Our school has been doing this at the elementary level for years. It seemed totally arbitrary what constituted a 3 versus a 4. I still remember my oldest, who is now in high school, arguing with her second grade teacher that she deserved a "4" in independent reading. DD was reading multiple books a week that were significantly above grade level. She asked her teacher, "How could I possibly get any more independent or read at a higher level?" The teacher said with a straight face that all of the kids in the class were doing the same thing so everyone got a "3" no exceptions. Ugh!
In middle school it seemed to be used selectively to give kids the chance to bring their grade up if they bombed a big assignment or a big test. I actually like this approach since middle school grades don't count in the grand scheme of things and you want to make sure that the kids get the concepts.
In high school, it's grades only all the way.
Last edited by knute974; 10/08/15 04:31 PM.
