Posted on 08/24/2016 9:39:22 AM PDT by 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.
ferals
I know there is some debate about the value of homework. As a teacher, I assigned homework nearly every day and counted it as 50% of the final grade. I did this to encourage the not-so bright but potentially hard-working students who might not do so well on tests. The “real world” is a whole lot more like homework—IMHO—than it is like tests. How many tests does one take after leaving school? But daily assignments are a part of working life, even if most jobs don’t require you to take them home.
The dreaded 0 can gut your final grade if you make a habit of getting them. Most learned to not get them. I was a hard grader. When kids finally started to get what I was about and their grades improved, their pride in their accomplishments was real.
How does one learn to hold a job and become successful if not performing what is required is ignored?
I don't have to imagine it - I've been there. It's heartbreaking to see the waste of human potential. Some of the kids are bright, but so far behind in their basic skills that they are functionally illiterate and innumerate. Others are lacking the potential for anything but the most basic existence but we're pretending that they're college material. I got out of the urban setting. The suburbs are better, but we face many related challenges.
Do papers and projects figure in as homework?
Yup. No responsibility, no accountability. No challenges. No wins. No personal self respect for achieving a goal. More time off to hang out on street corners and punch out old people and throw bricks through windows.
And what about the students who chronically freeze up on tests? I have had many students who I KNEW knew the material, but would freeze up on tests. Does that "accurately measure whether or not the child mastered the material"? Absolutely not. If I only graded them on test results, they would fail. Basing a grade on many parameters actually helps students achieve higher and fairer grades. Should a student who faithfully attends class, does all their homework and projects, participates well in class, and you know tries their best--but messes up on most tests--fail? I say no. That is why all of these should be separate inputs. I also had a part of grades depend on classroom behavior, because that is something, like completing homework, that the student can directly control and is not dependent on their endowment of academic gifts, only personal effort. It was an easy way for them to improve their grade.
This is very much like the “experts” who advised teachers not to use red pens when grading papers or tests, because when students saw a lot of the red color on their papers, it was damaging to their emotional well-being. So, if I miss 10 out of 20 on my test, I won’t feel as bad if the teacher used a green pen to indicate my errors instead of a red one. Yeah, I can see that...
Well, obviously it worked for George. He’s got a job, see?
I can’t. I keep getting more involved. I like my job but wouldn’t mind moving on.
But... I am the overall leader for a boys youth organization with over 60 boys, and about two minutes ago, accepted a nomination for a municipal commission appointment. (rare conservative community)
Yep, I’m an idiot.
That generally depends on the teacher. I have a lot of flexibility in how I calculate grades, balancing tests with labs, quizzes, essays, and homework. Teachers in other systems may have less autonomy. I was in a class this summer with some teachers from Maryland. What they described was very regimented. I'm not sure whether it was coming down from the state or whether it was their local district that limited teachers' flexibility. They were pretty frustrated by it, and they were teaching high-end kids in AP classes. Those are motivated students generally. The extra points for class participation and homework are tools that I have found especially helpful with weaker students who need the "good citizen points" to offset test anxiety or other difficulties.
“Education”, even at the college level, has become a participation trophy. If you are there, try at all, turn in even the worst assignments, it is guaranteed you will pass with at least a ‘C’.
“Let them all stay home and get rid of the school system”
Exactly. If this is all they’ve got then let’s do away with it! That should put the fear in them.
Totally agree. I've taught a lot of kids with learning disabilities who struggle with testing. The factory model of a school doesn't serve these kids (or the gifted) very well. We do what we can for the 160 or so kids who fill our seats every year.
When my daughter was in Algebra II in tenth grade, unbeknownst to me, she went to her teacher about three weeks after school started. She told him that his homework assignments were repetitious and a waste of her time, and she offered him a deal. If she only had to do as much of the homework assignments as she needed to do to understand the concept, she would ace every test, get a 100% or better with the extra credit points. If at any time, she didn't get a 100%, he could go back to having her complete the homework assignments. To the teacher's credit, he took her up on her offer. After about another two weeks, she quit doing homework completely. Finished the year with a 105% average on tests. Fascinatingly enough, none of the other students in the class ever figured out she wasn't turning in homework. The teacher had sworn her to secrecy, so she didn't tell anybody she wasn't doing it. I found out about the deal during parent/teacher conferences at the end of the first term.
YUP; that will really be a big help to those students in the real working world.
That will turn them into truly dedicated democrat voters.
First educators were against “teaching to the test”, that is, they were throttled and had no creativity because all that mattered was test results.
Now, homework and behavior don’t matter either.
Well, at least there is going to be free college for everyone, no matter what your grades are...
Going to be an awful lot of college grads at Mc D’s who can’t fathom how to work the buttons on the register.
Education has many purposes, one of which is to provide an educated workforce that can compete in a global market. Baltimore has just made education more about people's feeling than their ability to work cooperatively and perform given assignments.
No wonder most manufacturing jobs are sent overseas.
This insanity began with T-ball. Everybody gets a trophy. We continue to sacrifice excellence at the altar of equality.
And, each and every one gets a huge trophy, to boot. How great is that? /s
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