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Wealthy Bay Area school district tackles hot-button issue: What is an ‘A’ student?
Story by Jill Tucker
Afew years ago, officials at Palo Alto Unified noticed that one district high school was giving out far fewer D’s and F’s than previously, instead giving students a “no mark,” which allowed additional time to complete assignments or take exams.
But teachers there weren’t giving all students that second chance for a better grade. They were disproportionately giving it to white and Asian American students. Black and brown students were still getting D’s and F’s.
“It was glaring,” said Superintendent Don Austin. “That really spoke to who was getting the opportunity for more time and second chances.”
It was unacceptable and indefensible, he said, and the district set out to address it.
But in doing so, Austin started a bigger discussion over what grading means to students, teachers and parents, as well as college admission officers.
It’s a debate districts are having across the Bay Area and the country, given increasing concerns over grade inflation, racial inequities on report cards and at the most basic level, whether an A means students actually mastered the subject matter or simply showed up and didn’t make waves. Those conversations are particularly fraught in high-achieving and mostly affluent districts like Palo Alto where families often place intense pressure on students to get high marks.
“The most consistent thing about grading is inconsistency,” Austin said, adding that how students are graded varies by school and by teacher and is often archaic and arbitrary. In fact, one of the biggest issues in grading at Palo Alto Unified may be at the other end of the report card: Overwhelmingly, teachers give out A’s — with the highest mark making up 70% of all grades on high school student report cards.
But grading approaches vary. Some teachers grade on curves, some don’t. Some give students a temporary grade of incomplete or no mark to allow students to keep trying, while others don’t. Some deduct points for bad behavior or tardiness, while some offer extra credit for helping clean the classroom.
In many classrooms, a letter grade — be that an A, B or C — doesn’t necessarily reflect how much a student learned, but rather what the teacher prioritizes and counts in a grade book.
In Palo Alto, Austin is nudging middle schools and high schools toward evidence-based grading, which means rewarding students for demonstrating they know the subject matter, even if they need more time or test retakes to do so, without behavior, participation or obedience reflected in the calculation.
In other words, grades would reflect learning, with student conduct referenced elsewhere.
Some teachers there are experimenting with the idea, including those teaching Advanced Placement English Language and Composition. They’ve adopted a system of “gradeless assessment” to evaluate students. That includes individualized descriptive feedback to determine level of skill and rate of growth, according to the online course guide describing the class to students.
At the end of the semester, a final letter grade is given based on growth, skills and other criteria.
“I would say that every class should do it, mainly because it lets people have bad days,” junior Kofi Kim told the student newspaper The Paly Voice. “There’s a little more flexibility and you can show your own growth without having to be held to the same standard as every other student because everyone’s different.”
At least two dozen districts across California are moving in that direction as well, said Phil Halperin, executive director of California Education Partners, an education reform nonprofit, which is helping them get there.
“The grade simply should be a measure of whether learning took place,” he said, adding schools should give every child as much opportunity as possible to learn and then show they have learned the subject, including multiple retakes.
“We should give children … every opportunity to demonstrate mastery because that’s our job as educational professionals,” he said. “Does it matter if Susie knew how to do this at 11:30 on a Tuesday when she had a lot going on in her life or whether she took it a week later and nailed it?”
Halperin acknowledged that shifting a culture largely focused on grade point averages and their impact on college admissions to one focused on a system that measures learning isn’t easy.
“Not all parents are looking for that,” he said. “I think it’s really important that school districts, like Palo Alto Unified that are so prestigious, reconceptualize why we give grades.”
A subjective, individualized system of grading offers a potential for grade inflation or bias and the current system used in most school districts could be so much better, said Alix Gallagher, director of strategic partnerships for Policy Analysis for California Education, a University of California independent research center.
Grades should signal to parents, teachers, college and employers what kids know and what they can do, she said.
“You want clarity” from grading systems,” she said.
In Palo Alto Unified, creating a uniform system of grading isn’t going to happen any time soon, Austin said. The district is taking it slowly and allowing educators to learn about evidence-based grading and to opt in.
Teachers still have complete control over how they grade, whether to give D’s and F’s, or allow additional time to complete assignments or retake tests.
Moving to a structured, calibrated grading system based on mastery of subject matter will not be embraced by everyone, with many critics and concerns.
How many retakes should a student get? Does a system of second chances encourage students to be lazy the first time around?
“I expect that conversation to pick up steam,” Austin said.
And then there are the parents who fear that a change in the grading system will negatively impact their child’s future.
Austin is already anticipating what parents will want to know: “How do I show my kid is better than the others?”
“Culture is the last thing to change,” he said. “We’re up against that at some point.”
Reach Jill Tucker: jtucker@sfchronicle.com
What is an ‘A’ student?
版主： noles
#3 Re: What is an ‘A’ student?
可以理解给每个不同小朋友不同资源到达类似教育目标
支持创新教育理念
可以增加篮球课橄榄球可枪击科拳击课大麻课街舞课jazz课顿顿顿
A Student就会越来越多越平均
支持创新教育理念
可以增加篮球课橄榄球可枪击科拳击课大麻课街舞课jazz课顿顿顿
A Student就会越来越多越平均
#4 Re: What is an ‘A’ student?
强调 mastery 应该没有什么争议吧，但这跟 a subjective, individualized system of grading 明显相矛盾，前者反映的是需要掌握的知识技能掌握了多少，后者注重 growth and individual differences，我看不懂为什么这两种看法会被混在一起。
另外这句话没什么意义：In many classrooms, a letter grade — be that an A, B or C — doesn’t necessarily reflect how much a student learned, but rather what the teacher prioritizes and counts in a grade book.
letter grades 当然是基于 what the teacher prioritizes and counts in a grade book，除非你不让老师 grade。
另外这句话没什么意义：In many classrooms, a letter grade — be that an A, B or C — doesn’t necessarily reflect how much a student learned, but rather what the teacher prioritizes and counts in a grade book.
letter grades 当然是基于 what the teacher prioritizes and counts in a grade book，除非你不让老师 grade。
#7 Re: What is an ‘A’ student?
理论上没问题，但没办法长期实施。
两个原因：第一是老师统一改作业改考卷，有规模效应。到期末了还要给一部分学生改期中考试考卷，老师负担太重。
第二，作业改完或者考完试之后需要给学生课上讲答案，如果老有人需要更多时间更多机会，你就没办法给全班讲，否则标准答案都给出去了，没考的人不都是满分了吗。
还有一个是课程之外的考虑：生活并不总是给你2nd chance, 3rd chance, 4th chance，孩子从小要有责任心和紧迫感，不能总是期望其他人跟着自己的节奏走。
大麻科lgbtq课可解
#10 Re: What is an ‘A’ student?
叔估计大概的意思是， 如果教了甲乙丙丁， 一个学生甲乙部分学的很好， 丙丁一般， 可考试的时候， 老师偏偏侧重丙丁，甲乙占分少， 结果这个学生自以为能得B， 结果只得了个C。 心里不服
RJZN 写了： 2024年 4月 7日 09:14 强调 mastery 应该没有什么争议吧，但这跟 a subjective, individualized system of grading 明显相矛盾，前者反映的是需要掌握的知识技能掌握了多少，后者注重 growth and individual differences，我看不懂为什么这两种看法会被混在一起。
另外这句话没什么意义：In many classrooms, a letter grade — be that an A, B or C — doesn’t necessarily reflect how much a student learned, but rather what the teacher prioritizes and counts in a grade book.
letter grades 当然是基于 what the teacher prioritizes and counts in a grade book，除非你不让老师 grade。