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LBRT: THW change all grades to Pass/Fail in K-12 Schools Content:

1. Key Articles 2. Additional Resources

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ARTICLE 1 PASS/FAIL EARNS AN A-PLUS High schools should offer one of the greatest perks of college. September 1, 2015 I am a terrible photographer. In a day and age in which we all carry powerful cameras in our pockets, where almost anyone can share lovely photos of vacations, soccer games, or his or her dinner within seconds of taking them, I burden my Facebook friends with snapshots that are out of focus, poorly lit, and lacking any kind of thoughtful composition. My inner perfectionist and a heavy dose of stubbornness is to blame. One warm summer evening before my freshman year, I announced to my parents that I would be the first person to graduate from our high school with a perfect 4.0 GPA and 12 varsity letters (making varsity in three sports a year for four years). I accomplished my goal. But I dimean missing out on so much. At 14, I was confident that I would be able to mow through algebra, English, and world history. I had calculated that I could probably hang with the upperclassmen well enough to letter in cross-country and swimming (track was less certain, though I lucked out that no one else wanted to run the 3,200 meters). But just as I stuck to sports like running and swimming because I lacked the coordination to make the basketball or volleyball teams, I worked to excel at English and math and science because I was bereft of any artistic ability. In middle school, when the teacher of our gifted program gave us an assignment to pick a painter to study (and then emulate), I chose Jackson Pollock. When I tried that same trick with my art teacher the next year, I got busted and had to choose someone else. (Hello, Piet Mondrian, you beautiful neoplasticist, you.) So when I had to fill out my schedule with electives, I steered clear of anything that might compromise my GPA like photography. While I

psychology class that have by now certainly been debunked, my friends were learning about f-stops and shutter speeds and aperture. Admittedly, choose differently. Graduating first in my class helped me earn scholarships that made college more affordable and guaranteed my acceptance into my journalism school of choice.

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But I do wish that there had been a third way. If only I could have taken a class here and there without risking my GPA, it might have opened up whole new worlds, satisfied my curiosity, and kept high school from being such a demanding slog. If only my school had offered the opportunity to take the occasional elective as pass/fail. Most colleges do offer pass/fail classes, in which a student is expected to participate and complete all classwork but not receive a letter grade. And all college students should take some extra classes pass/fail. They are a tremendously attractive option for curious minds who want to try out new areas of study before changing their majors or who want to take an art history class even though they are chemistry majors. But as much as high school not an improvement that enough high schools have adopted. I polled friends and family members who teach high school or have children in

classes would be offered, or taken.

-cooker situation than I did in the early 1990s. More students are going to college, and the demands this heightened competition places on the application process with elite schools rejecting 70 percent or more of the applications they receive lead high school students to sign up for ever-more extracurriculars and crazy summer internships. Sadly, once they get to college, they are more likely to need mental health services to help them cope. A few schools have the right idea. Like Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, where students, with parental approval, can take one elective credit per year outside of the core requirements like reading, math, science, or social studies. Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego offers students a pass/fail option, and it goes one step further, with

½ Period classes that are pass/fail, meet twice a week, and earn a student half the normal credit for a class. Sample offerings include ceramics, musical theater, and robotics. God knows that high schools have enough challenges right nowstruggling to adopt new academic standards like Common Core, dealing with parents complaining about standardized testing, and teachers complaining (justifiably!) about unfair measurements of their

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and academic rules to accommodate a few students who are afraid to

But if high school is really all about preparing for college and the real world, give them a real idea of what they have to look forward to: the chance to try new things and open their minds. And let the kids be kids.

BY: Rachael Larimore SOURCE: Slate http://www.slate.com/articles/life/classes/2015/09/take_classes_pass_fail_for_college_and_high_school_students_worried_about.html

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ARTICLE 2 6 PROS AND CONS OF THE PASS FAIL GRADING SYSTEM 2016 One method of assessing the knowledge of a student or a test-taker as well as determining the effectiveness of instruction is known as a pass/fail grading system. In this grading method, the teacher or test center assigns a minimum number of points to be answered correctly or the weight of the correct answers as against the wrong ones to determine if a student or test-taker passes or fails the exam. This grading system is already being used by licensure examinations boards and public schools but still it still has its advantages and disadvantages. LIST OF PROS OF PASS FAIL GRADING SYSTEM 1. More Focus. Without having to reach a certain score or aim for a higher percentage while taking the exam, a student can concentrate more on answering test questions and increase the possibility of passing the exam. This not only lets a student be more focused on the test but also reduces stress on the person taking the test. 2. Class Harmony. A pass/fail grading system means that students need not compete with each other for grades. Consequently, students will be more motivated to work together as a group instead of existing as competitors. 3. Less Work for Educators. Proponents of a pass/fail grading system claim that this alternative grading system allows educators more time to work on other equally important things than just checking test papers since grading this type of exams does not require much time and in some cases, like in licensure exams, computers are used to analyze and evaluate the scores. LIST OF CONS OF PASS FAIL GRADING SYSTEM 1. Promotes Laziness. Critics of this grading system argue that not having to oblige students to reach a certain percentage in order to pass and not have to worry about a grade point system. This can, in turn, make them lazier if not more derelict to focus on the course or subject because there is a higher probability to pass. Moreover, this can also be biased against

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students who are assessed using the grade point system since they need to study harder in order to pass. 2. Inaccurate. Some opponents of the pass/fail grading system posit that questions in this type of system are more general which might not be sufficient and accurate to assess whether students have enough knowledge and skills on certain subjects. 3. Less Specific Assessment. Marks or grades are significant in providing both students and parents some feedback on the overall performance and knowledge of students. With grade point average, grades are expressed in numbers with their corresponding grade equivalent while a pass/fail grading system only provide two results to choose from. This will not be able to point out what the weakness and strengths of the students are. The pass/fail grading system is already one of the most popular types of grading system and has been used by public schools and testing centers. This is an indicator that it is effective and has advantages. However, it also comes with several setbacks. The best option, perhaps, is to apply this grading system depending on the course taken or type of assessment needed. If no specific grades are required, this can be a good option. BY: Flow Psychology SOURCE: https://flowpsychology.com/6-pros-and-cons-of-the-pass-fail-grading-system/

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ARTICLE 3 PASS FAIL GRADING SYSTEM PROS AND CONS July 6, 2015 Having a pass fail grading system can make it a lot easier for students to gather the credits they need for graduation without worrying about a specific grade. It also means that it is more difficult to see where a student specifically stands with the knowledge learned in that class. Here is a look at the other pass fail grading system pros and cons. The Pros of a Pass Fail Grading System 1. It saves time. Instead of a complicated grading system, evaluating points earned, and other components of grading curve, students can either pass the class or fail the class. This saves everyone time. 2. Learning concepts still happen. Students must still prove that they have obtained a foundation of knowledge from the class in order to pass it. Sometimes this grading

3. It takes pressure off of the student. In a grading system, the difference between an A and a B is 1 full GPA point. In a pass fail system, there is no difference between the two grades. This takes the pressure off of students to hit certain achievements. The Cons of a Pass Fail Grading System 1. It naturally encourages less work. People tend to work to the expectations that have been set for them. In a pass fail grading system, many students work just hard enough to

everything they could be learning.

People are graded on various shades of gray in a vocational environment. A black and white system of grading can create unreasonable expectations that the working world operates in the same manner.

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In a pass fail system, student who attend class consistently and get top marks on tests get the same grade as someone who skips class

succeed. The pass fail grading system pros and cons show that it can work with a standard grading system pretty effectively. If incorporated in an as needed way for students who struggle at specific subjects, it can support their educational needs. On its own, however, it made not make a passing grade. BY: Crystal Lombardo SOURCE: Vision Launch http://visionlaunch.com/pass-fail-grading-system-pros-and-cons/#

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ARTICLE 4 -ABOUT PASS OR FAIL ANYMORE January 20, 2016 For the first time this year, Indiana schools will no longer be judged primarily on a single, end-of-year ISTEP snapshot of success or failure. Going f -F letter grade school rating system will place more importance on how students improve on ISTEP from year to year, rather than just how many are able to pass. The change represents a major shift in the way schools are measured.

Ritz. With the state increasingly demanding that students meet higher standards to better prepare for college or careers by the end of high

making sure that our kids are moving up to a more rigorous

Finalized last spring, the 2016 A-F letter grade system was designed to better factor in elements of school achievement that go beyond test scores. For years, schools have complained that A-F grades are too

performance of their students and teachers. Now, test scores and student test score growth will be counted equally in all calculations, and other factors, such as graduation rates for high schools, will be filtered into the grade. The U.S. Department of Education has pushed for these kinds of changes, and the new Every Student Succeeds Act, which goes into effect next year, encourages states to prioritize student growth over

that certain kids are improving on tests each year such as English-language learners and students with special needs the best they can get is a B. The new grading system goes into effect this year, meaning the grades schools receive for the 2015-16 school year will be based on the new model. The 2014-15 grades, which the state is still awaiting because of

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ISTEP scoring delays and pending legislation, will be the last round calculated using the old model. When the new model is in place, experts say it will change the way parents and communities think about which schools are the most effective. Cynthia Roach, testing director for the Indiana State Board of Education said parents should expect to see fewer As but also fewer Fs. The predictions shown to the state board in 2014 suggest that most schools will fall in the B, C and D range, she said.

New model sees broad support among policymakers If most schools are classified as average going forward, that means many could see lower grades than they have in the past.

-grade schools, but state education leaders welcome a change that they say will provide a more accurate picture of how kids and schools are really doing on state exams. Both Ritz and Gov. Mike Pence supported the change to the growth-based system. It was one of the few examples of cooperation between the two, who have clashed over the direction of education policy in Indiana since both were elected in 2012. The new system was crafted by a panel that was charged by the legislature with devising a way to measure how well students improve

where many kids are still struggling to pass state tests. Now, in addition to ISTEP sco

The Education Department will calculate letter grades using three main factors. One is already familiar second will be the growth factor, which measures how much a students improved or declined from one year to the next. The third factor is a new measure only for high schools that combines graduation rate, the number of students earning college credits and

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workplace credentials while still in high school and the number of students passing Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. Exam passing rates and graduation rates were used to grade schools under the old model, but now those rates will play a larger role in deciding most hqualify to use the factor. Schools with higher percentages of kids graduating, passing exams and earning certifications or credits would likely get higher scores. In cases where the standard grading formuschool, the new grading system is designed to be adapted accordingly. For example, if a new high school has not yet graduated any seniors,

Schools, however, will not have be able to influence ahead of time how their grades are determined.

For now, elementary school grades will be largely based on test scores in some way, but new requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaces the No Child Left Behind Act in 2017, would require states to eventually use other factors, such as reading scores, attendance or school climate, for all grade levels.

The big change for Indiana schools for now will be the growth factor. Once results from the 2016 ISTEP are calculated, the state will use a

m the previous year and whether their new scores improved, stayed the same or declined. The exact method for how growth points will be determined is still in the works. A draft proposal that was shared with the state board of education last year raised concerns among some educators. They were unhappy that the current plan would let students whose scores got worse still earn growth points, but those who went from failing to an above-average

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State officials said the final numbers on the growth table are likely to change as the board gets a chance to weigh in, state staff present their final recommendations and more public comment is received. The state board will review different versions of growth tables in February and then ask the public for comment. Once points from test scores, growth and high school factors like graduation rate are combined and averaged over the number of

specific fo Grades are assigned using a 100-point scale, similar to how a teacher might grade a test. Ninety to 100 points are an A, 80 to 89.9 points a B, and so on. The old model had just a four-point range, which made it hard to show nuance in the scores. Transitioning from old to new

on the merits of the new model a rare moment of unity in a season of frequent disagreements over A shared goal was to add nuance to a system that has often been decried as punitive and overly reliant on test scores. State board spokesman Marc Lotter said the new growth table, for example, could give teachers a better idea of how much students would need to improve each year to be recognized as high achievers.

teachers and admi This new model, too, gives schools credit not just for students whose scores get better each year, but also for students who continue to pass

-F model

might fare under the new grading system, but she said schools and

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districts will be able to see where they stand on the new model before the state board is expected to vote on the final table in March. Educators on the original A-F panel were a big part of the push toward equally weighing growth and ISTEP passing rates and factoring in new

BY: Shaina Cavazos SOURCE: Chalkbeat https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2016/01/20/indianas-new-a-f-grade-system-its-not-just-about-pass-or-fail-anymore/

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

1. 8 Principal Pros And Cons of the Pass Fail Grading System http://connectusfund.org/8-principal-pros-and-cons-of-the-pass-fail-grading-system

2. The Advantages of Pass/Fail Grading System https://onmogul.com/stories/the-advantages-of-pass-fail-grading-system

3. Can a Pass/Fail Grading System Adequately Reflect Student Progress?

http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2009/11/ccas2-0911.html

4. Pass/Fail Grading System a Better Option http://kscequinox.com/2011/11/passfail-grading-system-a-better-option/

5. http://dbceducation.com/failed-grading-system/

6. Pass/fail grading: a foundation of student collaboration https://www.nureva.com/blog/pass/fail-grading-a-foundation-of-student-collaboration