Chillicothe Schools Consider No-Zero Grade Proposal

I am not sure why this idea is being painted as a liberal vs. conservative issue.  The question of grading has a scientific basis and the conversation should focus on this.  The whole question is what does a grade mean when a parent receives it on a report card.  If the student gets a “B” then the parent should be able with some precision to know the child knows 80% of the material.  If, however, a grade is based on effort and participation, then it is possible for the child to get a “B” and know, say 50% of the material, but due to effort and participation the grade is raised.  Now, that is grade inflation at its most egregious.

So, lets look at some of the other issues raised.  In a previous post I was accused of not knowing how to average a grade.  In fact, I do.  Averages are useless indicators of nearly anything.  Columbus has about the same average temperature as San Diego, but they certainly do not have similar climates.  You would be foolish to move to Columbus thinking you would get San Diego’s climate.  How about the baseball average mentioned?  If I owned a baseball team, I don’t want a player with only a .300 batting average.  I’d prefer a batter with a high on base percentage or slugging percentage—both better indicators of success.

For students, grade averages do not give us the critical informaiton we need to assess their knowledge.  A better measure would a median average. 

If we want to maintain the averaging system (it is easier and most folks can’t understand enough statisitcs to use the median as a grade), then we have to have a level playing field, or averaging will not work.  When you have a system that averages “A” through “D” using a 10 point spread for each letter and a system that uses a 60 point spread for the “F” then you are statisiticlly skewing the results.  The only remedy is to make sure that each grade category has the same amount of spread.

So, stop beating up kids with a twisted mathematical system.  In 35 years of education experience in private, public and university teaching I have seldom seen grades motivate a poor student. Grades motivate only the best students.  We need a system that truly assesses what a student knows and is able to do.  We live in an information age and knowing how much a student knows is the only way to insure the student will be a contributing member of society.

Half of something, for doing nothing? Where do I wait in line? Taxes, your taxes, pay for the liberal entitlement ideas. Is it 2012 yet?

I can understand changing the system in such a way that prevents a child from suffering a whole grade year due to a bad start or troubled areas along the way.  Progress is worth way more than individual test grades and project grades.

However, initiating a system that instills a sense of duty-free entitlement to a grade that gets them closer to passing is certainly a contradiction to the idea of ANY kind of grading system.  We grade to keep track of the knowledge (or memorization) of the lessons taught.  Demonstrating nothing does not equal demonstrating 50% of what has been taught.  It just doesn’t.  And the current system is not punitive… it’s as reward-based as it could be.  You do the work, you get the reward.  You skip the work, you skip the reward.

Certainly a 50% mark is not a passing score, and a failure margin as wide as the F category IS a huge margin, but it’s that way for a reason.  It’s difficult to thrive in the world running on less than 50% of the knowledge a k-12 education can provide. 

Sure, perhaps the scale by which we grade could use an adjustment, but if that’s the issue, go after the whole scale instead.  The message sent by THIS change suggests that kids will be given grade welfare that allows them from the onset to slide on through by the skin of their teeth. 
And to those who feel that teachers aren’t supposed to raise the kids, you’re absolutely right.  Parents need to step up and do some parenting, no matter how tough.  That said, teachers DO have a role in shaping.  The attitudes and conduct of teachers is something that permanently etches the mind of a student.  Can you remember your teachers and the way they acted?  Especially the ones that sucked for whatever reason?
Oh, and please don’t knock “the liberals” for this… we’re not all equal, just like you conservatives.

Dr. Dave, 
I guess you do not understand how to calculate an average.  By having the mimimum score of 50%, it will artifically inflate their grade if they do decide to actively participate in their education and do a little bit of work.  Let them earn what they earn.  And if it makes them feel bad about themselves, too bad.  That’s what a failing grade that they earned is supposed to do.  A little encouragement to better the next time.

Ok, as a baseball coach I’m going to put this system to work for me.  You strike out, that’s ok, your batting average is still .500! Everybody is happy, right? Teams will be afraid to play us with a team BA over .500, won’t they?  Until we actually play a real game (real life) and get pounded.  Hmm, our artificial stats did not help us when it came time to play for real.  This is a joke. Hey, I just struk out, where’s my trophy?