This grading is based on assessing the true knowledge and skills learned. It has nothing to do with passing kids who don't don't know the material. This does not dumb down the grading, it actually provides a fair grading system which accurately assesses the skills obtained by students.
This type of policy is not need but is often met with the type of opposition as in these blogs. Once people see the benefit and improvement; the crowd tends to be more supportive. It is about time the school district and school board take steps to improve the grading structure to reflect the changes and needs in education

WOW! Someone sure does have a lot of resentment and hostility pent up on here. Maybe they should try getting a life (I can LOL! too) and stop blaming outside the "family unit" and administrators for their problems. I'm sure, afterall, that is what Dr. Phil and Oprah would say. I'm sure they would also say it's not easy being a parent to a child you CHOSE to be gang-banged. And, I'm sure they'd say that was F parenting.

There isn't enough information to know if this is a good or bad idea. For instance, can the kids re-do their F papers to EARN a better grade now?
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My mom has worked in a school (not JPS) for YEARS and she says that in recent years they have been dumbing things down and making things easier. They just want to get the kids through and don't seem to care if they are learning anything. Kids will respond to expectations, if you don't expect much, you won't get much. Not sure how NCLB has affected this, but I'm guessing it hasn't helped.

i noticed in the article they DIDNT mention as they did on wclo that if they DO NOT complete their work at all THEY WONT GET A 0. they would actually get some credit. and if a student actually did their work poorly but still DID it they would receive the same grade. that is crap!!. seems you would encourage the lazy butt to still not do any work. why do it if youre going to get the same if you did it and did it poorly!!!???

i was a good student in school BUT there were 2 teaches classes were i received f's. i dropped the class and took with a different teacher and A's in both. MAYBE there is also a teacher problem here. if theyre failing get them out of that class to a different teacher!!!!

i believe doing your homework should be graded highly- it is part of the class and a big part. if i never did my homework i probalby wouldnt have passed my tests at all.I need hands on examples for the way i learn then i can pass a test.
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gfan- they sorta do get paid to go to school.
by the tax payers!!!! i expect them to do their work!!!

i also agree if you have done the work and received a F it shouldnt be 0. when i was in school it was f if done poorly or ONLY zero if NOT done at all.

+1 to "I bet the voting members spent more time researching the TVs they're watching right now than the programs they're passing for our kids.
Not impressed."

This is the telling part: "The teachers trying the new systems all took a class this summer and must complete research in their classrooms this fall in order to get college credit, Behn said."

I believe teachers would want classrooms full of students that were willing to aleast try,not students that they knew could do the work and choose not to.When a student doesn't follow the rules like everyone else does and then expects special treatment those are the students that make the teachers jobs harder .Or the student that thinks they can hand in a quarters worth of homework 1 week before grades come out and think they should get full credit.I'm sure there are some that think that's the parents fault for not sticking up for the kid and making the teacher take that late homework.LOL.Or the student that should of been in the top 10% of their class but graduated with a 2.88 GPA and went on to school but never finished.Went on to have good paying jobs that they got fired from or quit before they got fired.I'm sure all of that in some way is the parents fault again.So when my daughter recieved that "E" for effort she earned that the hard way.She has never thought or acted that she had self-entitlement .Doing the right thing just comes easy for her.No reason to be a liar,cheat,steal or take others identity for finanical gains.In the end she ends up being a "A" human being.And it's real easy being her parent !!!!

JDowd----"When are the children of this district going to have a board which thinks of them first; not tax payers, not teachers, not personal moral and religious beleifs, and actually does something which helps kids acheive..."-----AMEN!!!

And, I also agree--to an extent--with whoever said that an F doesn't mean the child failed, but the system failed the child.
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My son was a candidate for retention in elementary school two years in a row. He started attending a different school, was finally given an IEP and is now doing much better. Because of budget cuts and the like, teachers cannot do all that they would like to do to help a student. That burden then falls on us as parents to make sure our children are afforded the best future possible.
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I knew my son wasn't a "dummy" and I wouldn't take no for an answer. The school couldn't committ to getting him tested for a learning disability by school year's end....so I made an appointment with a private specialist. Even when those results were inconclusive, I kept pushing. I've learned that kids will only perform to the level of expectation that you place on them. Once the teachers, and I at home, started expecting more out of him, he started rising to the occassion. His teaching team has carte blanche. They are the trained educators, not me. Parenting and teaching, while similar, are very different entities. I question some things they implement. But, everytime they have said "trust us"--they have been right.
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Let the teachers teach. And, if you don't like it, then become a teacher or enroll in a private school.

There is a reason the US, as a nation, is ranked 21 and 27 in science and math. The constant continuation of lowering the bar and coddling children will only lead to the US falling further and further behind our international counterparts. If a kid does F work, regardless of effort or not, they should receive an F. I've never had a boss give me a raise or commendation based solely on effort despite poor performance.
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I'm all for HELPING a child that can and wants to be helped. As a nation though, I feel, we are expelling far too much time and too many resources on saving the Titanics of the world. No matter how you rearranged those deck chairs, it was still a sinking ship. What happens when they get to college and into the workforce? Should they still get an E and afforded a college degree because they tried but the professor failed in "making" them learn and retain the concept? Should I get a job even though I failed the competency test because I showed up on time, was courteous, and filled in all the bubbles on the scantron? Of course not.
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No wonder we have a generation filled of the "self-entitled."

An "F" tells a kid that they failed they didn't get a passing grade. It means they need to study better get help and get a passing grade next time.

I don't think this scale is about giving students passing grades to avoid hurt feelings. Its about getting a better picture of how that student is achieving-if they are learning and reaching the standards. Many years of research have gone into assessment, and how to improve. The elementary schools in Janesville already have an achievement based report card. Read up before you assume.

I think the schools put too much emphasis on a "grade" Each person learns in a different way. I have two kids and one did great on tests, didn't really need to study it just came easy and received high grades, and now thinks everything in life should come that easy without trying. My other child struggles with tests-participates, knows the material, but just blows the tests - why? Does that give the school the right to label one a Honor student and the other not? My child who struggles actually works harder and knows what it takes to get somewhere in life. I believe the schools should look at a different approach to grading and look at other ways to measure if a person is learning the material. As an employer, I would hire the person who works hard for what they want, not just because they had "high grades"

Bellagio_Bound...She is 22 years old doesn't smoke or drink.She already has one degree and is now going to school to become a teacher ! Could it be because her teacher MADE a difference? I would say YES ! Like I said she had the right answers just couldn't grasp how to change the way she first learned .The way I learned how to do math is also wrong(new math what ever that is)but I still get the right answers.So I would also fail in todays standards on the way NEW MATH is taught.

The school system is doing the student a great disservice by giving them a passing grade, just to avoid hurting their feelings. If the student is not putting forth the effort to get a "D" or better, send them out to the smoking patio!!

Retired...Did you read my post ??? I said UNLESS they don't try,show up do homework etc.....Are you saying a student that went for extra help that really wanted to get it deserves to fail ? What about the way it was taught in middle school ?( By the way she got B's in M.S.)When she got to high school everything she had learned was the wrong way.She couldn't grasp the new way to show her work,but would have the right answer to the question.The expectations of the teacher was met or he wouldn't have given her the "E".Not everything in this world is black and white,some do see a gray area !

WOW---"no student should ever receive a F". That's like saying no employee can ever be fired. I don't know how you were raised but there are things called expectations. If a student does not meet the minimum expectations required to complete a class...how can they be passed? Moving a student to the next level of that same subject will only cause more of the same. If a student does not meet these expectations, by all means they should be failed and required to complete the course again until meeting the minimum level of understanding to progress. It is not about hurt feelings or being mean. The truly dishonest thing would be to pass someone who deserves to fail…by doing this the student is continually setup for failure by never fully grasping what is required and is led down a path of future failure.

A teacher can give the student a "E". Most parents/students don't know about that grade !! Unless a student doesn't try in class,show up ,do the homework etc. no student should ever recieve a F..BTW...E is for EFFORT.....I know this because my daughter got one in a class that the teacher couldn't get her to understand and he also knew that she made a "EFFORT".She never gave up on his help(before and after school) or class and now MATH is her best subject.That's what a great teacher can do for a student !!!!

RetiredAirForce: That must have been how "Every Day Math" got into our school system. I wonder if there is some grant money tied onto this?

I bet the voting members spent more time researching the TVs they're watching right now than the programs they're passing for our kids.

Not impressed.

My favorite part of the whole article; "Exactly how the new grading scales would work was not explained, and board members seemed uncertain about what would be the effect of the experimental grading systems."

So, they are going to try something no one understands or has explained....nice.

If a student is failing - the system is failing. Don't modify the grading scale to make them feel better about their failure. Let me suggest a wild concept... fewer students, more teachers, and a public willing to support it. Hold each and every student to the same high standards and help them archive.

Not in Janesville... people rant and rave about $30 more a year on their tax bill.

Stupid is still stupid, no matter what grade scale is used.

Lets say that the teacher grades based upon a point system with the final grade determined on the standard 90 80 70 60 scale. The student's course grades are 74(C)86(B)0(F)84(B)79(C+) and 91(A-). The student receives a D+ for a final grade. The impact of the anomaly devastates the student's grade. Put yourself in the place of the student or parent. Do you believe the final grade is fair? Why not let teachers give a new system a shot. Teachers desire what is fair and best for the kids.

This school board is rather interesting. directives to cut 1 million from the budget directed toward the administration without specific direction (which is board responsibility) foul language initiatives in hallways and anti-violence posters which apparently turned all our kids into homosexuals; wanting to cut money but expanding language and other projects which could wait. A long drawn out appointment process for two new board members ending in the predicted fashion; one new member abstained from voting on bond issues during the first meeting after being informed he was to be appointed on July 10 and seated on July 22 and admitted to not knowing enough about the issue. 12 days after knowing he would be appointed and another 2-3 weeks during the appointment process to become educated and prepared to take the seat. We had one school board member who questioned Dr. Evert's integrity(which I felt was appropriate) and then turned around and appointed a member of Janesville Multicultural Teacher Opportunities Sholarship Fund Board (a pet project)and upon applying it was clearly mentioned that, of course, the seated board member did not encourage this candidate to apply, but admitted to mentioning the open seats at a committee meeting (doesn't this also question this school board member's integrity since he was on the appointment committee?)and no one said a word.
Now we have some members who apparently agree with awarding a zero for an "F" grade received on a 100 point scale?
When are the children of this district going to have a board which thinks of them first; not tax payers, not teachers, not personal moral and religious beleifs, and actually does something which helps kids acheive; then consider the other options. I certainly do not want the board to be spending tax money flipantly; but come on, this board and this community really need to look at priorities in this community and reforming grading policies help with kids being accurately assessed to the knowledge and skills they have.
It just might be me, but the consistency, leadership, and direction is severely lacking from this board. I commend those who voted in favor of this grading reform and encourage further investigation and reform which helps kids learn, helps with behavior, reduces truancy and makes our public schools stronger.
And before I am attacked for these comments; I have no intention nor will I seek a seat on the school board, I have stepped up to the plate on numerous occasions and backed my words with action and provided voters a choice; Now I can just sit and write blog entries and offer my ideas and offer my criticism. I still am active in the community so I still support my words with actions, so feel free to attack; My skin is thick and backbone strong; it does amuse me when those who disagree engage in spirited debate. :)

I think it depends on the kid.

Billnewbie: It' not worth trying to explain myself. You know all. So do you have any kids? Have you ever seen what a report card of D's and F's do to a kid?

From what I've heard from some teachers who took the class and from a colleague in Beloit, the new grading system puts less empahsis on daily homework and more on periodic assessments, as well as a final assessment. Some students didn't do the homework, yet knew the material. They'd score well on the final test but end up with a D in the class. This may limit those occurrences.
The new grading system will also change the way teachers teach. They will have more definitive objectives and will check for progress more often with more meaningful assessments rather than homework. I'm interested to see how it works and how much difference there is in student performance, both in final grade and standardized testing.

tipi16:
In you original post you made no mention of any extra efforts put forth on your daughter’s behalf. You stated that “She just gave up!” and “I am now trying to undo the damage that the grading system has done to my daughter.” after stating that she graduated last year. Be upset about my response if you wish, but if you don’t provide all the details the first time, don’t be surprised at the conclusions I draw. Wouldn’t you say that the details you provide in your second post seem somewhat contradictory to the statements about the teachers and grading system that you made in first post?

Spanky,
An "F" is definitley and "F", but letter's aren't often what are entered into the grade book. I could get an "F" with a 59%, which would do much less damage to my final average than a 0%. Do you see the difference now?

Severson was absolutely right on this one. A rush decision is rarely a right decison. If this is truly a good thing for students, it would have still been a good thing in 2 weeks, after there was time to evaluate it.

Just remember this: The last time the administration shoved something down our tax-paying throats (4-yr kindergarten)it wasn't until AFTER the approval that we had to ante up another $100,000. to make it fly.

Severson, Severson & Cullen were totally right, the rest of them blew it big time.

An F is an F no matter how you spin it.

A change in the way grades (progress, really)are reported is not the end of the world. Beloit Schools have been doing this at least at the elementary level for the past 3 or so years. Students are either performing at an "advanced" level (thinking outside of the box-going above and beyond), a "proficient" level (doing what is expected), a "basic" level (needs some more time and practice), or a "minimal" level (area of concern). The goal is to have a child "proficient" in all subject areas and the skills in that subject by the end of the school year. It's not uncommon to receive many basics early in the year because the student is showing their growth over time.

If you want more information on how this system works, I would contact someone in that district's curriculum office to understand how they have been doing it in Beloit and how the parents have responded. I don't know if this is similar at all to what the Janesville teachers are considering. I personally know that parents "ruffled" at first until they understood it and got used to it. Some people have a more difficult time with change than others.

Zoom & Billnewbie: Just to let you know my daughter graduated with the help of certain teachers and myself. I NEVER GAVE UP ON HER!, some teachers did! I fought many battles with teachers when they didn't follow her 504. I pushed her everystep of the way and she made it thru. Some of her teachers wished they could overide the computer and give her better scores because they knew she was working her butt off. but they couldn't and they were they ones that really worked with her. She is now at Blackhawk Tech in the Advanced CNA Class and has already been offered a job. She loves it and is doning a excellent job. I NEVER FAILED HER AS A PARENT! I hope you never have a child who struggles in school and that they are always perfect.

my favorite extra credit points was when a teacher of mine said if we could find a certain Beetles album for her collection that we would autmatically get a A in her class.
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Too bad ebay wasn't around back then LOL...
I could of aced her class the easy way instead of busting my butt actualy learning things (sarcasm).
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I also had a professor at URock who said that if we wanted to get a B in his clss all we had to do was show up everyday, and come see him at his office just once, even if it was just a quick knock on the door to say hi and then leave right away. I must admit that was my favorite class ever.

I agree if the work was turned in and IF the grade was a F it shouldn't automaticaly be a zero...you did at least try and should get the points you earned even if it is only 57%... the only time a zero should be given is for not turning in the assingment at all.
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Sometimes that close 66% (even though it was considered a F)was enough for a teacher to look at and see that you were indeed trying and if you were able to bring up your overall grade either on tests or other homework by pushing yourself a bit harder then on the final overall grade you could pass. But if all a teacher sees is a zero in their book, then how do they know if someone may be that close to passing/failing...and if they were struggling with understanding the work or if they were just lazy and din't care if it was even turned in.

I'd be interested to know the details as well. My daughter graduated last year. She was a very good student (National Honor Society), but did occasionally have an F on a homework assignment and it was entered as a 0. The only way to make that up is extra credit- and yes the infamous kleenex for extra credit was my favorite. But I also liked the "bring a homebaked good in" for extra credit too. :)
I don't agree with the zeros especially with homework. There does seem to be a need for some kind of change in determining competency better.

Wow! Let's sugar coat everything even more for our kids. I remember the month before graduation finding out I had a 69 in one of my classes, I either busted my butt to get all incomplete work in or I didn't graduate. I was proud of my diploma, because I earned it. It was just handed out to me, for fear that I might be upset if I failed.

Sorry 67% for a "D" not 57%. I just think you shouldn't drop a kid all the way to a zero because they got a 66% on an assignment.

I can't comment on the new grading system since there is no outline for what the grading system will be.

When did it change to: anything below a "D" or 57% counts as a zero. Kids should at least get the percentage points of what they got right. That system seems to be the one that's setting up a kid to fail. If one kid got 57% on his assignment and the next kid got a 56%, the one with the lower percentage automatically gets dropped to a zero. That just seems wrong to me.

This measure falls way short of what's needed:

Kids should be paid to go to school.

The new math program is not working out so great, the same sex classes are a questionable at best, now this?
If the kids are lazy and don't do the work then they should fail, why take away from the kids who put in the effort. This grading system seems unfair to the ones who deserve the better grades.

After reading tipi16's comment, what really stands out is that her daughter graduated even after giving up and refusing to do the work. Apparently, the school system's grading system is useless anyway, so does it matter how they grade?
School choice for everybody! Then maybe public school systems will stop looking for new and creative ways to graduate the under-educated and start trying to educate those whom they would graduate.

I wonder if you will still get extra credit for bringing kleenex to the class???? 13 pts maybe?

1st, anyone criticizing this needs to wait, stop hating public school and wait to get the specifics.

I know one issue is the homework grades. Homework is meant to be practice for a final assessment to see if a student learned the material. Many teachers make homework the majority of the grade (sometimes 80%). This really doesn't make sense. In college, homework is basically optional - if you want to pass you do the homework.

It might be as simple as not making HW such a large % and thus, not doing the homework the determining factor in passing a class. Plus, get 50% or less on what is suppose to be practice should be OK - the assessment is what matters.

There are many ways to grade students. 80% HW, 10% participation 10% test/quizzes is becoming a thing of the past - THANK GOODNESS!

I love that Janesville is willing to try new methods to better educate their students. Obviously I would want more information also but I would support it because I trust the teachers and admin.

Can't wait to learn more about this - BRAVO JSD!

geez, when i was in school if i wanted a grade i didnt earn i just cheated the old fashioned way.

If you don't do the work, you shouldn't get a grade. What about teaching the kids what the real world is like. You show up for work and don't do the work, no check.....

I get the feeling that some of you believe that JPS is the only school district considering a change in the way our students are graded in school. Due to mandates by our government, many teachers (in many districts and states) have questioned whether existing/traditional methods of grading are measuring student growth in the way in which they should, in order to determine the proficiency level of each student in each concept that is being learned.
Considering change to an existing structure in any arena is usually considered to be a positive thing because this means someone has discovered that change must take place in order to move forward.
Although the new grading plan is not fully explained, I can only guess that the teachers behind it have the students' best intentions at heart. They want to make sure that what the students know and still need to learn is translated accordingly on a grading report. That way teachers, students and parents can be on the same page in terms of being aware of what their students/children do well and what they still need to learn.

"By failing a student you are failing as a teacher".

By that logic, you are also failing as a parent.

This is great I hope it works. Our daughter graduated last year. She has always had problems with grades. She was one of those kids she would do her work and do her best and some how would still get F's and 0's. I think students should get some credit for handing the work in. She just gave up! Her reasoning was " Why try I'll just get a F". I have argued with many teachers and adminstration of this very subject. I do believe that some teachers would just give my daughter a 0 or a F just to see her get upset, some kind of sick thrill. I am now trying to undo the damage that the grading system has done to my daughter. Very low self-esteme and afraid of failing.

Look up the history of grading. It is from when only the rich could afford teachers. Teachers thought up this idea of grading so they could advance the students without the student really knowing the concept. This way they made more money.

I have said this to many a teacher. "By failing a student you are failing as a teacher".

I'm going with Severson on this one. I would think that a board member would want to know the specifics before voting for this.
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I'm shocked to read that an "F" automatically translates into a zero. I know that when I earned an "F" it wasn't automatically entered into the grade book as a zero, but at whatever points I did achieve. As I understand it, anything less than a 60% is an "F". Zeros were marked if no work was submitted.
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Any other thoughts on this?

In a traditional system, A “B” might be 87 points, a “C” might be 77 points, a “D” 67 points, but an “F” is a zero.
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What? An 'F' is not a zero; an 'F' on this weird scale would be any score from 0 through (apparently) 57. I'd say that if you are only getting things half right or worse, yeah, that is a failing grade.
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Kids naturally like to try things out and are inquisitive. Why not let the ones who perform poorly try to re-take a similar exam or homework without any penalty. Think of it as playing a game: if you lose a board game or video game, you just go back and try again (usually with a different stategy) until you succeed. Why not try that in the earlier grade levels?

Wow, what a concept. I cannot see what purpose it would serve the community to pass those students who cannot perform. My next question is how will the students be chosen for this experiment? Will they all be underperformers? It certainly looks like a fast track for graduating a bunch of underperformers to me. Sorry, as a taxpayer in this city, I would like value for my dollars and this looks like I won't get anything more than smoke and mirrors as well as an illiterate, underperforming population. As third world countries, benefitting from the global economy and jobs shipped overseas, expect excellence from their students to work in a very competitive world environment, Janesville has decided to dumb-down their young people.

"guinea pig"? Good grief. I can't count on both hands the different grading schemes I encountered in JPS grades 1-12. It's not like your kids are going to come out with green skin, tails, and antennae. What should they do, inform you that this year they are changing from the 3rd edition of Making Math Fun to the 4th edition? Isn't that just as much an experiment?

I'm sorry, but I belive in earning your grade. Keep the grading scale high, then add classes to help those students that can't make the grade. Don't lower the expetations of students, it only creates an enviroment where children will settle for a grade, insted of strving beyond.

Wow...dum down those por studants is not write. nowon fails in ours skools! way to go jps!

Will the students and parents be informed of which of these teachers are conducting this experiment? I would like to know if one of my children will be used as a guinea pig.