Tag: Grades

This report focuses on a competency-based grading initiative at Carroll Middle School. The initiative was implemented from 2018-19 to 2020-21 to address the lack of alignment between report card grades and End-of-Grade (EOG) test results and was designed to ensure consistent delivery of standards-based instruction, formative assessment, and grading. The report addresses changes in stakeholder perceptions over time and describes the instructional approaches used. The results show that while students’ and teachers’ satisfaction with the grading system improved, some parents remained unsure of how to interpret competency-based grades. Since EOGs were not administered in 2019-20 and results were influenced by low participation rates in 2020-21, we were unable to examine possible proficiency changes during the initiative’s implementation. However, we were able to identify Carroll graduates in high school to examine their performance. We compared the grade point averages (GPAs), first quarter grades, and grade 9 retention rates of Carroll Middle School graduates to that of other freshmen in the same high school in Fall 2021. Results show that Carroll graduates did as well as students from other middle schools. These results suggest that Carroll should consider providing more support to parents to build understanding of the standards and grades, discuss ways for parents to support their children’s learning in the competency-grading environment, and address parents’ concerns about the interpretability of grades. School administrators should continue to support teachers in their competency-based grading efforts.

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Students in Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) continue to score well on AP exams with an increased percentage of students enrolling in the courses. As in past years, in 2013 the district had higher average AP exam scores compared to the state and the nation. WCPSS had 76.6% of scores 3 or higher in 2013 (qualified and above). Again in both 2012 and 2013, a high number of students took exams in Environmental Science, English Language & Composition, Psychology, and Statistics. Schools can use these data to benchmark themselves against their own past performance as well as their peers across the district. Encouraging more students to participate in AP classes and take the exams, in addition to other high-level coursework, should help WCPSS graduates be college and career-ready.

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A Digest of UNC System Reports on Freshman Performance: 2006-07

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For students who failed Algebra in 1994-95, repeating the course in summer school was as effective as repeating the course the next school year in improving students' knowledge. End-of-Course test scores improved for both groups (with no significant differences between the groups), and students who took the course during summer school were more likely to pass than those repeating the course during the regular school year.

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