×
×
homepage logo
LOGIN
SUBSCRIBE

Survey: Few fans of grading change

By Staff | Apr 10, 2016

This school year has been the first under the full implementation of the new grading system, and there has been enormous backlash against the change.

Under competencies, students are assessed in specific categories, instead of overall like the old system. Along with this change, the school system switched from a 100-point grading scale to a four-point, and then to an 11-point scale, where it has remained.

Despite the vocal dissatisfaction (to put it nicely) from those affected by the grading change, there have been few improvements or changes. In response to this, the school district created a survey for students, parents and teachers to give their feedback on the new system.

According to the survey, a vast majority of the students (91.53 percent), parents (82.63 percent), and faculty (91.44 percent) prefer the traditional grading system over the competency-based system.

Competencies are mandated at a state level, and they seem like they are here to stay. However, they do not have to be graded on the four- or 11-point scale. It is completely acceptable for the competencies to be graded on a 100-point scale, something 81.60 percent of students, 75.56 percent of parents, and 42.19 percent of teachers would prefer.

Along with the new grading system came a new way of "recovering" work that did not pass muster the first time. This includes "in-course" and "post-course" recovery. In-course recovery might include redoing a test that got a bad mark to earn a passing grade for the assignment.

However, this is tedious for students and teachers and often is not taken advantage of by the students who would actually benefit. More than 40 percent of teachers indicated that they were strongly against the in-course recovery as it is now, and fewer than 8 percent of students strongly agreed that the in-course recovery helped them learn better.

Post-course recovery is done after the class has already ended, giving students who failed the course (but were close) five weeks to complete extra work to potentially pass the class. This system is unpopular, as more than 30 percent of students and 50 percent of teachers indicated that they would eliminate post-course recovery. This is due to the immense work that goes into completing and grading the make-up while also starting new classes.

Perhaps the biggest problem with the new grading system is a lack of communication among administration, teachers and students. It is difficult to get straight answers about how students will be graded.

Even teachers cannot answer simple questions about how grading will be done at the end of each semester, but it is not their fault. The questions students have are the same questions that teachers have, and no one is able to find answers.

According to the survey, 50.45 percent of students indicated that they do not understand the academic expectations under competency-based grading.

Paulina Tarr is a junior at Nashua High School South.

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

Interests
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *