neaToday: Teachers Divided Over Controversial “No-Zero” Grading Policy August 4, 2016
Tim Walker
Key Points: There is a growing number of school districts who are implementing a new grading system called the “no-zero” policy. This policy bans teachers giving grades of less that 50% of students. This policy would allow for assignments to receive grades above 50% despite being turned in late or is of poor quality.
The idea behind this policy is that struggling students who receive zero grades are put into a deep hole and should rather be graded based on a “good faith” effort despite the quality and timing in which the assignment is completed. Zero grades were ban in Greenville County, South Carolina in their middle school and students were given a failing grade of 61% if they did not turn in an assignment or cheated.
Agree with the Policy
- Such low marks do not accurately measure what a student knows
- Low marks pushes student to give up on class
- Tardiness, work ethic and student behavior is weighed too heavily on grades
Disagree with the Policy
- What kind of message does the policy send to students
- Does not make students college or career ready
- Does not teach basic skills of being timely with your work
- Would a name on the paper be constituted as “good faith?”
- Does not fit into every classroom and undermines efforts to differentiate for students’ needs
Kevin Hickerson, President of the Fairfax Education Association in Virginia, strongly believes that grades are weighted too heavily on student behavior rather than their actual knowledge. The plan for no-zero grading policy in Fairfax, Virginia, Hickerson says will be done on a school-by-school basis, taking into consideration how many do-overs on an assignment a student will get as well as what qualifies as a reasonable attempt on an assignment.
Relevance
The relevance of this article is the impact that this kind of policy may have on school systems and classroom structure and how it affects our students. Understanding what we implement as a teacher and the effects that it has on our students’ is important. It is especially important to do your own research to find which practice will be best suited in your classroom to meet the needs of your students and be most beneficial for students to be successful.
Heres a short 3 minute video that takes another looks of the pros and cons of the "no-zero" policy featuring Stuart Gibson Former Fairfax Country School Board member and Dr. Susan Lipkins, a child psychologist.
Sources:
Walker, T. (2016, August 4) Teachers Divided Over Controversial “No-Zero” Grading Policy. Retrieved September 15, 2016, From http://neatoday.org/2016/08/04/no-zero-policy-pro-con/
'Making' The Grade - VA School To Consider No-Zero - Policy - Trouble With Schools - Fox & Friends Retrieved September 16,2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIsdTW5jlSM
This is a situation that I am very conflicted about. I have seen this no-zero policy used on some students who have trouble with content, or who have trouble handing assignments in, but who understand content. I have also seen this used with SPED students. Does it encourage them toward better achievement, or does it give students the idea that they don't have to try their hardest? Even at my school, there is some division between thinking. The consensus was, however, that it gave a false sense of where the student actually is academically and doesn't lend itself to a true representation of the student.
ReplyDeleteThis is a situation that I am very conflicted about. I have seen this no-zero policy used on some students who have trouble with content, or who have trouble handing assignments in, but who understand content. I have also seen this used with SPED students. Does it encourage them toward better achievement, or does it give students the idea that they don't have to try their hardest? Even at my school, there is some division between thinking. The consensus was, however, that it gave a false sense of where the student actually is academically and doesn't lend itself to a true representation of the student.
ReplyDeleteKate,
ReplyDeleteAwesome article! This is a policy I could see being very beneficial in special education. For many students in SPED, completing assignments and worrying about points can be highly stressful. This goes along the lines of a modified diploma, in my opinion. The expectation should still be that students complete work to the best of their abilities, but their abilities may be below 50%. There could be issues of students not "trying", but the understanding should be made clear that students are expected to complete all of their work.
Maybe students should be given chances to re-do their work to earn more points, or go over work with teacher assistance to make sure that the content is still learned.
I've read about this in other articles and it's a subject of contraversey, understandably so. I think this policy is appropriate in some environments. I agree w Molly in that I think it's fitting in some SPED classrooms where there are different levels of academic achievement and some students who realistically won't ever get to a certain level. In my classroom, I barely record grades for my students. They're all on modified diplomas and I assess most of them based on their effort and attitude in class and overall assessments done throughout the year. I do however, think a lot of gen ed students should recieve actual grades whether it's a 43% or a 98%. I believe it really helps them prepare for what is next, whether it's high school, vocation, or college.
ReplyDeleteI totally disagree with this. Kids feel entitled to pretty much everything these days. To me, this promotes poor work ethic. You can do very little and still get by it sounds like. As far as special education, there are things in place at my schools, that allows for differentiation in the classroom. One was mentioned, as the modified diploma. I know many teachers who work with these students to help them feel successful, even if they have a hard time completing the work. So to have a blanket policy is overreaching, because we are supposed to be differentiating with all of our kids anyway.
ReplyDelete