Eagle County Schools' new "standards-based grading" raises concerns among some parents
Eagle County Schools has put in a lot of work to explain just what "standards-based grading" is as they move over to it instead of your regular A, B, C, D, F grading system. But that hasn't stopped critics from reaching out to CBS News Colorado with their concerns about the new direction the school system is going in.
In short, Eagle County School District Superintendent Philip Qualman said the new system "is where you provide feedback to students and families specific to a learning target or expectation, instead of a letter grade that is translated to all the skills."
"You can get more specific and give more direct feedback," Qualman said. The system is intended to deprioritize "points" in grading, and focus more on the learning outcomes of students.
Henry Goetze, an educational psychologist and a grandparent of two kids in the district believes this new system has the potential to harm teachers, students and the public at large.
"Are we really going to see an improvement in retention of information, achievement and how is that going to be measured?" Goetze asked.
One of his main concerns is the departure from the standard GPA, how that will affect college admissions, and the overall learning potential for kids without harsher consequences.
"Kids' attendance in class doesn't count," Goetz said. "Whether a kid does their homework can't go towards their grade, whether a kid is well behaved doesn't count, whether a kid participates in class or does their notes and in this new culture of revision, if a kid takes a test and gets a C or a D or a 1 or a 2 they have the right to go to that teacher and say 'I'd like to take that test again.'"
The school district is excited by what they are calling a "movement away from a grading system that was not all that accurate to begin with" for this new program. Qualman argued that students in current systems might be getting a B or an A, but that doesn't mean they have a good grasp on the information, only that they might be able to get to school on time, be polite or even bring in tissue boxes or a signed syllabus.
"That can change a grade but is not relevant whether or not the student has expanded knowledge into the area," Qualman said.
Eagle County School District is not the first district to take on the new policy in the country, nor in Colorado. Qualman pointed to nearby high-country schools who have been using the system for a while, and kept it. He told CBS News Colorado when learning was forced online during the pandemic, it was their oppurtunity when they came back to in-person learning to make a dramatic shift and get all 14 schools on the same page with grading.
Goetze believes this system will harm students more than help them, but is willing to accept it if the district is able to prove with standardized tests that the final outcome and lessons learned really are there.
"If they school district was looking at external validity, predictive validity, if they were looking at ways this will impact kids and how do we know, i wouldn't be so concerned," Goetze said. "I am not seeing that happen and that is what i want to know that they are doing."
Qualman offered a personal invitation to any parent who has concerns about the change to come into their administration office and sit down with them to make sure they are comfortable with the shift.
