The Desert IndependentTM

Serving Blythe, California & the Desert Regions of the Southwest

New-and-Improved Report Cards

A Report from the Parent Meeting of the Unified School District

By Robert E. Jensen
The Desert Independent

August 31, 2010

Q: What is an example of a positive consequence of my child doing his homework?

A: He will come to know the quiet satisfaction of successful learning.

Q: What is an example of a negative consequence of my child refusing to do homework?

A: He will not do very well on the Common Assessments.

Duh.

BLYTHE, Calif – A total of 11 parents, one student, six administrators and one journalist attended the poorly advertised meeting convened at the Palo Verde USD District Office for the purpose of rolling out the newest version of the much-maligned Standards-Based Report Cards for the edification of the parents of the community. This sales pitch did not go over well as more than one parent departed early in disgust at the lack of respect shown to the wishes of the leaders of the “Opt-Out” movement.

To bring the new reader up to speed, the Standards-Based Report Cards were introduced to the teaching community without regard for current Board Policy last year. Departing from the policy of allowing for letter grades based on percentages (ex. 90-100% = A) derived from multiple measures such as reports, assignments, homework, quizzes and tests, a series of tests known as Common Assessments were created by select staff and became the main impetus for the assignment of grades. Numerical grades came to the fore; 5.0 being “Advanced”, 4.0 being “Proficient, 3.0 denoting “Basic, etc. Class work no longer counted towards a grade, but rather the results of a 10-question quiz became the basis for the numerical grade.

A furor slowly gained force with a grass-roots campaign for parents to “Opt-Out” their children from the STAR testing in protest of these reviled forms of student feedback. The concerns of the “Opt-Out” movement are listed as follows:

1. Incessant testing in core subjects had become the norm whereas enrichment activities disappeared.

2. There was no “rounding-up” in the case of the student making it close to the new threshold of 95% required for Advanced or “A” rather than 90% in the old policy.

3. Homework no longer counted. Both parents and kids wondered why they should even bother when it no longer counted towards the Trimester grade.

4. The power to issue grades was taken away from the Teacher who – under Educational Code – was previously the final arbiter in these matters.

5. Multiple measures – again, an Ed. Code requirement – were tossed aside and the results of the Common Assessments became the unyielding determinant of the final grades.

6. Other subjects – such as Social Studies, Health, Science, PE, Music and Art were counted only as “Pass-Fail” courses – given very short shrift.

Fair to say, there were changes in place as revealed by Malcolm Butler. Mr. Butler adroitly answered one parent’s query as to the fact this his child knew the material backwards and forwards, but simply did not do well on tests.

“This is a problem of Content and Context,” explained Mr. Butler. “A student may be versed in addition and subtraction by doing the problems in a vertical format in class all year, but when faced with the same problems presented in a horizontal manner on a test, they freeze up.” This, and similar test-taking problems, were strategies that “will be addressed” this year.

Change #1. 95% is no longer the hurdle for indicating Advanced status; rather, the threshold has been lowered to a more humane 90%.

Change #2. While “rounding up” is still not allowed for those coming close to the grade thresholds, the numerical grading is now allowing for decimal gradations to reflect increasing percentiles. Rather than a simple “3” for Basic – there is allowance made for 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, for example, up to 3.9 before a student achieves a 4.0, or Proficient.

Change #3. “Grades” for homework. A student may earn a U (Unsatisfactory, S (Satisfactory) or O (Outstanding) when it comes to the Work Habits section of the Report Card.

These changes were hardly what could be considered a panacea to the disgruntled opinion leaders who were already unhappy in regards to the public and private assurances and compromises given them by Dr. Whitney in order to call off the parental boycott of the STAR testing.

Parents who failed to gain satisfaction from the Site Principal were summoned individually to the Office of the Superintendent for private conversations as to what the problems were. Dr. Whitney had his ears pinned back by more than a few parents – no more so than from the “Opt-Out” leaders. The “tipping point” had been reached by the parent protesters and Dr. Whitney became apprised of what 400 petitioners and a number of mad mothers could undo.

If only these parents would allow their kids to test and get the others to follow along, Dr. Whitney made some promises:

1. Parents would be involved in the summer work sessions to revise the SBRC’s. Not one was invited to the week-long session in June to share concerns.

2. Assurances were given that there would be a two-tiered grading system. The Common Assessments would continue as well as numerical grades but they would be joined with traditional grades based on multiple measures.

3. Homework would be honored and actual grades issued for all phases of successful completion.

The “Opt-Out” leaders relented and allowed not only their own kids to test but persuaded others to do so as well once these concessions, assurances and compromises were proffered. One parent event went to the microphone at the next Board meeting praising Dr. Whitney for his willingness to listen to their entreaties. However, once the clout of the rebelling parents was negated, every private and public assurance fell by the wayside.

Ruth Brown Elementary School went on to glean a remarkable jump in test scores – held back only by Math and ELA in the Fourth Grade. Felix J. Appleby made quantum leaps in scores across grade levels and sub-groups and only Margaret White of all the elementary schools appeared “dead in the water”. 

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