State Standards and Grades – Consideration 1
Recently, I was in the data room of a high school campus where the following goals were posted.
EOC Mastery Goals
Algebra 1: 40%
Biology: 21%
English I: 12%
English II: 11%
U.S. History: 39%
Every school should have goals and strive to accomplish them. I prefer aggressive goals, but that’s just a preference. And to note, based on this campus’ mastery results last year, these goals would be considered by many to be aggressive. But this series of posts will not be commentary on the goals. It will be a consideration of state expectations and classroom grades.
One can assume that when a state has a “mastery” level of performance, and mastery is the highest level of achievement awarded by the state, then from the state’s perspective… Mastery = A.
So let’s consider the campus’ Algebra I goal of 40% of its students performing at the master level on the state EOC. What percentage of students should receive an “A” for the semester?
The most common answer: Higher than 40%.
The argument being that the semester grade is a reflection of effort, growth, and results. This leads to the grading formula of:
High Effort + High Growth + Substandard Results = A
For teachers who believe this (the majority), I think the answer is misguided. If there is an external (state or district) standard that is higher than the classroom standard, then the classroom standard must be increased to match the external standard. Anything less is a disservice to students.
To be continued…
2/20/2020: State Standards and Grades – Consideration 2
2/23/2020: State Standards and Grades – Consideration 3
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
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