I am a State-certified teacher who does not believe this system is beneficial to either parents or students.
M
Michelle Provost
10 years ago
Featured
This new grading system is a step backward in so many ways, I'm not sure where to start. It has really taken the emphasis away from teaching and learning, to every assignment being an obstacle course trying to navigate each rubric. Goals for high achievement have become just a series of disappointments, as the ever elusive 4 is most often missed by just the slightest error or oversight. Even perfect papers with no mistakes don't receive a 4. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS EXPERIMENT ABANDONED!
L
lisa Strahla
10 years ago
I think this is the dumbest thing that they could do.
B
Beth Norwick
10 years ago
Keep BESD53 an excellant system, worth the taxes we pay!
C
Carol Henneike
10 years ago
Featured
I am very concerned with the SBG system. A child who is a high acheiver has to have perfect scores or go above and beyond to recieve a "4". This is unattainable for many at BUGC. In order to be on high honor roll, all "4's have to be acheived in every subject. What are my child's goals now? Realistically, I can not ask him to be beyond perfect. If a child recieves a "3", on most rubrics, that can be equivalent to an A,B or C. We have no idea if our child is an "A" student or a "C" student. I also hope my child understands that when they get to college, they need to study hard and do well on their tests because they will not be able to reaccess multiple times to do well. Hoping the old grading system is put back in place!
L
Lisa Musgrave
10 years ago
These are the exact issues I have been expressing since the beginning. I have sent emails, made phone calls, and have met with administrators. My questions are never answered.
L
Liza Dollenbacher
10 years ago
As a future teacher I find this system to be destructive to the students growth and motivation. In college they are given one chance to turn in homework and take a test and the score they get is what they get. This is teaching kids that they don't have to try anymore and making them lazier. School is about challenging us to new heights and going beyond our basic knowledge to learn new things and sometimes failing, but homework helps to secure that knowledge and get ready for the test and keeping that information stuck in our brain. Students in junior high and high school need grades A-F to keep them accountable because the development stage these students are at needs structure and helps the student want to reach for higher goals. In elementary school it should be meets standards or below standards because then students can come up with goals on how to improve various subjects. Parents are a huge factor in the development in their students. Parents these days need to be more involved in their child's life and especially school. I don't mean like being on their backs all the time about it but simply asking them if they have homework or need help processing information they have learned. It should be a joint effort. I believe that homework is necessary but shouldn't be hours and hours of it. Instead it should be a worksheet here or a couple problems there that would take less then an hour to complete to reinforce what was learned that day. Sorry I can't come to the meeting. I feel this is an important matter to be discussed and brought forth to the school board.
S
Shari Boudreau
10 years ago
I am not a parent of a student but am expecting our first in April. I have seen what my brothers go through and am not excited about my child going through that too.
R
Richard Hassett
10 years ago
I agree 100%
K
Krista Grable
10 years ago
Grades that my kids bring home are hard to understand because of this inconsistency from paper to paper. Please bring back the non standards based grading.
S
Shaun Grable
10 years ago
A paper was brought home by my son. It received a two, because the teacher questioned the picture of a car that was clearly a car with wheels, head lights and people inside. He is nine years old. Please show me a nine year who will draw a perfect picture of a car. This is s system setup to fail. Fours are nearely impossible. Students are not motivated one bit to do homework and complete a task. A skill of which they will need in life. Grading is inconsistent and will be across the board from one teacher/class to another. BESD 53 has lowered themselves from being one of the great school districts to being a follower of others schools that have shown poor judgement. This was an awful decision. I request by signing this petition that we go back to the grading scale of 1 - 100% where kids are graded according to what they learned and completed. I am tired of seeing papers come home with one thing wrong and a "2" on the page.
B
Bonnie Harpin
10 years ago
We have 2 grandchildren in school now and another future student. We want them ALL to succeed!
A
Anonymous
10 years ago
Our kids are pretty smart. It doesn't take long for them to figure out they don't have to work as hard. This has been a good school district so far. I would hate for this to ruin the good reputation they have earned. This should be a learning experience for them, and they should bring back the tried and true grading system.
J
Jason Peterman
10 years ago
I have done a considerable amount of research on standards based grading, and I have found that it is not a good system for Bourbonnais. It is a system developed to fill a void under the federal program "No Child Left Behind". It is a system designed to point out the areas that the under achieving kids struggle with, so they can be helped out and brought up to the point of "passing" and not be "left behind". This system is completely subjective based on the discretion of the teacher. The goal is to get all students in an average range. This is a good system for certain districts that score below average and it also works well for special needs classes. However, District 53 is a higher achieving district, therefore it is not a good district for this kind of system. The problem with this system in a higher achieving group is that by trying to get all students average, you pull down the higher achieving students. They have nothing to strive for, and if four's are not achievable most students will only do the minimum work and get their three like everyone else. I have a lot more information, but I will save that for a later date...possibly at the upcoming school board meeting. I would strongly encourage all parents who are concerned to come to the school board meeting and voice their concern. I am signing this petition not to make changes to the SBG system but to abolish the system and return District 53 to traditional grading.
A
Anonymous
10 years ago
They are playing the game of "chance " with my kids education. The teachers are just as clueless as the rest of us and it shows in the lack of communication and overall frustration with the children. My daughter comes home and says she misses her kindergarten teacher almost ever week.
A
Anonymous
10 years ago
This is preventing us from moving into this school district.
J
Jill Morgan
10 years ago
Featured
I've never thought I would want to move out of this district as I fought to keep my kids in it this year, but after the grading change I am looking elsewhere for next school year! Sad that this is what parents are forced to do!
A
Amy Roosien Peterman
10 years ago
I am very concerned for how this grading system will effect our children long-term when I can already see the effects of it short-term. My daughter, who was normally an all As and a few Bs student, is frustrated because she wants the 4s, but isn't always given the opportunity to achieve them. So, why work hard for what isn't attainable? I'm also not sure why honor cords have been removed from 8th grade graduation and why there will no longer be a Salutatorian or Valedictorian at the high school level. Those are wonderful things for which to strive. I believe kids need short-term and long-term goals in order to make them stronger life-long learners. Also, since this system has also been implemented in the high school, how will colleges recognize this grading system? How will they know where a student has placed in his/her class? How can a student receive scholarship money when there is no GPA to look at? How will this system help our children to transition someday to real-world situations? I know there are many things in life that you don't get a redo on. And it looks to me that this system is showing our kids that you don't have to work hard the first time, because you can just try again and shoot for mediocre.
H
Heather LeClaire
10 years ago
It's going to make our kids lazy and dumb why try hard when you can do basic and be okay..
V
Victoria Gerson
10 years ago
I believe the that the new grading system gives no motivation to our children to strive for excellence, especially when they are graded in numbers. To my kindergartener at Shepard there is no set goal that she is working toward such as straight A's and being on the Honor Roll because that no longer exists. These children need to see how well they are doing and be rewarded for their achievements. The parents also need to be able to know what expectations the schools are setting for their children's educations. The new grading system has to become obsolete.
I am a State-certified teacher who does not believe this system is beneficial to either parents or students.
This new grading system is a step backward in so many ways, I'm not sure where to start. It has really taken the emphasis away from teaching and learning, to every assignment being an obstacle course trying to navigate each rubric. Goals for high achievement have become just a series of disappointments, as the ever elusive 4 is most often missed by just the slightest error or oversight. Even perfect papers with no mistakes don't receive a 4. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS EXPERIMENT ABANDONED!
I think this is the dumbest thing that they could do.
Keep BESD53 an excellant system, worth the taxes we pay!
I am very concerned with the SBG system. A child who is a high acheiver has to have perfect scores or go above and beyond to recieve a "4". This is unattainable for many at BUGC. In order to be on high honor roll, all "4's have to be acheived in every subject. What are my child's goals now? Realistically, I can not ask him to be beyond perfect. If a child recieves a "3", on most rubrics, that can be equivalent to an A,B or C. We have no idea if our child is an "A" student or a "C" student. I also hope my child understands that when they get to college, they need to study hard and do well on their tests because they will not be able to reaccess multiple times to do well. Hoping the old grading system is put back in place!
These are the exact issues I have been expressing since the beginning. I have sent emails, made phone calls, and have met with administrators. My questions are never answered.
As a future teacher I find this system to be destructive to the students growth and motivation. In college they are given one chance to turn in homework and take a test and the score they get is what they get. This is teaching kids that they don't have to try anymore and making them lazier. School is about challenging us to new heights and going beyond our basic knowledge to learn new things and sometimes failing, but homework helps to secure that knowledge and get ready for the test and keeping that information stuck in our brain. Students in junior high and high school need grades A-F to keep them accountable because the development stage these students are at needs structure and helps the student want to reach for higher goals. In elementary school it should be meets standards or below standards because then students can come up with goals on how to improve various subjects. Parents are a huge factor in the development in their students. Parents these days need to be more involved in their child's life and especially school. I don't mean like being on their backs all the time about it but simply asking them if they have homework or need help processing information they have learned. It should be a joint effort. I believe that homework is necessary but shouldn't be hours and hours of it. Instead it should be a worksheet here or a couple problems there that would take less then an hour to complete to reinforce what was learned that day. Sorry I can't come to the meeting. I feel this is an important matter to be discussed and brought forth to the school board.
I am not a parent of a student but am expecting our first in April. I have seen what my brothers go through and am not excited about my child going through that too.
I agree 100%
Grades that my kids bring home are hard to understand because of this inconsistency from paper to paper. Please bring back the non standards based grading.
A paper was brought home by my son. It received a two, because the teacher questioned the picture of a car that was clearly a car with wheels, head lights and people inside. He is nine years old. Please show me a nine year who will draw a perfect picture of a car. This is s system setup to fail. Fours are nearely impossible. Students are not motivated one bit to do homework and complete a task. A skill of which they will need in life. Grading is inconsistent and will be across the board from one teacher/class to another. BESD 53 has lowered themselves from being one of the great school districts to being a follower of others schools that have shown poor judgement. This was an awful decision. I request by signing this petition that we go back to the grading scale of 1 - 100% where kids are graded according to what they learned and completed. I am tired of seeing papers come home with one thing wrong and a "2" on the page.
We have 2 grandchildren in school now and another future student. We want them ALL to succeed!
Our kids are pretty smart. It doesn't take long for them to figure out they don't have to work as hard. This has been a good school district so far. I would hate for this to ruin the good reputation they have earned. This should be a learning experience for them, and they should bring back the tried and true grading system.
I have done a considerable amount of research on standards based grading, and I have found that it is not a good system for Bourbonnais. It is a system developed to fill a void under the federal program "No Child Left Behind". It is a system designed to point out the areas that the under achieving kids struggle with, so they can be helped out and brought up to the point of "passing" and not be "left behind". This system is completely subjective based on the discretion of the teacher. The goal is to get all students in an average range. This is a good system for certain districts that score below average and it also works well for special needs classes. However, District 53 is a higher achieving district, therefore it is not a good district for this kind of system. The problem with this system in a higher achieving group is that by trying to get all students average, you pull down the higher achieving students. They have nothing to strive for, and if four's are not achievable most students will only do the minimum work and get their three like everyone else. I have a lot more information, but I will save that for a later date...possibly at the upcoming school board meeting. I would strongly encourage all parents who are concerned to come to the school board meeting and voice their concern. I am signing this petition not to make changes to the SBG system but to abolish the system and return District 53 to traditional grading.
They are playing the game of "chance " with my kids education. The teachers are just as clueless as the rest of us and it shows in the lack of communication and overall frustration with the children. My daughter comes home and says she misses her kindergarten teacher almost ever week.
This is preventing us from moving into this school district.
I've never thought I would want to move out of this district as I fought to keep my kids in it this year, but after the grading change I am looking elsewhere for next school year! Sad that this is what parents are forced to do!
I am very concerned for how this grading system will effect our children long-term when I can already see the effects of it short-term. My daughter, who was normally an all As and a few Bs student, is frustrated because she wants the 4s, but isn't always given the opportunity to achieve them. So, why work hard for what isn't attainable? I'm also not sure why honor cords have been removed from 8th grade graduation and why there will no longer be a Salutatorian or Valedictorian at the high school level. Those are wonderful things for which to strive. I believe kids need short-term and long-term goals in order to make them stronger life-long learners. Also, since this system has also been implemented in the high school, how will colleges recognize this grading system? How will they know where a student has placed in his/her class? How can a student receive scholarship money when there is no GPA to look at? How will this system help our children to transition someday to real-world situations? I know there are many things in life that you don't get a redo on. And it looks to me that this system is showing our kids that you don't have to work hard the first time, because you can just try again and shoot for mediocre.
It's going to make our kids lazy and dumb why try hard when you can do basic and be okay..
I believe the that the new grading system gives no motivation to our children to strive for excellence, especially when they are graded in numbers. To my kindergartener at Shepard there is no set goal that she is working toward such as straight A's and being on the Honor Roll because that no longer exists. These children need to see how well they are doing and be rewarded for their achievements. The parents also need to be able to know what expectations the schools are setting for their children's educations. The new grading system has to become obsolete.