http://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2016/06/new-fairfax-co-schools-grading-system-focuses-on-failing-students/
http://www.fcps.edu/cco/pubs/myfcps/family/2016_06_22/gradingpolicy.shtml?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=

11:21 pm, June 25, 2016
74°



It’s going to be a lot harder to fail as a middle or high school student in Fairfax County Public Schools. As of this fall, a new grading system will focus on helping struggling students.

“We’re basically moving away from being punitive,” said Kevin Hickerson, president-elect of the Fairfax Education Association.

The goal, Hickerson said, is to measure learning versus behavior. So students will be allowed to turn in work late and they’ll be allowed to retake tests if their first score is less than 80 percent.

“I don’t think it’s going to mean that nobody’s going to fail, because in the end if a student doesn’t do any work, they’re still going to receive a zero,” Hickerson said.


The new “no zero” policy tries to limit or eliminate zeros from grades. Students who make reasonable attempts to complete work should be given a grade no lower than 50, according to the new guidelines.

The new grading system will have no direct impact on well-performing students. However, there is a chance education could be compromised indirectly because teachers will devote additional resources to accommodate underperforming students, Hickerson said.

Also, Hickerson said critics may note the new grading system could prove time consuming for teachers and staff who will have to grade late assignments and create new tests for retakes.

The changes as based on bodies of research done over the past 10-15 years. Hickerson said the Fairfax County School System isn’t charting new territory, but is an early adopter of an educational trend that’s growing across the country.

“Don’t be alarmed. It’s a change. It’s a difference,” Hickerson said. “But, it’s something that should be looked at as positive overall.”

Hickerson said he expects the new system will be tweaked as it is implemented, and he encourages parents to monitor student grades, efforts and achievements.

Read more about the new grading policy:
https://www.scribd.com/mobile/doc/316653871/Fairfax-County-Public-Schools-grading-police



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2016 11:31PM by Fox News.
Attachments:

The approach does not work too well in the real world, however, it does mesh nicely with participation trophies!

This is a way to narrow the achievement gap. It becomes more difficult every year to bring the lower performers up, so just bring the high performers down. Viola, gap narrowed. These types of policies have turned FCPS into an average system. The electorate deserves the government it elects.

"students will be allowed to turn in work late and they’ll be allowed to retake tests if their first score is less than 80 percent."

I guess prepping students for the real world is no longer a goal of high school. Another step in the downward trend of FCPS.

Garza and the School Board are making FCPS a joke.

And then once the performance on the standardized tests start to tank they will whine and complain about the cost to educate ESOL students and use it as their rationale for funding increases. It is soooo predictable but the electorate buys their rhetoric every time.

This policy would actually help standardized test scores.

It puts the focus on making sure students learn the material. If they bomb a test, they can retake it to show increased mastery.

Sure, there are appropriate ways to teach real world responsibility, but I'd argue that this approach forces students to not give up and take a D or F for granted...the work isn't good enough, and you must do it again.

In actuality... Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This policy would actually help standardized test
> scores.

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And there ya go.
Attachments:

I am a former math teacher of FCPS. I assigned homework (much of which was done in class) for each lesson, and actually checked each assignment for effort and understanding (not perfection). And, yes, I accepted a LIMITED number of late assignments from each student. But allowing students to turn in any work at any time only encourages procrastination. And imagine the teacher's workload when that teacher must evaluate all those papers near the end of the grading period!

Ffx.county public schools sure have changed since the 90s...
I remember when you had to get at least a 94percent for an A (unlike most school systems where it's 90 A, 80 B, 70 C, etc.). I thought that grading system was not fair due to the fact that most colleges didn't take ffx's grading scale into account. But the pendulum has swung way too far the other direction as of late. Ffx better be careful or it will rapidly resemble the LA Unified School District....

In actuality... Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This policy would actually help standardized test
> scores.
>
> It puts the focus on making sure students learn
> the material. If they bomb a test, they can
> retake it to show increased mastery.
>
> Sure, there are appropriate ways to teach real
> world responsibility, but I'd argue that this
> approach forces students to not give up and take a
> D or F for granted...the work isn't good enough,
> and you must do it again!

In reality! You take that attitude into the work place and you will spend a major part of your life with a six pack while watching Sports Center on ESPN.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2016 06:09PM by Inquisitive One.

eunnX