Revised Current Events: No Letter Grades -

    Recently, 30 Surrey schools and 20 Maple Ridge schools have decided to try out a new program that it removes the letter grading system and instead replaces it with an in-depth description of how the student is doing. There are two different sides to this story, as some people believe that the switch was a good idea, and others think that it should be kept as is.

     The School Districts are replacing the tradition letter grading system. They think that doing in-depth feedback is better for giving more information about projects and essays,and how you are doing in class. The District is doing this so that the parents and students know more of what the teachers are thinking, helping them see their strengths and weaknesses in the subject or project. They believe that if you get an A, you know you're doing well, however, you don't know what you may be struggling in or what you're excelling at. This new grading system is only applied by the school districts, not the provincial Ministry of Education, and depending on how the Surrey and Maple Ridge pilot projects go, the Vancouver School Board may or may not follow in their footsteps, after they see the project results in the summer.

    Some people like this idea of getting rid of the letter grade, other think that if you get rid of it, teachers will have a harder time figuring out if that particular student is passing or failing. Based on the comments of this article, some parents, students and apparently teachers do not like the new program because it leads to hiding the students failure in some cases. One parent named Ginu Pereiera says that a grade to her is a motivating factor,and if the student gets a B, it helps the student strive for an A. Most kids like coming home to an A, and if they get, say, a C- in a subject, in most cases they try harder to get a better grade. Without the letter grade system, they won't know exactly how well they are doing, leading them to believe that they don't have to work as hard to get a good grade, which allows them to pass. A poll on this website shows that 63.67% of people think students should get letter grades, while 29.88% say they shouldn't. 

    Based on the information I have researched, as well as my own beliefs, my thoughts are undecided. On one hand, I think that it may be good to have detailed feedback on your work, so that you and your parents know your strengths and your weaknesses, and being on the same page as your teacher. However, I also believe that if they take away the grading system, students will start to slack off and not do their work to the best of their abilities, because instead of getting a C, for example, they would just get a description of what they might be doing wrong. Like I said earlier, it may be harder for teacher to figure out if the student is passing or failing. I am leaning more toward the side of keeping the letter grade program, however, both sides have good things to offer.

Links:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-school-district-extends-its-no-letter-grades-program-1.2485832

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/01/surrey-maple-ridge-schools-longer-issuing-letter-grades-students/

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/dozens-more-surrey-schools-consider-scrapping-letter-grades-1.1630197

Current Events

Schools in surrey and maple ridge are taking out letter grades and replacing it with wide depth feedback, though the parents do have the choice for the teachers to give letter grades to their children, wide depth feedback are the main priority. My thoughts on this is that it has pros and cons, the pros are that the parents will be able to hear what their child has accomplished and the things they haven't finished. The cons are that the parents will have trouble understanding the child's actual mark. More than 30 schools have joined this plan and more are expected to join. This will definetely change the whole school system in a good way or a bad way.

Revised Current Events

Surrey is deciding if they should get rid of letter grades. The new program is being called constructive feedback. 39 schools have joined and they are expecting more to join this program. The plan is to take out letter grades and replace it with in-depth feedback. They want to give more information on projects and tasks.

Instead of using letter grades like A, B, and C they want to give more knowledge to the parents and students on how their projects and tasks were done. It would give a better understanding of how the students are doing. With this new system it will help parents and students see where their strengths and weaknesses and where they also need help. The principle of George Vanier Elementary in Surrey said that letter grades are good but if you see an A they know that the student is doing well but it limits how students and parents connect over their education. They are hoping that with removing grades it steers people to more descriptive feedback.

Some people don’t want to get rid of the letter grades. When someone sees a good letter grade it strives them to keep on doing well. Or when someone isn’t doing that well they get motivated to do better and try to get higher letter grades. Some people also think that if they need help on something the teacher should talk to them and their parents straightforward.

My opinion is that they should keep letter grades. Letter grades give more motivation for some people to do better. It would probably be easier for teachers too because they already have a lot to do and writing a paragraph for every student in every subject would be difficult and a lot more work. Letter grades are better to see if you’re doing good or not. If the teachers give you the feedback you will know what you have to better but not how well you’re doing and what your grades are.

With this new system it will help give parents better feedback. It will be better for parents because they will know more on how their child is doing in school. The district will decide during the summer if they will change to the new program permanently.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-school-district-extends-its-no-letter-grades-program-1.2485832

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Surrey+Maple+Ridge+schools+letter+grades/9365634/story.html

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/dozens-more-surrey-schools-consider-scrapping-letter-grades-1.1630197

Current events

        Letter grades, besides the fact it puts a lot of stress on kids it also makes them think they are not good enough if they don't get straight A's. Students get letter grades which is okay but they should really write more of a explanation why they get the mark and what they base it on. Add notes on how they can improve and do better in the class. It shouldn't be all about the letter grade though.

They should show the percentage on the class because it can show how close you are to getting up your improvements and it can be like a way to boost your self and set yourself a goal. I really think they should also base a percentage on how hard the student tries because not everyone is super smart. Some kids put in lots of effort but can't understand no matter how hard they try!

If i ran the system i would put letter grades so they can see how they are doing but that shouldn't be super important. Percentage because it can be a goal setter for you and comments that say how you can improve and do better and get your grades up and just be a better student.

I honestly think not getting a letter grade would have both advantages and disadvantages to it. It would be helpful for students and parents to understand where the student specifically needs help and not just on bringing up a grade. Some parents also seem to think that the letter grade is the only thing important, but in reality, the student might be weaker in a specific thing that cannot be described in just a letter grade.

 At the same time, if all students got comments instead of the letter grade, some students might take advantage of not getting graded and put poor effort in their works. For me, I would be more scared to get a really bad grade with a letter or a percentage, rather than just a comment on where I need to fix. Some students might feel that they're never doing a good job because of the constant comments about what they need to do better. For example if a student got a B in Math and worked to an A, they would feel proud. However if the comments said to fix a certain error and the problem is fixed, the next comment is going to ask to make a change to something eles.

Most parents seem to be fine with the new no grade report card system to see where their child stands. I think that they should still keep the letter grade, but also add comments and feedback. It shouldnt be just a grade, or just a comment. There should be a letter to state their grade and comments to explain how they can do better. In conclusion, I think that getting rid of the whole grade isnt the best idea, but still can work if both are in the report card.

Can someone help me understand what we are suppose to comment on these posts... I'm not sure what to post thats why I haven't commented

              CURRENT EVENTS

I think this idea of no letter grade thing is not the ideal idea but not a bad idea. To start off with tit would be harder for people who get A's to come home with nothing but a letter from a teacher in their progress only. However, this can help the kids to take criticism more effectively, for kids only care about the letter grade. Also, parents can know what their child is at. For example, the parent can read where there progress is at. Mainly it is just harder to summarize a mark

For kids who receive higher marks in the A's and B's it would be harder to tell if they got one or not. Because of, the teachers only are supposed to say there progress not their work. For instance, a student can get a high mark on test but do poorly on finishing homework. However, if another student does complete their homework on time and does test, but both poor on mark. it would say only that the other person is doing better than the person who gets better marks. Mostly, the person who does the work for poor marks would say they did better. Therefore, it would be hard sometimes.

 Sometimes, it can be an advantage because kids are very self conscious and are very vulnerable to criticism 

. Therefore, it will train them to take criticism in a way to improve the student’s skills. It will make the kids get better in school. Therefore, kids will not only look at the mark but really take the time to read over their mistakes.

Lastly, parents can know what progress their children have made. For example, if a student did not do much homework their parents can help them learn more with their knowledge. Often time’s kids are scared to tell their parent because of the consequences, but parents can help by reminding them to do it.

Finally, kids should take this as an advantage or a disadvantage it can be help in both ways.

Current Events -

     Recently, 39 Surrey schools have decided to try out a new program that changes the way we see how we are doing in each subject. They are doing this, contemplating if they should get rid of the letter grade indefinitely. 

     The School District is doing this instead of the tradition letter grading such as A, B, and C. They think that doing in-depth feedback is better for giving more information about projects and essays,and how you are doing in class. The District is doing this so that the parents and students know more of what the teachers are thinking, helping them see their strengths and weaknesses in the subject or project. They believe that if you get an A, you know you're doing well, however, you don't know what you may be struggling in or what you're excelling at. 

     While some people like this idea of getting rid of the letter grade, other think that if you get rid of it, teachers will have a harder time figuring out if that particular student is passing or failing. Based on the comments of this article, some parents, students and apparently teachers do not like the new program because it leads to hiding the students failure in some cases. A lot of kids like coming home to an A, and if they get, say, a C- in a subject, in most cases they try harder to get a better grade. Without the letter grade system, they won't know exactly how well they are doing, leading them to believe that they don't have to work as hard to get a good grade, which allows them to pass.

     In my opinion, I am not on either side of this. On one hand, I think that it may be good to have detailed feedback on your work, so that you and your parents know your strengths and your weaknesses, and being on the same page as your teacher. However, I also believe that if they take away the grading system, students will start to slack off and not do their work to the best of their abilities, because instead of getting a C, for example, they would just get a description of what they might be doing wrong. Like I said earlier, it may be harder for teacher to figure out if the student is passing or failing. I am falling more toward the side of keeping the letter grade program, however, I still am not too sure about it.

Link:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-school-district-extends-its-no-letter-grades-program-1.2485832

                                                           CURRENT EVENTS


      Surrey is taking out letter grades and giving wide depth feedback, 39 schols hav joined this program and more are expected to join. Im on both sides with this because i like letter grades because theyre more simple and easy. But wide depth feedback is good because it tells you about projects and tasks. Thats why im on both  sides on this one

Current Events

Surrey is deciding if they should get rid of letter grades. The new program is being called constructive feedback. 39 schools have joined and they are expecting more to join this program. The plan is to take out letter grades and replace it with in-depth feedback. They want to give more information on projects and tasks.

Instead of using letter grades like A, B, and C they want to give more knowledge to the parents and students on how their projects and tasks were done. It would give a better understanding of how the students are doing. With this new system it will help parents and students see where their strengths and weaknesses and where they also need help. The principle of George Vanier Elementary in Surrey said that letter grades are good but if you see an A they know that the student is doing well but it limits how students and parents connect over their education. They are hoping that with removing grades it steers people to more descriptive feedback.


With this new system it will help give parents better feedback. It will be better for parents because they will know more on how their child is doing in school. The district will decide during the summer if they will change to the new program permanently.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-school-district-extends-its-no-letter-grades-program-1.2485832