alvin e. toda

In today's Star-Bulletin, the DOE is adopting a new
grading system. This is similar to the type of grading
that elementary school students get-- with paragraphs
of comments on student progress. Have been hearing
about it for years now. High school teachers have well
over a hundred students. Some like band might have even
more. High School teachers have about 5 times the
students of the elementary teachers.

http://starbulletin.com/2005/09/18/news/story1.html

But the new system is better for the student and that's
all that counts.

Perhaps a problem will arise because the student's gpa
will now be meaningless. But perhaps the final report
of the student's junior year will be more informative
to a college admission person than the gpa. Admissions
people nowadays also make judgements of do***ents like


the student.

--alvin

nobody

....and they teach them about 1/5 as many subjects. Elementary
teachers monitor the progress students make across all subjects.

Schools are for students, yes? The purpose of a school is to
educate students as best as possible, yes? This seems to fit
that purpose.

--
http://MesoLocate.com/ - MesoLocate: Your guide to the mesothelioma web.

jerry okamura

I would think the primary purpose of school is to get as many children to
graduate high school and actually understand the subject matter that they
were taught to know.

dktr sus

GPA's always were meaningless.


It is a great step -- and yes it will be better for the students (and
teachers). Education should be about helping someone to the mastry
level (and beyond) -- not about labeling the person.

BTW, colleges -- even the big Ivy league ones -- have accepted written
evaluations for years. It is well do***ented that most homeschooled
kids excel and thrive in colleges, and they get there with no
report cards, GPA or grades.

Now educational institutions have to catch up with educators who know
that testing is a big lie as well. Having students demonstrate their
understanding of information, having them show that they can actually
use new information and skills, is a much better 'measurement' of
learning than simple regurgitation of memorized facts.

alvin e. toda

This is what I also suspect. GPA is kind of meaningless
unless the evaluator knows how students of that school
are graded. The difference in one decimal point is
probably meaningless. Yet that seems to affect so many students.


I think that this is why an essay is used so much.
They've even been know to ask for a personal (well
telephone for my son) interview with the candidate.

--alvin

hilohaole

Maybe, Dktr, you're not as old as I am, but I remember when I was a kid
that
GPAs meant something.
Then, through the years, grade inflation took place. One reason for it
was
parents started siding with
their children instead of with the teacher.
I know personally of many occasions that grades were changed to
accommodate the parent. Later, teachers would give higher grades to
get the
parents off their
backs.

alvin e. toda

It's hard to say that parents are always wrong. I feel
that sometimes there are teachers who are unreasonable
about their grading practices and do need to be
confronted with angry parents so that they can change
their standards. With the use of gpa for college
admissions, they have every reason to be angry. Without
gpa, the focus will be on the student and his/her
progress. Regardless of how they test.

--alvin

As long as an A in partical math counts the same as an A in
trigonometry, I don't see it. (OK, an A in calculus does count
more because that's an AP class ...)


not just grade inflation. As long as the same grade in different
level classes counts the same, where's the meaning?

Maren
Tropical seeds - Job's Tears Jewelry - Plants & Lilikoi
http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/~maren/palms_etc/

jerry okamura

When my children were in school, what was important to me was not the
grade,
but the effort. If they got a C but did the best they could, I was
happy.

alvin e. toda

Grade inflation has taken place to benefit the student.
For example if the student is not doing well, then
he/she may give up. If they can get a better grade,
then that makes their effort worthwhile to them. Good
students will always get As.

But the question is whether a C student should get a B
if they are motivated to work, or whether it's better
if they give up and fail the course. Nowadays students
feel that that way they can repeat the class and get a
better grade. Actually with inflated grades they'd
probably pass with a C because the teacher may not want
to see the same student again. But the B wont be quite
the B that it used to be.

--alvin