Issues with new grading system come to light
Despite her never making a grade below 96 on a report card, the new secondary schools grading policy has Denton High sophomore Gabriella Webster feeling her efforts aren t good enough.
Prior to the school district s new policy being implemented this fall, she said, the use of homework and quizzes were a way for her to gauge where patagonia better sweater navyshe was in her learning experience leading up to a test. With assignments like homework no longer being graded, she said that with the exception of tests she s not receiving the feedback to understand if she s truly learned something. She said she s had to retake every test and has turned to Khan Academy videos for understanding.
At this point, with the assessments [tests] being the only thing we see, it s kind of a shot in the dark in what we re understanding as we go, and then we re taking a test at the end hoping that we ve taught ourselves enough, Webster said. There s not any way to gauge what I m learning anymore.
A bad grade on a test, she said, is telling her I m not good enough.
My confidence is completely shot, Webster said.
Webster shared her frustrations about the new grading policy before a room of several hundred people, with concerns regarding the impact the new system is having on education in Denton. On Wednesday, the Denton ISD conducted a discussion on secondary school grading practices in the Guyer High School auditorium.
DISD implemented the new grading system for secondary schools more than nine weeks ago.
Students receive grades for final drafts, tests and projects, known as major summatives, but their grades are not penalized for poor behavior or late, missing or incomplete homework. Students no longer receive grades for homework and other assignments deemed minor summatives. However, they have opportunities to redo tests and research papers if they say they ve made improvement by going to a tutor, meeting with a teacher or doing alternative assignments.
The major summatives count 70 percent of an average student s grade, according to DISD documents. A major summative is 80 percent of the grade for students enrolled in Prpatagonia lifetime guaranteee Advanced Placement, AP and International Baccalaureate classes. Per semester, the average of the two grading periods count 80 percent of the final semester grade, and the final exam counts 20 percent of the final semester grade. The district anticipates fully implementing the system for the 2015 16 school year, according to DISD documents.
[It s] not good. It s just a nightmare, Webster said. It s an endless cycle of feeling like I m not worth the grades I ve earned my entire life.
She said spatagonia guide pants press1he s not alone, adding that many of her ppatagonia r1 full zipeers have given up and feel they re in a battle that can t be won.
It just makes me feel like I m the problem, and students shouldn t be made to feel that way, Webster said. This program is [supposed] to instill confidence.
None of us [students] want to go to school because we feel like we re not learning. If the district s purpose is to serve the students, then they re failing miserably.
Webster said she would like topatagonia 7 inch baggies for sale see secondary schools return to the grading policy prior to the one implemented this fall. She said she also would like to see that not all grades for a student rest on a test. Webster said she intends to apply for the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas this year, where numerical grades are closely reviewed during the application process. DISD s new grading system, she said, has put her in an unfair position. Schimmer said that he s worked with DISD educators approximately six days over the course of the last two to three years. Ultimately, the goal of the practices is for students to be optimistic about their learning, he said.
Toward the end of his presentation, tensions boiled over among those in attendance.
Following a question and answer session with Schimmer, parents were able to hear about the implementation of the grading policy in middle schools and high schools through breakout sessions. Administrators and educators from the district s seven middle schools and its three comprehensive high schools were present at each of the breakout sessions to discuss implementation of the policy on their campus, answer questions and to hear parent and student concerns.
It was more than five hours after the meeting s initial start time that the last breakout session concluded.
Throughout some of the sessions, parents expressed concern about their children being overloaded with information. They also expressed concerns about overemphasis on testing, how the system is being implemented and how the nine week grading system impacts University Interscholastic League eligibility.
Parents said that in some classes students are receiving zero feedback, and that some patagonia guide pants press0students who generally made straight A s are now coming home with 30s and are distraught. Parents with students in the 11th and 12th grades expressed concern about how the policy could negatively impact children patagonia everlong review zulilywpatagonia guide pants press3ho are applying for college and scholarships or attempting to graduate.
One teacher during the Guyer session said that since implementation of the new grading policy, it s the most stressed she s seen students, teachers and herself, and it s unfair.
Anotherpatagonia fleece sale new balance educator said having a line of students standing outside her classroom for reassessment makes her feel like a failure.
Deborah Donley is the mother of a middle school student and a high schopatagonia guide jacket imageol student. She said Schimmer s presentation clearly identified what the district is implementing. She sat in on the Crownover Middle Schoopatagonia guide jacket queenl breakout session afterward, she said. That s where she has the most concern, she said. for tutorials and to retake tests. Having to redo tests over and over has been very trying on her son, she said.
I do feel this is a little too much for an 11 year old, Donley said. For me, I don t enjoy coming home and listening to my son tell me that, Mom, we took an assessment today and half the class failed it they re not gettpatagonia guide pants pressing it.
It s heartbreakipatagonia guide pants townng when your kids come home and they say their grades are tanking. It s heartbreaking as a parent.
Donley said she knows teachers are doing their best, but implementation of the new grading system is just not working.
She said spatagonia guide pants press2he would like to see students go back to doing homework and receiving daily grades. Donley said she feels students are not receiving the ample ammunition to be successful on a test because there s no homework or assignments to practice at home.
