Study questions grading system

From the BCCT. This is an uncomfortable stance to take. If you can't score, change the way the scoring is counted. We'll only count "impact" now.

No need to know if the student knows the answer to the equation 2+2. All we need to measure is that the child can say, "That's an addition problem."

It's a tricky balancing act to draw that line between success and failure. Set the bar too low and the illusion of success covers the fact that no real learning is gained. Set it too high and the mass failure and frustration inhibit learning.

Here's the time honored formula for setting the benchmarks of success:

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely

Study questions grading system
By RACHEL CANELLI

Without hacking into a computer or handing in extra-credit work, failing grades could be turned into passing grades — just by using a different grading system.

A new Ohio State University study recently found three-quarters of U.S. schools deemed to be failing by federal mandates based on state standardized test scores would receive passing grades by measuring the impact the schools have on learning instead.

While local experts agreed with some aspects of the study, they also said it’s flawed and raises questions.

The researchers said they developed a new method to measure school quality based on the impact districts have on learning and how much faster students learn during the school year than over the summer.

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, a national U.S. Department of Education survey, the analysis focused on more than 4,200 children in almost 300 schools across the nation, officials said.

It measured the kids’ math and reading scores at the beginning and end of the kindergarten school year, and the beginning and end of the first grade, administrators said.

“Our impact-measure more accurately gauges what is going on in the classroom, which is the way schools really should be evaluated if we’re trying to determine their effectiveness,” said Douglas Downey, study co-author and a sociology professor at Ohio State University.

Although some students scored low on achievement exams, the study found through its own testing before and after each school year that the kids were learning at a reasonable rate — and faster during the year than over summer vacation. Some area educators called the finding obvious because, during the school year, children are being taught by professionals whose job is to help them learn.

“It’s flawed and just leaves a lot more questions,” said Pennsylvania distinguished educator Karen Hessel. Working in Bristol Township for the past two years, she’s one of more than 40 consultants in the state trying to help turn around struggling schools.

“We can’t change students, and the standards remain the same. It takes some kids longer to master information than others. But if you give them time, and they’re taught well, they will learn,” Hessel said. “Let’s put the excuses aside and get about the business of doing our work.”

Research statistician Paul von Hippel, though, called most states’ current ranking system distorted because they compare children of different, and sometimes disadvantaged, backgrounds.

“[This new study] suggests that many schools serving disadvantaged kids are doing a good job with children who face a lot of challenges,” Downey said.

Holy Family University educators and administrators said there’s already an even better way to judge a student’s progress — the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System, which many school districts already use to compare a child’s growth from one year to another.

Still, Len Soroka, dean of Holy Family’s School of Education, and Grace O’Neill, associate professor of education, both agreed with the study’s suggestion that schools with the highest test scores aren’t necessarily where the most learning is taking place.