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The premise underpinning the 50/40% rule is that there are actually only 5 grades. A 95 percent is translated to an A and the A is translated to a 4 which is used to calculate GPA. Once the class is over the difference between a 93 and a 98 no longer exists. Similarly a 10% and a 59% are both going to be translated as a 0.
So from that point of view in a traditional grading scale there are 10 ways to earn a 4, 10 ways to earn a 3, 10 ways to earn a 2, 10 ways to earn a 1, and 59 ways to earn a 0. The book talks a LOT about statistics and the ways that grades average and gives a complex mathimatical explanation for either using 40 or 50% as the baseline.
I essence they want teachers to use a 5 point scale instead of a 100 point scale.
I totally agree that the issue with equitable grading is that it doesn't provide incentives for students to do the things that they will need to so in order to actually master the skills that are being tested. 90% of the teachers I work with feel the same... but, you know, admin didn't ask us of course.
There is another premise based on grades as a percentage of a subject mastered, with 100% being perfect mastery of all content, and anything less than say 60% of content mastered is inadequate.
Some grades assess performance rather than percentages. That's why I used the 5-point scale in my informal assessments. They were rated by mastery levels, not percentages. When students are beginning in a foreign language, often the actual percentage numbers are so low as to be detrimental to student performance. When a person consistently makes low grades, it affects not only their self-esteem, but also their self-expectations. Failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that ensure that people see learning another language as a curse from God à la the Tower of Babel.
As one of our cultural objectives, my students learned that grades in France are based on a scale of 0-20, with 10 as the lowest passing grade. The highest grades are almost never assigned, and even the lower end is not seen as shameful when the material is difficult. The scores are not based on percentages most of the time.
In fact, one of the perks for French students spending a year in an American high school is the incredible grade inflation when their U. S. grades are converted back into the French system. On the other hand, students in France have to prepare for a make-or-break series of university entrance exams with limited opportunities for a do-over. Different perspectives elicit interesting conversations.
Today's students will be competing on a global scale with the best and the brightest from China, India, Japan, Korea, etc -- all of whom are likely to receive a far better education in their school systems.
I'm not sure how true that is.
The "best and brightest" isn't really about Podunk High School. It's about Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, and so forth.
There is another premise based on grades as a percentage of a subject mastered, with 100% being perfect mastery of all content, and anything less than say 60% of content mastered is inadequate.
Some grades assess performance rather than percentages. That's why I used the 5-point scale in my informal assessments. They were rated by mastery levels, not percentages. When students are beginning in a foreign language, often the actual percentage numbers are so low as to be detrimental to student performance. When a person consistently makes low grades, it affects not only their self-esteem, but also their self-expectations. Failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that ensure that people see learning another language as a curse from God à la the Tower of Babel.
As one of our cultural objectives, my students learned that grades in France are based on a scale of 0-20, with 10 as the lowest passing grade. The highest grades are almost never assigned, and even the lower end is not seen as shameful when the material is difficult. The scores are not based on percentages most of the time.
In fact, one of the perks for French students spending a year in an American high school is the incredible grade inflation when their U. S. grades are converted back into the French system. On the other hand, students in France have to prepare for a make-or-break series of university entrance exams with limited opportunities for a do-over. Different perspectives elicit interesting conversations.
Yep, this is a good example of how grades are culturally constructed and need context to be understood.
Is there an on line or open source for that information? I'd love to read it, esp on the grade discussion. I've always felt the conversion from a percent grade to an A-B-C was pretty hokey statistically. Why not just directly grade A through F; why even assign a percent grade at all?
Though this still leaves open the difference between taking dual enrollment Calc vs AP Calc, vs general math when creating a GPA. There's a degree of difficulty that should be included as well.
The author of Grading For Equity Joe Feldman has given interviews where he goes through it. I don't think there is a free version of the book though.
The "best and brightest" isn't really about Podunk High School. It's about Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, and so forth.
But those HS students may go to college expecting the same "equitable grading" and might be in for a shock.
But those HS students may go to college expecting the same "equitable grading" and might be in for a shock.
I'd say most students who go to a good college, not just the Ivies, are in for a shock. College is way much harder than high school and even top students get shocked at the grading. They then have to learn how to study which they never had to do in school. That's one of the problems I have with how our school system fails to prepare top students for the transition to college.
I'd say most students who go to a good college, not just the Ivies, are in for a shock. College is way much harder than high school and even top students get shocked at the grading. They then have to learn how to study which they never had to do in school. That's one of the problems I have with how our school system fails to prepare top students for the transition to college.
That's a relatively fair criticism. Of course one of the factors is that is that mommy can't go and argue with the physics professor at the university.
The author of Grading For Equity Joe Feldman has given interviews where he goes through it. I don't think there is a free version of the book though.
I googled what I could and read some of the interviews and also some of the referenced papers that were available. My general impression, and this bothers me more than just the concept of a different grading system, is this falls into the same category of thought as those flavor of the month management books I had to read for work.
a. It's a book, not a peer reviewed research paper or a program with valid research behind it.
b. It's not just a book, but a business. They offer training, seminars, etc much like so many of the authors of management books who could solve all the problems of business, "just take my course ...."
c. The things I could find were heavy on emotional storytelling but short on research and data.
The thing I found most troubling is this is apparently being implemented in schools based on one person's opinion expressed in a book. Not saying it's right or wrong, but that it's more flavor of the month management just like FISH and Who Moved My Cheese did for management. Kind of get the feeling this is more pilot induced oscillation in the education system. Kids have just a few years in school and the flavor of the month might give one group of kids chocolate ice cream and the next age group to enter school after a admin change gets imitation vanilla flavored, artificially thickened, synthetic milk like product.
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Originally Posted by phetaroi
Okay. So they get shocked. They will learn quickly. Just as I learned plenty of things when I was suddenly in college.
College is a bit late. Better have it figured out before age 12, certybefore you become an employer.
We had (19) students (age 18-26) join us last week in an international school. Only the sole USA student and 1 Australian are still childish. That will change, as they are very obvious in lacking skills, discipline, stamina, education, experience. 5th grade equivalency. (Social and academic skills). This is a non English speaking region, so they'll experience a hard landing.
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