To: Bishop Frederick Campbell, Superintendent Joe Brettnacher, Father Matthew Hoover, and Principal Colleen Kent
Immaculate Conception School: Revert to the conventional letter-based grading system
6th, 7th and 8th grade at Immaculate Conception School should change back from standards-based grading to the conventional letter-based grading system.
Why is this important?
It is imperative that the bright, talented and hard-working Immaculate Conception students be allowed to be in a position to be academically competitive as they approach their high school career. It is my belief that at this time letter-based grading in 6th, 7th and 8th grade is what will best prepare Immaculate Conception students to be academically competitive as they apply for and enter high school.
1. Letter-based grades allow for parents to better gauge their student’s grades. For example, with standards-based grading, in some cases a student could get 70% to 100% correct to receive “meets standards” on an assessment. Students have little motivation to push for an “A” when percent correct results in the same grade on the report card.
2. With standards-based grading, students can reassess if they receive an “I” (improving) or an “N” (does not meet standard) so some types of students (even good students) don’t have the sense of urgency to do their best the first time.
3. When applying for high school admission and scholarships, standards-based-grading paints a very ambiguous picture of academic performance. It is difficult to convert standards-based grades to a format to compare to letter-based grades that other diocesan grade schools and high schools use, which makes it difficult for our students to compete.
4. The difficulty in conversion mentioned in issue #3 is also a concern when placing high school freshmen in course levels.
1. Letter-based grades allow for parents to better gauge their student’s grades. For example, with standards-based grading, in some cases a student could get 70% to 100% correct to receive “meets standards” on an assessment. Students have little motivation to push for an “A” when percent correct results in the same grade on the report card.
2. With standards-based grading, students can reassess if they receive an “I” (improving) or an “N” (does not meet standard) so some types of students (even good students) don’t have the sense of urgency to do their best the first time.
3. When applying for high school admission and scholarships, standards-based-grading paints a very ambiguous picture of academic performance. It is difficult to convert standards-based grades to a format to compare to letter-based grades that other diocesan grade schools and high schools use, which makes it difficult for our students to compete.
4. The difficulty in conversion mentioned in issue #3 is also a concern when placing high school freshmen in course levels.