Letter-Grade System Flunked

Like neckties and hemlines, the school report card changes with the trends of the moment.

Of late the fashion has been toward soft-toned--some would say fluffy--grading as educators emphasize self-esteem and low-pressure learning.

But a new state policy requiring schools to flunk students who fail to meet academic standards is forcing districts to toughen up their grading systems.

The promotion policy will go into effect across the state next year.

Trying to align with the state’s push for higher standards, several Orange County school districts are turning to new report cards, said Linda MacDonell, director of instructional services for the Orange County Education Department.

Instead of getting a C or an even vaguer “Needs to Improve” in math, a student might now get a 3--for basic proficiency--in long division and a 4--for excellent proficiency--in fractions. The specificity will benefit students and parents, MacDonell thinks.

“This is kind of an in vogue thing now,” she said. “What does an A tell you, really? When you were in school, was there a teacher you didn’t want to get because he didn’t give A’s? Or a teacher you did want because she always gave A’s?”

Students Will Know Whether They’re Passing

The Anaheim City School District is among those that switched to numbered report cards, starting this school year.

The detail in the numbered report card gives specific grounds for holding a student back or promoting him or her to the next grade, said Anaheim trustee Christopher B. Whorton. The change was accompanied by much training for teachers and principals and detailed explanations for parents at open houses.

“The first reaction we got from people was, ‘Wait a minute, what are you telling me? Why aren’t you giving me A’s, Bs and Cs?’ ” Whorton said. “But when we told them what the specifics were, they said, ‘That’s what I really need.’ The feeling now is that we’ve gotten a very positive reaction.”

The giant Los Angeles Unified School District also has revamped its report card, substituting hard criteria and unequivocal numbers for the vague check marks that used to prevail in kindergarten through third grade.

No longer will mediocre students be allowed to get by with the ego-salving “Shows Growth.”

This year, all students down to kindergarten age will know whether they are passing or not.

A 3 or a 4 is passing. A 1 or a 2 is not.

In the fourth and fifth grades, the same hard-and-fast system has replaced the traditional A,B,C marks in use last year.

District officials who designed the new report card said the old letter system lacked a clear-cut dividing line between passing and failing. The C grade, generally interpreted as average, offered refuge to students who weren’t keeping up, they said.

New System Came With Teacher Training

The new system got its first tryout in August and October when year-round schools sent out their first progress reports.

Traditional calendar schools sent reports home last month.

Teachers have received detailed guidelines explaining how to gauge students’ achievement in dozens of standards for each subject area.

The transition has proved challenging and sometimes disturbing for teachers.

In particular, kindergarten teachers worry that the standards are too regimented.

“You’re asking children to do something that developmentally they’re not ready for,” said Karen Park, kindergarten teacher at Ivanhoe Elementary School. “Those that can’t shouldn’t have to.”

Others found themselves stumped by having to give a number grade early in the year on a standard that is meant to be mastered in June.

To clear up that problem, the district is preparing a pacing plan that shows when each standard should be introduced, mastered and reviewed during the year.

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Time staff writer Kate Folmar contributed to this report.