i think once again the high achieving students have been hung out to dry - the new standards based grading seems to only address the ability to have more students get passing grades (although barely) and makes perfection the only way to get a top grade. The biggest problem is the inconsistency between teachers as to how this is implemented and the different story you get each time you call the district office to ask for clarification.

The system is a joke. My daughter gets 60% right on a test its a "3"... she gets 100% plus 5 extra credit questions... she gets a "3". It makes no sense. I believe its simply a system so administrators can say 99% (or whatever) of the students meet the "standards". Its a way to pat themselves on the back. It isn't teaching the students that you need to work to achieve.

I am frustrated by SBG. My children are confused on how they are graded, and the results of the grading has caused motivation issues.

My bigger concern is how GPA's are calculated for college acceptance. We are considering moving my daughter to private school beginning next year (9th grade) because it is not clear what impact this will have on her college choices. We don't want to find out that she was part of an experiement that didn't work. We will most likely keep my other 3 kids in the district and make the same decision as they enter 9th grade.

In my opinion, SBG appears to be an attempt at "gaming" the system to close the achievement gap. The kids who appear to be suffering from this are the high performers as it is much more difficult at attain A's.

Our children and others we speak with are extremely frustrated by SBG! Worst decision by the district. Our children have maintained excellent grades up until this point and it wasn't from extra credit. The teachers are inconsistent and some even seem unwilling to give the highest grade. We agree with comments below that the results of the grading has caused motivation and emotional issues.

Agree with the bigger concern is how GPA's are calculated for college acceptance. We are also considering moving our daughter out of the district for 9th grade because it is not clear what impact this will have on her college choices. We don't want to find out that she was part of an experiement that didn't work.

Mr. Borsch's comments "SBG appears to be an attempt at "gaming" the system to close the achievement gap. The kids who appear to be suffering from this are the high performers as it is much more difficult at attain A's" is spot on.

SBG is extremely frustrating and one of the worst decisions made by the District. The comments above are indeed spot on, and yes, the children who are suffering are those that have worked incredibly hard in the past to maintain a 4.0 GPA. When the teachers are faced w/the question of HOW does a child achieve a "4", the response has been, "That's up to the student. They need to come up with ways for extra credit, present their ideas to the teachers, and if approved, move forward." My children work very hard to maintain their 4.0 all while participating in many sports.

Last year, Scholastic offered special recognition to those who maintained a 4.0 during hockey season. My child was one who was recognized. Yes, a certificate from the Governor - which meant something. This year the nomination later specifically states, "Due to changes in ISD#279 grading policy only players in 7th grade and above will be eligible for 4.0 Special Recognition. All players in grades 4-6 who maintained an average grade of a 3 will be honored." As my child said, "What is the POINT of working so hard?" I have to agree. It is a disservice to our children and extremely disappointing. We too are looking in to moving our children out of the district where their efforts will be recognized. This is a bad experiment and should be chalked up to a lesson learned – let’s get back to the ABCs of grading.

I agree with the comments above as well. This is the worst decision our district has made. If we could afford it our children would be in private school. There is no incentive for children to do homework, or projects, there are no projects. Is this really the reality for the students when they head to college??? They are actually hurting those who try hard and have good work ethics.

Our frustrations with SBG are consistent with the comments already expressed by Rob and others above. The biggest miss for this program appears to be the impact it has on high-performing students who make extra effort and take great pride in doing well academically. It's nearly impossible for students to earn a "4" regardless of effort, thus lowering their overall GPA -- and their morale! This program seems to put all emphasis on giving struggling or unmotivated students multiple opportunities to pass to a standard. SBG in D279 pushed us to look at other academic options and make the choice to move our son to a private school starting next year.

I agree with all that has been written - the grading system is a huge mistake. It punishes the high achieving student while trying to make it look like less children are failing. It is a huge nightmare for the high school students trying to get the grades to get them into the college program they desire. Just look at the huge drop in kids making the A honor roles at the high school and the huge numbers of really smart kids dropping out of AP and HP classes just to try to maintain grades. Ask teachers about it and you get a different story from each teacher and a different story too each time you talk to the district office - they aren't even on the same page from day to day. I had one teacher tell my child that only only way to get an A in the new system was to have grammatically perfect - no misspelled words, no punctuation errors etc in a 5 page research paper and they should stop worrying about grades because they don't matter anyway. This should scare all parents!

We too have been dissatisfied with the aspect of SBG system that gives kids who go the extra mile in their studies the same grade as kids who are putting in much less effort, placing students who get 100% together with kids getting 70% or so in the same grading category as “meets expectations.” This changes the focus of the grading system from reaching for the stars and striving for excellence to sliding along knowing that less effort will still be good enough.

FWIW, this is inconstant with the district’s mission to prepare all students with the competence to achieve their dreams. Dreams often require dedication and hard work to come true, and this is not reinforced with the current grading system.

I'm curious...are these challenges you're mentioning at the elementary, junior high and/or senior high level?

I also have kids in 9th and 12th grades this year. Only a few teachers have switched to the 1-4 level of grading, but for those who have, it is awful. There are no consistent standards as to what a student needs to do to get a "4". My 12th grader has told me that it is now virtually impossible for kids to get an "A" in AP English classes as papers need to be "perfect" in order to earn a 4. 9th grade math requires perfection on 2, 3 and 4 pt problems in order to earn the 4 on each part of the test, and I mean perfection. Any small error in the 4 pt problem marks it incorrect, and a small error on a 2 pt problem is graded as a 0 or "F". Perfection on geometric proofs 100% of the time is nearly impossible, yet that is what is required in order to get an A in the class.

I agree with all the comments above. This is a disaster. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason, and I have yet to talk to a teacher who supports it. In addition to the confusion about how to obtain a 4, it has a de-motivating effect in terms of doing homework for many students. (Can you say "destructive unintended consequence"?)
Who is the snake-oil salesman who sold our administration on this mess? Who are the decision- makers who made the determination that it would be a good idea to experiment on our children with this unproven theory?

Before the end of the school year, I'm hoping to do an article on the poll results and ask for district feedback. What questions would you like to see answered by the district? Staff?

We have 2 kids in elementary & 1 in junior high. This new grading system is not working for us. How can a child understand why her 10/10 test is a "3"? It is extremely discouraging for kids and parents. I completely agree with the comments above. And it is even a bigger issue in junior high/high school when you are thinking about college apps in the future.

Ask how colleges are going to agree to look at MGSH student applications separate. Really? HA Colleges to not look at this information on an individual basis - that is a joke. They have a system that looks at GPA and ACT scores. Kids will NOT be getting academic scholarships that they used to strictly because these are awarded based on grids of GPA & ACT scores period. District 279 students that are meeting all expections - old 100% = A = 4.0 GPA - new system 3 = B = 3.0 GPA. And in some cases, teachers are calling a C meeting the standards.

Where are the "standards" in the SBG? Even the teachers don't know what the standards are. This isn't real world grading. If a student is working hard and achieving good grades they should receive the grade they deserve. Why have a grade that is impossible to achieve? SBG is unmotivating a lot of bright, talented kids who work hard and deserve better.
Funny how the person who implemented this grading system is no longer in the district.

On the district website, there is some additional information dated Spring 2012 called "7 Things to Know about Standards-Based Instruction, Grading and Reporting in ISD 279." Here's the link: http://www.district279.org/departments/curriculum/SBG/doc/11-12_7ThingsToKnow.pdf

Anyone have any additional thoughts after reading the district "7 Things" information?

I have a 5th grade student and an 8th grade student, both have been excellent students receiving mostly A's, because they worked hard and knew what it took to achieve that grade. Now they are no longer as motivated because it is impossible to receive a 4. For example, my 5th grader is currently taking 6th grade math, he has received 90% or higher on all of the exams and he has received a 3 in math. When I asked the teacher why, the answer was that since he is in 6th grade math he is being measured at a 6th grade standard and 90% is meeting the standard. Everything comes home as a 3 in elementary school. Very frustrating. I too am concerned about the calculation of their GPA. In addition, this system allows students to retake exams, this requires a lot of extra time on the teachers part as they have to stay after school with these students and they have to write a second exam. Not well thought out at all. For once I wish the district would listen to the parents/taxpayer.

I have been told that the school board would like feedback/letters regarding standards based grading. Please consider contacting them. In addition, the next school board regular meeting May 1st at 8:00 p.m.
From the district website:
By e-mail
The School Board's group e-mail address is OsseoSchoolBoard@district279.org. When you use this e-mail address, your message will go directly to every School Board member and you will receive an automatically generated response that acknowledges receipt of your message. In most cases, within three business days you will receive a specific reply from the School Board chair, responding on behalf of the full Board (instead of each Board member writing an individual response).

Individual School Board members may be contacted as follows (contact info on website):
Dean G. Henke – Chairperson
Kim B. Green – Vice Chairperson
Laura Cottington - Clerk
Jim Burgett – Treasurer
Tammie Epley - Director
Teresa Lunt - Director
At School Board meetings
Each regular meeting offers an opportunity for members of the audience to address the School Board. Anyone who wishes to address the Board may do so according to the “Guidelines for Audience Opportunity to Address the School Board”.

Some really good constructive comments have been removed from this page and that is really unfortunate. Could you please re-activate those comments as the ones I saw were respectful and well thought out. Some left on the page are as well but it is good for the many to see the many.

I think Mr Prager sums it up well for a policy such as this: 'Think of a problem and ask what policies would be suggested by good intentions alone-that is, not taking into account other factors such as what works, what is responsible, and what the costs and the consequences might be-and you will understand how most progressive policies are devised.' Good intentions here does not justify the consequence. Change isn't good just for change sake as our hope is in wisdom, not in good intentions. Not unlike lowering SAT's to get more students into college, absolutely full of good intentions doesn't result in more graduates they drop out. Here were punishing students for good scores and quickly lowering the bar to even try for a good, I guess eventually it lower the SATS scores-leveling the playing field- if you can get others to buy into this 'good intention'. But what of the consequences, is it really worth it?

Many people are too smart to realize how dumb they really are? This has happened to you right? This is the point in your career when you finally get it and realize how dumb you have actually been in the past. Or, this is the point in parenting when you respect why your own parents did the things they did. It's called experience.

I am not going to take a side on the SBG debate. I will, however, support a system developed by a group of people who have more experience on teaching and learning in education then any of the people who have commented above. The problem I have with some of the opinions above is that they support a small group of learners. Public education is a middle class institution that is designed to support the mass. I wonder if any of the concerned have taken time to read and research the thousands of professional studies that either support or do not support SBG. If you really want to sway the district into changing back to letter grades, prove why it is better.

In the searching for information I have done, there are more people asking for proof that SBG works and why it is better. I know less about how my child is doing now than ever - this fall it will be even worse with 1-4 grades.

I don't care for SBG at all. It does not prepare our children for what is coming in College! I don't think I ever had the choice to retake a test! My 7th Grader at Maple Grove Junior High is skating her way thru. She doesn't always take the assignments seriously and thinks that if she gets a bad grade on the tests, she can just take them over or do extra credit. What??? Where is the ownership in that? This system is not only hurting the high acheivers, it is hurting your "regular" students as well. The board needs to seriously reconsider this decision!

Continued from above comment to: 'Everyone for themselves'

...To your wondering if we’ve taken the time to research SBG, the answer is YES! SBG is not totally wrong, it does have some positive qualities IF IMPLEMENTED SLOWLY, PROPERLY AND WITH CLEAR AND COMPLETE GUIDELINES AND CIRRICULUM FOR THOSE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH OUR CHILDREN!
SBG can also be positive IF THE GRADING SCALE DOES NOT PUT OUR STUDENTS ON AN UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD WHEN COMPETING FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION AND ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS.
If you’re wondering if college/universities have been contacted and given the grading outline, the answer is yes. The response from those were “concerned” and “GPA’s are taken at face value without consideration of the grading format.”
When ‘supporting the mass’, all need to be considered regardless of how large or small the group is. Our secondary students going onto college are in fact a large group! LET’S NOT KEEP OUR KIDS FROM COMPETING DUE TO POOR IMPLEMENTATION AND A SCEWED GRADING SCALE.
Parents of secondary students and future secondary students, GET INVOLVED! Educate yourself beyond what the district is and IS NOT telling us. Obtain the secondary grading rubric that is being implemented 100% in the Fall of 2012. Attend the next board meeting, ask questions, voice concerns and get involved. That is, if you have students in the district…?

According to the ISD 279 website, there will be a work session Thursday, May 17 with SBG as the topic. It's scheduled to be at the Educational Service Center (in the forum room) with board presentation/discussion at 6 p.m. and a listening session: audience opportunity for feedback to start at about 7:30 p.m. Do you all think many community members will provide feedback? Why or why not?

http://district279.org/who/SchoolBoard/sbcalen.cfm

I am not supportive of the new grading system at all - because it is not supporting my kids (grades 4 and 5). My daughter received a 63% on a test and got a "3". In the same batch of test papers she received a 90%...graded as a "3". Next test showed that she got 100% correct PLUS 5 extra credit points correct...and, yup, received a "3". My son received a "1" because he didn't sing on pitch. He received a "2" on a math test because he missed 3 on it yet the next math test he missed 6 (same number of questions on both tests) and received a "3". Where is the consistency? Fine, mark things 0-4, but have them based on percentage of correct answers -but the only way to correctly hand out grades that give an accurate assessment of the students progress is to go by percentage of questions answered correctly.

My biggest concern is that when we approached my daughter about the 63% on the test where she received a "3", she was fine with it because it as a "3". I asked her how she would have felt if she came home with a "D" on a test and she said she would have cried and asked for help to maybe take it again. Because her failing/near failing percentage grade was scored as "passing standards", she didn't care. Her comment was..mom, it's a 3, how much I get right doesn't matter as long as they give me a 3. What is that teaching our kids? That mediocrity is awesome?

I am ashamed of the school district and their decision to put our children last and their "performance" grades first.

When we got the first report cards this year, my son (who usually gets all A's) got all 3's. I asked the teacher why his grades had gone down. His teacher told me that they were not allowed to give out any 4's because they hadn't come up with a definition of what a 4 meant. Why are we rolling out a new system when it hasn't been figured out yet? If my child isn't allowed to get 4's why even have a 1-4 grade option? It's VERY frustrating as a parent!

For anyone with concerns about SBG - PLEASE go to the school board "listening" session on May 17 to voice your concerns! SBG was pushed through way too fast with little to no training on how it should be implemented. Our kids are suffering through this experiment, and those of us with kids in sr. high do not have time to let them figure it out. Colleges look at GPA and don't take the time to figure out how a particular school district implements their grading system. We were told at the last board meeting that the "average" GPA has not gone down since implementing SBG - well guess what?! Let's say you have 10 students - in the "old" system, 5 of them got straight A's (4.0 GPA) and 5 of them got straight F's (0.0 GPA). Their average GPA is 2.0. Now under SBG, the top 5 kids now have a GPA of 3.0, and the lower 5 kids have a GPA of 1.0. Guess what? Their average GPA is still a 2.0. The problem is, nobody can now earn an A, and the lower performing kids can re-take tests over and over until they raise their grade up to a D. Is fewer kids failing their true goal? Please let your voices be heard!

SBG is teaching our children that mediocrity is acceptable -- even expected. We want more for our children. We want them to be inspired to learn and proud to achieve.

I have a son in college now and a junior at MGSH. What needed to be fixed was inconsistencies among departments in grading. In the past, 92% in 1 department was an A, an A- in another and even a B+ in a 3rd. Instead our district decides to try to return to the gtading we grew up with. C is average, B is great and only 1 or 2 kids will get a 4.0. Idealistic and SO unfair to our kids! At the senior high level Advanced classes, there is no extra credit allowed. The only way to hope for an A will be 100% on everything. Even then the grading will be subjective. For those who feel this shouldn't matter, I would assume you haven't been through the college process. A B average will make it hard to get into even the State schools. Don't even think about any scholarships. These kids are competing against state and nation wide districts whose kids can end up with weighted GPA of up to 5.0. I am so glad my son who has taken almost all HP or AP classes since 7th grade has only 1 more year here. If this policy isn't changed and I had a 9th grader, I would pull them from the district. SBG is negating the great teaching that is happening in this district. Please stop experimenting with our kids and drop it.

Well put, Roni. This system only allows absolute perfection to get a 4 and students who have a slight imperfection get a 3, which is sad.
I don't think the administrators who run the district would like it if we based their salary on the concept of absolute perfection. One misspelling in an email and they'd lose 20% of their salary.....how would they like that?
Well, that's exactly what they are doing to these students and its just not right.

We also have a HS junior and have been told repeatedly that we're the only parents questioning the system. Our student has always been in HP and AP classes, but the new system teaches the kids that working hard accomplishes nothing, so why even try? One AP teacher told the class that "meets" is a C or D, and can't explain how to get an "exceeds". Goodbye GPA and scholarships!

I'd like to encourage everyone to attend the Work Session this coming Thursday at 6pm at the ESC. There will be a presentation followed by a listening session where you can tell the Board what you think about SBG, and hopefully offer some suggestions on what can be done to resolve our implementation issues. I also have 3 students that are being measured by SBG, and I'm hopeful that we can make adjustments.

If you're planning on attending the work session tomorrow, here's the details about the location, etc. http://maplegrove.patch.com/events/osseo-school-district-279-school-board-work-session-212dcb95

will any of you be at tonight's meeting? My name is erik runge and I'm with Fox 9 news. please contact me if you are going to be there--- erik.runge@foxtv.com thanks--Erik

Did anyone else attend the work session last night? Thoughts? I attended and hope to have the story up on Monday. About 10 parents shared their experiences with the school board - representing both the elementary & secondary grade levels. Total attendance in the audience area was maybe around 20-30, but I would say about 10 of those were staff members.

I did attend and speak at the meeting last Thursday. Even after attending, I feel very unclear on what will happen for next year. It was stated that report card grades will remain letter grades next year (please correct me if I'm wrong), but on the implementation schedule, it states 0-4. So will the 0-4 just be converted to A-F? I have children in elementary, jr high and high school and am especially concerned about my current sophomore and junior.

For those that haven't read it yet, here's the latest article from the worksession. http://maplegrove.patch.com/articles/standards-based-grading-conversations-continue-in-district-279

I have blogged a statement about SBG as a candidate running for school board.

http://blog.electgerhart.org/2012/10/standards-based-grading.html