Southwestern and Annandale Boundary Studies which could result in the redistricting of thousands of FCPS students, Honor Code interpretations at Westfield HS, the upcoming FY2011 budget and teacher compensation concerns.
• SPECIAL KUDOS TO FAIRGRADE SUPPORTERS AT WOODSON HIGH SCHOOL•
Taking lessons learned from the FAIRGRADE experience, parents at W.T. Woodson High School successfully lobbied to stop a harmful bus depot proposal and potential "land give-away" on their campus. Led by co-chairs Megan McLaughlin and Sandy Hoch, the Woodson coalition worked closed with Braddock Supervisor John Cook's office to carefully examine the FCPS Department of Transportation and Facilities' proposal. Substantive inaccuracies were identified with the FCPS proposal. Ultimately, costly traffic problems forced the proposal to be withdrawn last week. Kudos to the Woodson PTSO and parents who devoted months of their time and effort to this issue!
Thank you for your continued support and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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WPHS Rescinds Experimental Grading Policies
Announced on: Wednesday, November 24, 2010
By Donna St. George
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 19, 2010; 11:52 PM
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 19, 2010; 11:52 PM
The Fairfax County high school that largely banished F's from recent report cards and was experimenting with a no-zeros policy for students caught cheating reversed course on both policies Friday, according to an e-mail its principal sent to families and educators.
West Potomac High School Principal Cliff Hardison wrote that after nearly a week of publicity, "it has become clear to me that we do not have consensus within the faculty, the student body, or the parents at West Potomac to change our grading policies from prior years."
Reverting to old grading practices, West Potomac will no longer routinely use marks of "incomplete" when students have failed or missed essential work. It will no longer give retests, rather than zeros, to students found cheating or plagiarizing.
Still, Hardison did not give up his vision of "mastery" learning - which had driven the new policy approaches - with its emphasis on content and moving away from traditional grading methods that can be punitive or false measures of what students know.
Hardison said three advisory panels would be created to gather research and involve teachers, students, parents and community members in policy changes. He invited those interested to join.
Parents and teachers had complained in recent weeks about the new policies, implemented this school year, that largely replaced F's on first-quarter report cards and gave teachers the option of allowing students to retake tests when they were caught cheating. Friday's reversal surprised many of those who had raised objections.
"People were shocked, elated - hopeful that finally their concerns were being addressed," said Kate Van Dyck, a leader of Real World, Real Grades, which formed in opposition to the policies. "We're pleased that there've been some changes made, but we will continue to monitor this very closely in the future and expect to see opportunities for real community input prior to the implementation of policies."
Hardison declined interview requests Friday and referred inquiries to a Fairfax schools spokesman, Paul Regnier, who declined to detail what inspired the shift in policy. "I have to let it speak for itself," he said.
As news spread about the turnaround, it became the talk of the school and beyond.
"My students and I and the faculty with whom I talked are happy," said Bill Dobson, a math teacher who had opposed the changes to the cheating and F policies.
Mary Mathewson, an English teacher, described herself as "over-the-moon." Everyone wants what's best for students, she said, but in her mind it "has to be a two-way street. It can't be us chasing after them all the way to summer school."
In his e-mail, Hardison said students who are failing will see an F at the end of every marking period, as the school, in the Alexandria section of Fairfax, plans for "a smoother transition" to new learning and grading approaches.
Hardison said that he has never tolerated cheating and that West Potomac "will completely return" to its prior discipline policy, which allowed zeros on tests.
The grading policy changes were first reported in The Washington Post.
The night before the e-mail, Hardison met with six members of Van Dyck's organization and a handful of other parents and members of the Parent-Teacher-Student Association. There, he apologized for not involving the broader school community as he changed grading policies so dramatically, according to people in attendance.
Parent Jan Speakman said she considered it "a shame" that the F policy had to be fully retracted, when it probably only needed to be modified. But, she said, "the way he's looking forward to go, with all of these committees, is positive."
Across the county, others wondered whether West Potomac's struggles were a sign of things to come, said Catherine Lorenze of the Fairfax advocacy group FairGrade. With such intense debate about West Potomac, parents expected more communication from county schools officials, she said.
"What bothered us was process," she said. "It was just this big trial balloon that exploded on them."
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