tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10378966.post8440869322306508364..comments2023-10-10T05:20:11.192-04:00Comments on Elementary, My Dear, or Far From It: More Grading ThoughtsJennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725549451973770515noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10378966.post-20591935348151670932008-01-08T10:11:00.000-05:002008-01-08T10:11:00.000-05:00I agree that parental concerns about this issue ar...I agree that parental concerns about this issue are a sign of their interest in their child's future. However, I don't believe that grades have much, if anything, to do with actual learning. I'm not frustrated with the parents in this issue, I'm frustrated with the concept of grades.<BR/><BR/>I think you are also probably correct about schools communicating about their grading policies. I have doubts that any school could actually communicate it well because there is so much variety between teachers, disciplines, and individual student issues. Yet another reason I'm pained by the focus on grades in our society.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your thoughts. I'm always grateful to be pushed to think harder about things.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04725549451973770515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10378966.post-19244085057173618772008-01-08T09:58:00.000-05:002008-01-08T09:58:00.000-05:00"These parents are up in arms over this issue whic..."These parents are up in arms over this issue which has absolutely nothing to do with what their children are learning."<BR/><BR/>I think that's an oversimplification. At the very least, it shows concern for their child's future education opportunities. If you read between the lines, it shows that some parents don't trust their children's schools to properly handle grades. Indeed, reliance on standardized tests seems to reflect a general societal belief that it's not possible for teachers throughout the city/state/country to give equivalent grades. And of course, that's true - all teachers are different, with different assignments and learning objectives, and that's not a bad thing.<BR/><BR/>What about this sentence from the article: "In recent years, it has often been parents, not school officials, who have researched grading policies and called for changes."<BR/><BR/>Either 1) parents are more interested than school officials in continuously improving grading policies 2) school officials aren't communicating the reasoning behind their grading policies 3) the Washington Post's front page story is completely off-base<BR/><BR/>I'm leaning toward #2 myself. Some people I work with seem to think that putting more information online will lead to more complaints, but I think that's only going to happen if it turns out that the decisions being made aren't justified.<BR/><BR/>Just my two cents. : ) Thanks for pointing out the article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10378966.post-70746882655846847572008-01-05T17:45:00.000-05:002008-01-05T17:45:00.000-05:00Our elementary school doesn't give out grades, jus...Our elementary school doesn't give out grades, just a general "meets expectations" sort of thing. I know it drives parents crazy, though, because if you don't have the GPA to back you up, how can you prove that your child is better than everyone else's?Gwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12526629366170486737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10378966.post-44146045147824023002008-01-05T15:33:00.000-05:002008-01-05T15:33:00.000-05:00Chris,I completely agree with you. My two goals fo...Chris,<BR/>I completely agree with you. My two goals for my students each year are that they continue asking questions and have the skills to find the answers. Our educational system, and the concept of grades, don't encourage this at all.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04725549451973770515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10378966.post-3921334174161362652008-01-05T14:29:00.000-05:002008-01-05T14:29:00.000-05:00I think schools seem to promote life-long schoolin...I think schools seem to promote life-long schooling rather than life-long learning. Life long schooling is the idea that to learn you go to a school and learn from a teacher. Life-long learning involves teaching students how to find and build their own learning networks and learning from it.Chris Prouthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14973321447939510005noreply@blogger.com