I'm not a parent, but it sounds pretty weird to me. I thought the goal was for the teachers to teach and the students to learn. This system seems to just camouflage extremely poor performance with a higher grade than is deserved. I don't see how this will improve the quality of education, although it might look better on paper.

I am a parent and I agree with tom above...and then some. But my concern about the "camouflage" is this. A minimum grade system denies both the student and parent a true grasp of how deep the problem may be. It also denies the student the full measure of the reality check they may need to motivate them to work harder to succeed. We'd be doing our children a major disservice in the long run if they dig themselves an 80-foot hole and we tell them "Well, no one needs to know about any more than 50 feet of that." It doesn't work that way in real life.

The CAC will be recieving a presentation on the regulation on May 7 2012 @ 7p in the board room of the Parham building. I would encourge parents to attend to get a full understanding of the purpose behind the change.

This is just another way of making the county school system look better. Students should be graded on performance. Stop trying to make yourselves look good and educate the children. All this will do is unleash a lot of uneducated children on the world.

Let me get this straight.......an average student must get 70% to get a "C" but a failing student will get a 50% for doing absolutely nothing.....then can do a quickie 10% of the work and earn a 60% and end up passing the course????? This is probably the most stupid, unfair not to mention unethical scheme I have ever heard. Shame on you Maxwell and BOE for sacrificing our children's
education to make yourselves look legitimate. Maybe once we can elect our BOE members and stop the "whatever you say Dr. Maxwell" mentality he and all of his over paid posse will leave town.

Between this proposal, and not keeping score in kids athletic events, the real world is going to be a real shocker. My experience is that when I give it a try, but don't succeed at work, uhh~~ I don't get 50%- I get 0. This is insane. So lets give the schools more money to lower standards and turn out even more coddled graduates that lack any sense of personal responsibility. Pathetic....

As a teacher and parent, I am in favor of this. First, and most importantly, it makes students aware of the value of doing their work. They would only get a 50% if the actually DO the assignment, not for doing "absolutely nothing" as indicated in a comment above. Picture this scenario that unfolds every day in the classroom. You have a student who really tries, does his/her homework and pays attention in class. He does the assignment, hands it in on time, but for whatever reason (was there a sub the day before?) he didn't quite get it and he fails the paper. Compare that to a kid who comes late to class, makes no effort and when you collect the assignment says "I'm not doing that." (and possibly flips you off, which has actually happened to me before.) Should the child who did it receive the same ZERO as the child who made no effort whatsoever? Do you really think they are the same? I can tell you as a teacher I have always instituted this policy in my classroom, and I would never give a zero to an honest effort. My job is to TEACH and if they didn't learn it, then I didn't teach it. That is a very different issue than kids who don't do their work at all. This policy shows students the value of DOING their work. Why would they bother if they are going to get the same grade as someone who does NOTHING!? That is not real life either. I am strongly in favor of this policy.

This a cop out! It excuses teachers for doing nothing,, and kids for just showing up. Its an already on going effort by the minority to keep their kids in the mix for doing absolutely nothing,,,and being carried at the teachers disgression. This is just another step downward in the dumbing of america. Trouble is the students who are really trying,,, and the ones who are smarter are held hostage by the dumb bells who detract from the school day. A test, for all, is the only way we have to know if the teacher is teaching,,, and the student learning,,, BS on the this crap out for both.

http://www.aacps.org/admin/templates/fyi_front.asp?articleid=1515&zoneid=16

You should make your voice heard. The county is continually "dumbing" down the curriculm and rigor in our school system. This is apparent with a policy suggestion such as this. Motivation? Money. When students "score" better -- then they can receive more federal money from Race to the Top. The students will suffer because it will perpetuate a system of laziness. "I don't need to try hard -- because I know I will get another chance." Plenty of teacher allow for redos on their own -- we don't need the county to create a system that ultimately filter into the work place. Twenty years from now -- these students will be in the work place -- in the operating room -- in banks -- and this mentally will affect work ethic.

What does this really teach? What effect will it have when a student gets into the work force? When you have a job and make a "good faith effort" but the product is poor, do you keep or lose your job?

I'm also a teacher and a parent and I am privy to the research related to this concept. It is actually a good thing; I see it working in practice every day. The thinking is that the grade is still an E, so the assignment is still a "failure", but the student can still go on to do better work and achieve some success. The system is in place for struggling students. The teacher still gives zeros for missing work, or work that clearly lacks adequate effort. In addition, each school is also charged with creating a redo policy. The goal is academic progress and ultimately mastery, not punishment. The key to reaching struggling learners has much to do with hope. To the poster that indicated that this policy is in place because teachers are lazy...well, you are just plain wrong. I forgive you for your ignorance. There is no longer room in the profession for the incompetent or lazy. It is a high pressure job that requires a tremendouly varried and ever expanding skill set, and it is amazingly rewarding.

I'm a teacher as well, and am disgusted at being forced to give kids who "try" a 50%. Not only that, who's to say a kid gave a 'good faith effort?' You know how many kids scribble down some answers right before class, copying everything from their classmates and put the same answer for each question? Telling teachers to give a kid a 50 just because he TRIED is ludicrous. It is PURE, unadulterated, DUMBING DOWN of America. And? you know WHAT? The Board of Education also told Math and Spanish teachers at the middle school level to ALLOW KIDS to RETAKE their FINAL exam if they FAILED! The FINAL EXAM! HELLOOOOOO idiots! The FINAL exam is our ONE TOOL to guage whether or not a kid is ready to proceed to the next level...but according to the BOE, we are to now give the text 2 weeks earlier, making it impossible to successfully cover the curriculum that will APPEAR ON the test, and "remediate" for anyone who failed...and to THEN give the EXACT SAME TEST again to that kid who failed it. You know what I would do? Memorize the answers. I'd pass the second test just because I crammed for an extra week and memorize some sections of the test and then move on to the next level when in reality, I'm not ready to step foot in level 2! This county's professionals make me question why I chose to teach here...not to mention my salary freeze and the fact I can't afford to even THINK about buying a home in the same communities within which I teach. Career change!

You've been drinking the kool-ade Amy. A huge portion of what makes Maryland schools rate so high is the amount of money we throw at them. As we have seen, the amount of money we give the schools doesn't equate to student performance.

I wonder if the fact we keep 'dumming down' the system has more to do with the lawsuits filed by NAACP….

Sending our son to a private school would really hurt us financially. But if this is what it's coming down to - watching him bust his hump to get grades while the kid sitting next to him scribbles something on a paper....then so be it. Off to private school.

I also wanted to add that this dumbing down is an effort to be "politically correct." We are being FORCED to make everyone play on the same field...when in real life, there has been and always WILL be people who suceed, and people who fail/struggle. Making everyone play on the same level is ERODING the ideals our nation was built upon: hard work, healthy competition, reward...if first you don't succeed, try, try, try again! This county (and others!) is forcing us to reward mediocrity at its finest. The kids even tell me, Hey, you can't give me lower than a 50% Miss! Great. It's a huge contradiction: Expect MORE from teachers while expecting LESS from the students. Bullocks!

For years now we have been teaching "down." What is the percentage of students who are honestly struggling? Give me that? Are there so many that we have to install a program like this? If so, then there is a much BIGGER issue here. Why ARE there so many? WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT OUR EDUCATORS? Are we again changing our education system for a few. Why not put in place a new separate TEACHING program that focuses on helping these particular students UP their grades (if we have so many of them) - not something like this that let's them get by and pass without correcting their problem. So unfair to do this to them. They need more concentrated help to get better, not get by. They will never make it in the real job world. Not working out there themselves, I sometimes think teachers do not realize what is going to be expected of these students. Just one more way to erode goals and dilute aspirations. Maybe these students would benefit by repeating a grade. I have seen students struggling one year, repeat the grade, and come out on top. They have finally learned what they need to learn, and have gained self-esteem because of this and done much better with their future classes. Often they are too young for the grade they are in. Please do not help these struggling students just get by, to let them pass their courses without benefiting from them. Don't throw them out there to suffer the many ramifications because they do not have the knowledge they really need.

I hate how everyone assumes it's the teachers' faults. I wholeheartedly welcome ANYONE who isn't a teacher to COME SIT IN ON MY CLASSES or my colleagues' classes and OBSERVE some of the behaviors we deal with on a daily basis. Kids with their cell phones out. 6th-8th grade girls in tank tops with their boobs popping out, short shorts so short that you can see butt cheeks, boys wearing hats when they know it's against policy, kids challenging our authority and ignoring directions, saying "What the FREAK Miss" instead of what the F--the sentiment is the same--you don't talk to me that way!, constant talking, laziness--kids often have their work with them, but if asked to get out their homework, it stays in their backpacks crumpled up at the bottom...they refuse to get the work out so they don't have to do it,...and then, when pressed, they admit it's been in their bag the whole time--UTTER LAZINESS. The teachers are BREAKING THEIR BACKS for these kids but they are OVERWHELMING in their lackluster effort and laziness that it's hard to combat. We DIFERENTIATE, we use cool TECHNOLOGY, we have FUN and ENGAGING lessons, and we expect the kids to hold their own weight! and when they don't? their parents come in and demand we let them hand the assignment in late...we are told by the BOE to give a 50% and we are BLAMED by the PUBLIC for being incompetent. BULLOCKS. Again.

I am a parent and a graduate of AACPS. I received an excellent public school education in the 70's and 80's. Last year, I pulled my third grade child out of public school because I witnessed "dumbing down" and sweeping any school problems under the rug. Bottom line is that they are not doing a good job educating our kids and it is all about the money the school receives from the state. My teenager was not prepared for college. She received straight A's in an AACPS high school and received a very below average score on the SATs. She is struggling in college because AACPS did not prepare her. My fourth grader started private school a full year behind the kids there because of his AACPS education. That's right...the private schools are a full year ahead in their teaching materials compared to public schools. I would like to thank the teacher that commented above for being honest about her AACPS teaching experience. It takes a lot of courage for teachers to come forward and say what is wrong with the system.

E - I couldn't agree more. It's a war on teachers lately when it should be a war on bad students. Somehow, teachers are now supposed to be directly responsible for the grades of some kids who just don't care. What do you do with them? Let them fail out.

I honestly don't know what's changed. Really. I don't. I went to public high school in MD. If you were disruptive in class you got sent to the office. If that didn't work - suspension then expulsion. Again, I don't know what's changed.

Here is what has changed: Money for schools received from the State is directly tied to student performance. The BOE and school administrators have figured out lots of ways to dumb things down, forcing teachers give better grades and to turn their heads to cell phone cheating, etc. to get that money.

Not supporting or opposing this concept but for some clarity recognize that a big reason for this approach has to do with the change in the overall grading evaluation system from letter grades to cumulative percentages. So in the past where if you got an E on an assignment it was just an E (didn't matter if it was 0% or 59%) same for the other letter grades. Now your overall grade is a cum of all the percentages from all the test and assignments so if you don't complete an assignment or score very low on one assignment it can have a much more dramatic impact on a student's overall grade - even for a very high performing student. This is why a baseline percentage has been established. The other issue as it relates to this is the "redo" policies which allow students to retake tests on which they perform poorly - IMHO this is a much bigger facade than a baseline grade, but once again arguments both ways on this concept. We have very good public schools and teachers but it has been shown time and time again that you get out of it what you put in. It is the primary responsibility of the students and parents to be motivated and work to learn not on teachers and the school system to force people to learn. Get involved if you want to change things - don't just complain about it here is a place to do that http://www.parentsadvocacynetwork.org/

top spenders on education:http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/05/dc-maryland-rank-near-top-pupil-spending/114447

top educations by state based on test and performance:http://www.statemaster.com/graph/edu_bes_edu_ind-education-best-educated-index

Here is the first clue, Kevin Maxell is asking parents to submit their concerns through
an online link at the school system's website. Interpertation = AACPS is really not interested in parent's concerns on this one and most others.
It is all about the taxpayer's dollars that are given from the Federal Dept. of Education (who educate no one) to the state/local school systems. The higher the
test scores and free/reduced breakfast and lunches, the more money the school gets. Think about it, why do they put the magnet programs in the crappy schools? This brings in the higher acheiving students which bumps up the test scores for that
particular school. Oh yes, this school is showing improvement.
When my daughter attended public high school, I was told by the Guidance Dept. that the principal would like ALL students to take at least one Honors or AP class.
I, the parent know my child/student better than they and it is just fine to have them
take the standard classes and do well, rather than take the advanced classes and fail. I believe that most students are not be educated, endoctrinated is more like it.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Childrenaremorethantestscroes/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ParentsAcrossAmerica/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dumpduncan/

let's get involved...

I feel this is going to lead to a lot of trouble for these schools. A lot of parents are friends. I know we're friends with many parents in my son's class. It'll be the fist time one kid gets a zero and claims they tried while another student in the same class gets a 50% that all hell's gonna break loose. This is very subjective which is always going to cause a lot of problems.

Obviously, you guys didn't read the article because it says if you put in a honest effort you will get at least a 50%. For those students who do not put in an honest effort you will not get that 50%. As a student myself this would be nice for those students who try. In my classes right now there are students who don't try but are just good at taking test and will at least gt a 70% (C) in the class, then there are those of us who study, do all the homework, stay after school, but still fail miserably because of tests scores and classwork. Test sores are worth 40-50% of your grade, so if you do bad enough, you will can get grades ranging from 30-40% just because you did bad on a test. Now, some teachers only give out one test a semester so if you do bad on that one tests you end up failing the class. Does that really seem fair for those of us who honestly try? And if you fail that main course that could mean not being able to graduate... some of those classes you never even deal with again, so does it really seem fair? Not really. Especially for those kids who are taking multiple AP courses. You guys are just parents and the school system is a lot different from how it was before. This seems like a good idea to me for THOSE OF US WHO TRY. For me, i find it to be a great idea. It would sginificantly lesson the drop out rate because students would be able to see hope in actually being able to pass the class if they try, some kids give up bc they see no hope in passing

It seems as if some are forgetting the bigger picture, which is for the kids to LEARN the material. Grades are becoming a punative tool rather than a way for students and teachers to gauge what was learned. I think some people are missing the point here. There are students who hand in NO WORK WHATSOEVER. That was and still is a ZERO as it should be. Then there are kids who do an assignment and do poorly. They obviously didn't understand what was taught. The child who did nothing gets a zero, the child who completely the assignment (I'm picturing a HW essay or project, not an A, B, C. or True/False type of assignment) but doesn't do it right gets a 50%. THIS IS STILL FAILING, People! What are you all worked up about ? It is not saying they get a passing grade, it is saying they get some credit for DOING IT but STILL FAIL. There should obviously be more credit for doing it than for doing nothing. This just enables kids who try but don't get it to dig themselves out of the hole created by a failing grade. One "zero" will pull down your grade so that it is very difficult to get an A even if you get A's on other assignments.
Grades should be collaborative, not punative. If you say you are going to teach your child to tie his shoes, and you show him how to do it, but he still can't, did you "teach" him? The word "taught" implies something was "learned" not that you lectured for an hour. Good teachers teach until it is learned, as long as the student is trying, you don't give up!

My daughter does not attend a public school, but this is why I choose to send her to private school. Really, 50%??? Is it not bad enough that the public school system has to "teach," the student's to pass the MD standardized test, because they are afraid they can not pass it. This is the assignment grading scale from my daughter's school. They do not even recognize 50%.
Grading Scale
A+: 99.1% - 100%
A: 95.1% - 99%
A-: 93.1% - 95%
B+: 91.1% - 93%
B: 86.1% - 91%
B-: 84.1% - 86%
C+: 82.1% - 84%
C: 76.1% - 82%
C-: 74.1% - 76%
D+: 72.1% - 74%
D: 66.1% - 72%
D-: 64.1% - 66%
F: 0% - 64%
This grading scale is for assignments. When report cards are issued, less than 94% receives a "B" for that class. What happened to teaching children that they have to work hard in school? I don't understand why the state continues to lower the bar for students? How low do you really want to go? I feel for the average county teacher that puts their heart and soul into teaching everyday. It seems like a slap in the face to everything that they have preached to student's about hard work will receive reward.

The public school system is a total failure! We need school choice in Maryland. Have the tax dollars follow the student; be it public or privit. Yes there are great public schools in Maryland. It is the bad ones that need to close down. I am not an expert on this issue. But it would seem to me that parents know best when it comes to their children; not the Government!

I too feel this is an attempt to make the school system(s) look better to public perception. This does absolutely nothing to "educate" our children on the reality of life. There are no IEP's or 504's once they enter the work force, or college, if lucky enough to have that opportunity. Just giving someone something or anything they have not earned, grades or otherwise, does not teach them how to work hard a reap the rewards of their effort. It teaches them that they can do as little as possible and still get by. This concept of grading is misguided at best and down right stupid!! The most that will occur is the continues production of "stupider" (used incorrectly purposely) children who think words like stupider are OK to say. This is a bad idea on so many levels. I am blown away by whatever thought process has occured in the higher up levels of education, in which this is viewed as a good idea. My suggestion is take a few days break out of your offices and walk the halls of our schools again and "discover" what the real problems are by conversing with those of us on the "front lines" so to speak. We can give you unbiased problems, needs, and what works, first hand. You don't have to come up with rediculous new ways to save someone's feelings. Students need to be taught the harsh realities of life, not this passive "you are all wonderful" unrealistic portrayel of our world.