Baltimore Co. Public Schools revises grading system, factoring out homework and behavior

Fox News ^ | AUGUST 22, 2016 | JOY LEPOLA

[EinNYC]

Baltimore County Public Schools has adopted a new philosophy as the foundation for its grading system for the first time in 20 years.

Many teachers just learned about the policy change when they returned to school last week.

Under the new system, a student’s behavior is factored out of his or her grades. The school system also now recommends that teachers do not factor homework into overall grades or give students marks below 50%.

Community Superintendent for Zone 2 George Roberts says low marks can damage a student's feeling of self-potential.

“The power of the zero is extremely powerful and frankly hurtful to a student," Roberts said. "If a child gets a zero on an assignment, it's that much harder for the child to come out of.”

Under the revised approach, effort, class participation and attendance are also considered factors that distort grades.

[EinNYC]

Did anyone ever hear such a load of undiluted baloney in their lives? This is a green light for students to act out and disrupt their classes with impunity and to ignore class assignments, as the subsequent zeroes will be tossed and the fact that no one had been able to learn Tuesday's lesson because LaQuan and Taneisha decided it was more important to throw stuff and play loud music on their cell phones during class was more important would be ignored.

Here is the genius author of this numbskull edict:

[cyclotic]

What utter insanity. If I knew that my homework didn’t count, guess how much homework I would do?

Maryland really is a freak state.

[Truth29]

This reads like it is a parody from The Onion. If this article is real, why don’t they just give everybody an A and not bother with having them show up at all. Think of all the money they could save by not having physical schools. Of course, they would still have to pay the teachers, no matter what.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“Baltimore County Public Schools has adopted a new philosophy as the foundation for its grading system for the first time in 20 years.”

If the parents were smart they would sue the school district. Then again, they probably cannot spell sue if spotted the S and the U.

Next up, SAT’s start at 1500 for signing your name correctly.

[lrdg]

As a teacher, I would have turned in my resignation the same day. Shame on anyone who would work for a fool and districts that hire them.

[max americana]

“Community Superintendent for Zone 2 George Roberts says low marks can damage a student’s feeling of self-potential.”

Great. Another generation of “safe space” dwellers.

[pinkandgreenmom]

What is next for these people? Harvard? Yale?

What a joke.

[combat_boots]

MacKeeson now works for this school system.

[Hojczyk]

Let them all stay home and get rid of the school system

This country is run by fools..

America is to stupid to compete with any asian country

Math is to hard

Hell everything is to hard

[gspurlock]

I’m not so sure it’s that bad of an idea. If the child’s grade is only based on content tests, it will accurately measure whether or not the child mastered the material.

That does not mean there is no discipline in the classroom, only that a child’s academic achievement will not be diluted by personality issues. Ditto for homework. If the child has mastered the information, why do the homework?

There are a lot of factors at play, but it may be getting away from using the schools for social engineering and returning to the actual purpose of education: Passing on to each generation the knowledge gleaned from previous generations. Isn’t that the idea. . .to allow them to stand on the shoulders of giants instead of having to develop everything from scratch?

[Think free or die]

"This reads like it is a parody from The Onion."

I doubt it's a parody. Our district doesn't permit us to give quarterly grades below 60. So far we've been able to grade individual assignments lower, but at the end of the quarter, the online system will over-ride an overall grade below 60. This isn't a public school system by the way.

[teletech]

Whenever you lower standards, you lower results.

[hal ogen]

maryland is THE Freak state. It is truly hopeless there. Escape while you can.

[dfwgator]

Meanwhile folks in China and India keep on studying.

[hal ogen]

The freak looks like a typical freakazoidal “educator”. What a nitwit.

[Lazamataz]

When the Zombie Apocalypse comes, these students, who will be adults, will become my food.

[ladyjane]

George Roberts says low marks can damage a student's feeling of self-potential.

LOL

Can you imagine teaching a room full of kids with IQs of 85 who get no negative feedback when they act out like animals.

[impimp]

I think this is great. I think you are wrong. I want performance graded not how well someone sucks up to the teacher.

[Kozak]

What do they grade on? Skin tone and proper PC thought?

[Political Junkie Too]

or give students marks below 50%.

What happens when the students figure out that 50 out of 100 is really the new 0 out of 50? Will they say no marks below 75%

-PJ