MCCPTA Grading and Reporting Committee Update
February 2006
MCPS
recently issued the following clarification to their grading procedures
regarding homework for
completion, one of the categories of homework defined in
the document Homework Procedures in Grades 6–12 for 2005–2006.
The new language
provides as follows:
Homework checked for completion may
account for a maximum of 10% of the marking period grade. When turned in
by the deadline, this homework is given credit. Teachers will use
professional judgment to determine the value assigned to partially completed
homework.
Note:
Homework for completion is assigned to
build skills and understanding. This type of homework does not evaluate
learning and therefore is not graded for accuracy (e.g., correctness) or
quality (e.g., degree to which standards are met.) It is not intended to
penalize students who either fail to understand the material, make careless
errors, or are confused by the assignment and don’t know how to complete
it. Rather, the intent of this homework is to help students learn and
prepare them for subsequent tasks that are graded, e.g., tests, quizzes,
homework for learning, etc.
Therefore, when a student has turned in
“homework for completion” by the deadline, and when it appears to the teacher
that the student has made a good faith attempt to perform the assignment, the
student should receive full credit, regardless of the accuracy, quality, or
even completeness of the homework submitted. Only if, in the teacher’s
professional judgment, the student has not attempted in good faith to perform
the assignment, the teacher may then give partial credit for the homework.
This
clarification to section C.2.a., and as been added to the homework document
posted on the grading and reporting Web site at http://www.mcps.k12.md.us.info
A little
background:
Homework for
completion is, in essence, practice homework. Two years ago, when MCPS
first piloted implementation of the new grading and reporting
procedures , MCPS recommended that homework for completion not be graded
at all. The reason given was that under the theory of the new grading and
reporting policy grades are only supposed to reflect a student's mastery-- what
they have learned and are able to demonstrate. Practice homework is
an opportunity to practice and a student is not expected to have "mastered"
a subject yet when he/she is still practicing. However, it was determined
that when homework for completion "did not count", students did not
do it.
As a result, this
year (2005-06) the homework procedures allow for homework for completion to
account for up to 10% of a grade. In some classrooms though, teachers
were only giving students full credit on homework if they completed their entire
homework irrespective of whether the student understood the assignment or was
able to complete it without further assistance. MCPS initially responded
by issuing an FAQ advising that as long as homework for completion was turned
in by the deadline it should always receive full credit.
This created enormous concern at many local schools because
teachers reported that when students are told that homework for completion
is entitled to FULL credit irrespective of whether a student
has completed 1 out of 10 problems or 10 out of 10 problems, then students
will have no incentive to "complete" homework and will only
do the minimum amount knowing that they are guaranteed full
credit. Teachers and principals indicated that they saw this FAQ as a
"major shift" in the G/R policy and they advocated for the necessity
of allowing partial credit for "homework for completion" in order to
motivate students to attempt all the work in order to get full
credit.
The clarification
printed above is the final word on this topic and it supercedes
all other written procedures. It is critical for parents and students to
recognize that the spirit of this new homework for completion procedure is
to ensure that a student is given the opportunity to practice and is not
penalized if he/she does not yet fully
understand or needs more help. As long as "it
appears to the teacher that the student has made a good faith attempt to
perform the assignment, the student should receive full credit".
If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact Shirley Brandman,
Chair, MCCPTA Grading and Reporting Committee, 301-320-6033 or contact Ms.
Carol Blum, director, High School Instruction and Achievement, or Ms. Linda
Ferrell, acting director, Middle School Instruction and Achievement, at
301-517-5007
The
MCCPTA Grading and Reporting Committee is open to all
parents. Our next meeting is Monday, March 20, 2006 at Carver Educational
services. Room TBA. Look for announcements on the MCCPTA Bulletin.