LOS ANGELES (NewsNation Now) — Bad report cards could soon be a thing of the past in California as some of the state’s largest school districts are dropping “D” and “F” grades.
Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Oakland Unified, Sacramento City Unified and other California districts have decided to limit the use of “Ds” and phased out “Fs” in grading. High schoolers who fail a test or homework assignment can get a do-over or more time to complete the work.
Students who don’t ever finish the assignments or who fail the final exam would earn an “incomplete,” according to Bay City News.
The move is called competency-based learning. Advocates argue that assessment should be based on mastery of learning — what students have learned instead of how they test. Supporters also hope it will help kids re-engage after nearly two years of virtual learning during the pandemic.
“What mastery learning does is really allow students every opportunity to show that they know the material and if they don’t know the material, to get the support they need to be able to demonstrate it,” said Steven Kellner with California Education Partners.
Critics are blasting the plan, saying all it does is lie about students’ progress. Some call the grading system idiosyncratic.
“One teacher takes homework assignments late, the other has extra credit, one curves scores on tests, so there is a clear and objective unfairness to students if they get one teacher versus another,” said Alix Gallagher, with Policy Analysis for California Education.
Critics argue that bad grades serve a purpose, letting students know that they haven’t learned adequately. There’s also concern over more grade inflation.
Others say grading is already an imperfect and subjective system, and failing grades can discourage kids rather than help them learn.
“We’re talking about people who are very young, and labeling them at such an early age as ‘less than’ or ‘more than’ can have significant psychological repercussions,” Patricia Russell said in an interview with Bay City News. Her nonprofit helps school districts finds alternatives to traditional grades. “Some things in life are zero-sum games, but learning should not be.”
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OMG!!!! This is one of the more stupid things done by mexifornia lately. no more hurt feelings, dumbing down of the schools so the illegals and other people will feel like they are doing ok. STUPID!!!!!
JUST when you start to wonder, CAN THEY GET any stuipider out there, THEY PROVE US, Yes they can!!
Education has become useless because it no longer deals with facts and truth but with feelings, tender egos must be massaged or they will become depressed and be unable to function in a world that requires knowledge and the ability to think, mindless fools need not apply!
Has anyone not noticed a lot of companies require you to pass a test to get the job ??things like , there and their. What is the difference ?? That’s basic English.
Democrat party supporters operate strictly on emotion levels, with very little rational thought and who simply do not understand reality or basic economics. Democrats are willing to destroy themselves and everyone around them before they will agree to compromise their failed policies and destructive beliefs, Democrats believe their own lies.
Question: 6 x 5= ?
Teacher: Jane what do you feel the answer is?
Jane: I feel the answer is 23
Teacher: Jane if you feel that 6 x 5 is 23, then that is the correct answer.
These nut-jobs in California are hilarious. (but not in a good way)
They refer to this stupidity as “competency based learning,” but all it does is prove that the designers & supporters of this grading system are themselves woefully incompetent!! The liberals want to create a dumbed down society of ignorant citizens, so they can gain even more control over them, but they disguise it under the mask of showing a phony “compassion” to students who are failing in school.
When you place people in leadership positions that are seriously unqualified for the position they hold, you end up with horrible consequences, as was proven by our last presidential election & also these so-called educators in California!
Idiot California educators take the “D” out of grading like they take the “d” out of “Find” and soon it’s the FIN (The end) of truth-seeking education. If they take the “P” out of “Pass”, you will get what kind and calibur of students they will be graduating with no pass incomplete grades.
Well it fits though. IIRC wasn’t it CA that was the first state that pushed the “WE will no longer hold back students who FAIL XYZ Grade, because that will hurt their emotional well being.”? AND did the same for removing RED MARKS on test papers, in case it ‘hurts their feewlings!
“Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Oakland Unified, Sacramento City Unified and other California districts have decided to limit the use of “Ds” and phased out “Fs” in grading. High schoolers who fail a test or homework assignment can get a do-over or more time to complete the work.”
Fudging the grading system won’t fulfill the comprehension of subject matter needed by students in acquiring life skills or preparing for higher education. Giving everybody a pat on the back will not prepare them for Life where “do-overs” are not available. Many of the decisions that are made in Life require living with the consequences—second chances are not the norm.
For a good 30 years, they’ve not cared about whether they graduate COMPETENT STUDENTS, who actually LEARNED things.. THIS is just another knife in that coffin.
When the kids graduate and can not get a.job. Who are they going to blame ??
US of course.
What is next? How about a boxing match in which the lowest score for a round is ten?
Idiocracy, here we come! Yes, folks, the movie “Idiocracy” may yet turn out to be an even greater predictor of the future than the current record-holder, George Orwell’s, “1984”.
California “leads” the nation on “innovative” ideas and regulations and is the “example” for the rest of the country to follow, well, maybe for the blue states. So now school grading gets a makeover, much like sports where everyone gets a trophy, no one keeps score, so there is no winners or losers, and biological male transgender females competing in women’s sports, (just waiting for some trans to compete with real female gymnasts on a balance beam).
Like when they decided to remove all the walls separating classrooms so that the open concept could do it’s magic. That turned into a colossal mistake. Voters keep these types around for something but it hasn’t quite been determined what.
no expectations mean those f rom whom you expect nothing are nothing. existentially these children have no past no future and not even a present moment. in any case, there are no teachers and haven’t been any for at least the past decade. they are also nothing. otherwise, the failures of the children would be their failure. it is in essence a mirage. as if one learns without having been taught and ends up with the deficits of illiteracy ignorance and the unalterable fate of becoming unteachable. we, the parents and grandparents are the last American generation. and even for us America is only a memory. at least we have that.
This isn’t what I would call “competency-based learning.” This is what I would call “incompetency-based teaching.”
They fail upwards to the level of their incompetence out there..
I feel bad for the kids who want to excel, who hunger for knowledge. They will suffer while the kids who are given a free pass will learn that they are entitled to get something for nothing.