[Indiana] gives 'F' to current report cards - [A's and F's to be replaced]

Indianapolis Star online ^ | 07-28-03 | AP

[Teacher317]

MARION, Ind. -- State education officials are urging Indiana's schools to adopt detailed new report cards that track student performance with numbers, not the familiar letter grades.

Instead of a letter grade for each subject, a student's progress is charted on a numerical scale from 1 to 3 in different areas of each subject.

[Teacher317]

Of all the incredibly stupid "fixes" that this state has suggested for education, this has got to be the silliest.

(Two or three years ago, our estemeed governor decided that the state needed to address the lagging state test scores. His solution? Make the tests harder. Now, while I am always for challenging students whenever possible, I just marvel at the disconnect between the stated problem and the proposed solution.)

[Teacher317]

Libbert said a change was long overdue because the district's old report card had not been changed in at least 27 years.
"Any time you quit reassessing and become complacent is when you get stale and you get in a rut," she said.

In other words, any time we stop making changes, we lose our reason for being! (Quoting the Gov in Blazing Saddles:) "We've got to protect our phony-baloney jobs, gentlemen!"

[Teacher317]

"By going to a standard-based report card and by specifying those standards, the parents have a copy of those standards in their hands, so they know exactly what they are," she said.

The ISTEP results already show where the student is on each of the state standards. This simply makes every classroom entirely geared towards "teaching-to-the-test" for the ISTEP, and every report card a check to make sure that every child and teacher conform to the state's command.

[HIDEK6]

"Captain, the iceberg has ripped the side off our ship, and we are doomed to sink."

"Not so fast. I think we can re-arrange those deck chairs over there. That should fix the problem."

[js1138]

Florida does both. My kids got report cards through the eighth grade, but also got a detailed list of skills, along with the dates they were mastered. This is important if graduation depends on passing an achievement test.

[Mr. K]

you nailed it... just how stupid do we need to make report cards? why do we need to hide the details of success or failure? Isn't it vitally important that we find and fix failure before it is too late? don't we need MORE information on report cards instead of less? why are we producing failures and hiding it from them under the guise of "not hurting their feelings"

Self esteem is useless on an idiot. Just how much of a sense of pride do we want stupid people to have? There is nothing worse in my book and an idiot who is proud of it- and too stupid to know he is an idiot. Is this what the goal is?

If not then exactly what is the reason for these changes again...???

[stainlessbanner]

I thought this was from the Onion, Teacher317. Sadly, it ain't

[Teacher317]

Having both doesn't sound too bad. In fact, that's basically what Indiana has now. Now they're eliminating the "old" system simply to make a redundant report (since they already get the state standards skills report with every ISTEP result). It just doesn't quite seem logical to me.

[Teacher317]

I also admire (*cough-cough*) the idea of having 2 numbers to represent "not proficient" while having only one for "proficient". Apparently binary systems are beyond our Dept of Education.

[laweeks]

Any reason to believe that our high-screwls aren't a total waste of taxpayers' money? Up here in Ohio, our local high screwl, formerly national winner of numerous national academic decathalons, has collapsed their standards to the point that they will allow students this semester to have cell phones AND pagers on and in the school. Too many parents complaining that they can't get a hold of little Johnny and Jane. It's time to turn off the light and hide in the basement with a shotgun. I don't have a basement.

[hellinahandcart]

"Harumph! HARUMPH!!"

[Cronos]

The dumbing down of America is in progress, compare it with our rivals in China, India etc. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/938509/posts

[Teacher317]

Shelli Pence, a first-grade teacher at Southeast Elementary School in Marion, said she likes the new, detailed report card Marion Community Schools will begin using this fall.
She said it gives teachers and parents an idea of the specific areas on which a student needs to work.

Yes, the detailed report IS nice. We get it after every ISTEP. What's the point of giving it every 9 weeks, when there is no way to assess all 150 (aprx) standards in that time period? The first report card of any year will be 3/4 blank, since those standards haven't even been addressed yet.

What is it about A-F that fails to communicate which areas children need to work on? Why the need for a numeric system for the more detailed report cards?

Finally, if getting this detailed, standards-specific report every year is not frequent enough, why is there any reason to think that every quarter will be sufficient?

[smiley]

Instead of worrying about what "grades" to use for these students...why don't THEY just teach these kids how to read and write....as far as learning to speak the English language properly....believe me....you don't want to go there.....

[Bluntpoint]

Johnny came home with #1 on his report card. He is devastated.

I think # 1 needs to be replaced with the sign that stands for "the number formerly known as # 1."

[17th Miss Regt]

"When you give a letter grade, it's a blanket grade for the whole subject," Pence said. "And when you do the standards, it shows the parent the exact areas where the child needs to work. ...

This only works if parents care about how junior is doing in his classes. If they do care, they will pay close attention to the mid-term reports sent home and will apply a boot to the appropriate location as needed. I fail to see anything wrong with a blanket grade for an entire subject.

[Teacher317]

Indiana's schools have been almost manic about "adhering to the state standards". This is mostly due to Public Law 221, which will hold teachers and administrators accountable for failing scores. They're all running scared, and looking to cover their butts as much as possible. This way, they can blame the tests and assessments, rather than themselves. This will be virtually the last step towards converting the professional in the classroom into a state bureaucracy automaton. Yep. THAT will help educate our children!

[armymarinemom]

Good grief! No matter how much they try to cover their backsides they can't hide the fact that the educational system is failing!! Yep with a big F

[Teacher317]

Exactly. Also, those parents who give a darn have always called (or e-mailed) the teacher, and got the specifics that way. This simply makes more useless paperwork. It will not solve the disconnect between classroom performance evaluation and test scores. This disparity, IMHO, is mainly due to test anxiety, the testing style differing from the teacher's style, generous grading curves from those teachers worried about the kids' self-esteem, differing student motivation between the test and within the classroom, and the fact that ANY time you have two lists of personal statistics there will be SOME disparity inherent in them. Which exactly will disappear with new and more detailed report cards? None.

[Bluntpoint]

"Yep with a big F "

What is this "F" you refer to? What does it mean? Does it fit in with my holistic approach to self-evaluation?

As a person, this "F," what does it say about me as person?

Is this a sign post to lead me elsewhere or a direction to where I need to meander?