An A in third-period history at North High School ought to mean the same thing as an A in history at East High. The concept sounds pretty simple, but it’s often not reality.
“Grade consistency” is being discussed and implemented in school districts all across Colorado and the country. The idea is not without controversy, especially among teachers accustomed to grading a certain way. However, it appears to be a good step forward.
Denver Public Schools administrators and teachers are crafting new grading policies that ask instructors to give grades based on what the state requires students to know. The goal is to bring academic rigor and consistency to all classrooms. Because of the controversy it has sparked, a final decision won’t be made until next year.
The idea is to give parents and students a more accurate understanding of where the child is academically. A child’s grade now might be bolstered by extra-credit assignments that aren’t aligned with state learning standards or by a teacher trying to reward a child’s effort.
Then there’s the problem of the curve, where brighter students in low-achieving classrooms earn higher grades than they deserve.
Inflated grades can cause problems down the road if a student can’t handle a college workload. Colorado taxpayers already pay about $15 million a year to cover remedial work for high school graduates.
“A lot of people, even today, don’t address the standards” when they grade, Joe Sandoval, a DPS area superintendent, said earlier this summer. “You give kids extra credit and they get a higher grade, but that may have nothing to do with the standards. People need to understand what the intended learning is.”
Denver elementary students will see new report cards this fall that actually give a rating for “effort” as well as academic knowledge. It’s a worthwhile innovation that could extend to middle and high schools next year. “It splits out effort from substantive knowledge,” says school superintendent Michael Bennet. That allows a teacher to reward effort while still focusing on learning achievement.
Though the practice will take some fine-tuning and getting used to, it’s a sound idea, especially considering DPS’s high mobility rates. Students should be able to expect the same academic rigor as they transfer from one school to another.
