1School Board of Broward CountyBoard Workshop – February 12, 2013

SubstantivePolicy

Considerations

for 2013-14

Table of Contents

Section

Item Pages

1. Power Point Presentation 1-21

2. Attachment A: Policy 6000.1 1-68

3. Attachment B: Campbell, 2012 1-5

4. Attachment C: Carifio & Carey, 2010 1-12

2School Board of Broward CountyBoard Workshop – February 12, 2013

What Did WeLearn Today…

…AND How DoYou Know?

3School Board of Broward CountyBoard Workshop – February 12, 2013

SubstantivePolicy

Considerations

for 2013-14

4Stakeholder Input

Committee Meetings& Workgroups

October 1, 2012October 30, 2012November 5, 2012

November 19, 2012December 3, 2012

December 10, 2012January 9, 2013

February 4, 2013

Public Invitationfor Review

Tuesday, January 29th

7:00 pm – 8:30 pmKCW

Public Wikiwww.studentprogressionplan.com

1 2

3

5The Power of the “F”

FF

ABC

D

ABC

D

6The Power of the “F”

Fpercentage

range 0-59

Fpercentage

range50-59

SUGGESTED BY

COMMITTEESee Pages 12, 20, 29 of Policy 6000.1

CURRENT PRACTICE

7The Power of the “F”

Pros(of Committee Recommendation)

• The percentage range for “F” will be 10 percentage points (similar to A, B, C, D)

• Minimizes “no chance for success” grading scenarios in classrooms

• Grading practice aligns to current research recommendations

• Discourages use of “grades as punishment”

• Helps to separate “learning assessment ” from “behavior and attitude”

• Teachers have the perrogative to assign “incompletes” until the student turns in the work.

Cons(of Committee Recommendation)

• Requires teacher and parent education

• ETS programming changes required

• No evidentiary research showing positive impact on student outcome (at this time)

• Can be perceived as interfering with a teacher’s professional discretion as to determine grades

• Can be perceived as allowing students to avoid taking responsibility for their learning

• Can be perceived as “unfair” to students who put forth effort to attain high levels of achievement

8The Power of the “F”

How’s that workin’ for you?

The BCPS dropout rate

increased from 1.6 percent

in 2010-11 to 2.0 percent in

2011-121.

9The Power of the “F”

• If a 60 is passing, which students are passing?

• Which students should be passing?

Student 1 0 74 78 80 = 58

Student 2 20 65 71 74 = 58

Student 3 58 58 62 62 = 60

10Continue to Convert to Points Before Averaging Exams or

Eliminate the Point Conversion of Calculating Report Card Grades

11Continue to Convert to Points Before Averaging Exams or

Eliminate the Point Conversion of Calculating Report Card Grades

Report card will continue to reflect

letter grades calculated by the current method of

converting percentages to points and then

averaging

SUGGESTED

BY

COMMITTEE

Report cards, term grades,

and final grades will reflect the

average percentage earned in a

course

CURRENT PRACTICE

12Continue to Convert to Points Before Averaging Exams or

Eliminate the Point Conversion of Calculating Report Card Grades

Calculating with Points

Grade before exam:

Exam can raise

the grade to:

Exam can

lower the

grade to:

A A BB B BC B CD C DF D F

Calculating with Percentages

Grade before exam:

Exam can raise

the grade to:

Exam can

lower the

grade to:

A A DB A DC B FD C FF D F

CURRENT PRACTICE

13

Pros (of Committee Recommendation)

• Grade reporting will be consistent with past practice of letter grades that translate into a 4-point scale

• No ETS changes required• A shift in grading practices with

the shift to competency-based learning is on the horizon – too many changes may be confusing and the current change may be undone

Cons(of Committee Recommendation)

• Exams have little power to help a student’s grades. A “B” student cannot raise his grade to an “A” by scoring well on the exam

• Reported grades will not be as accurate a reflection of student performance as is possible

• Incremental improvements or declines in student performance will not be communicated

• The current reporting of letter grades does not allow for sufficient impact of exam grades

Continue to Convert to Points Before Averaging Exams or Eliminate the Point Conversion of Calculating Report Card Grades

14Impact of High School Courses Taken in Middle Grades

on the High School Weighted GPA

Before:High School courses taken in middle school impact only the “unweighted gpa” used by the State and Post-secondary Institutions

Effective July, 2012:High School courses taken in middle school impact the “weighted gpa” used locally only to determine class rank

Board Member Request:

Revisit the “gpa” impact of high school courses taken by students in middle

school.

15Impact of High School Courses Taken in Middle Grades

on the High School Weighted GPA

Keep the July 2012 change in place.

High school courses taken in

the middle grades impact the gpa for

all students equally, regardless

of gradeSUGGESTED BY

COMMITTEE

Return to “before” where only

“unweighted gpa” is impacted for

students in middle grades taking high

school courses

CURRENT PRACTICE

16Impact of High School Courses Taken in Middle Grades

on the High School Weighted GPA

Pros • Consistency with previous ruling• Equity of impact on students

regardless of grade level• No ETS changes required

Cons• For middle grade students who

do not want to risk impacting their weighted gpa (class rank), the selection of high school courses available to them may be limited

17Clarify ACCEL Language

Academically Challenging Curriculum to Enhance Learning (ACCEL)F.S. 1002.3105, Effective July, 2012

18Clarify ACCEL Language

Ensure statutory alignment to

ACCEL legislation by providing more specific language

with regard to ACCEL

opportunities

REQUIRED

Current policy is too general and

primarily addresses virtual-ed

accelerationSee Pages 11, 17, 27 of Policy 6000.1

19

SAMPLE REQUIRED LANGUAGE

Clarify ACCEL Language

Mid- or full-year promotion may occur within the school at the principal’s discretion in accordance with the procedural guidelines established by the district. When a parent requests such acceleration, the principal may implement an academic contract. Failure of the student to meet the conditions of the contract may result in reassigned of the student to the previous grade level.

A student may be mid-year promoted only when the student has …..(varies for elementary and middle school levels)

ACCEL options are offered to all students, K-12, to provide academically challenging curriculum or accelerated instruction. Each school offers:• Whole-grade and midyear promotion• Subject-matter acceleration• Virtual instruction in higher-grade

level subjects

Additional ACCEL options may include, but are not limited to, the following:• Enriched science, technology,

engineering, and STEM coursework• Enrichment programs• Flexible grouping• Advanced academic courses• Combined classes• Self-paced instruction• Curriculum compacting• Advanced-content instruction• Telescoping curriculum

SAMPLE CURRENT LANGUAGE

20

Pros(of ACCEL Legislation)

• Language addresses mid-year, whole-grade, subject, and state credit-acceleration-program (CAP) options K-12

• Allows for personalization and student acceleration of learning

• Provides a formalized process for student acceleration

• Provides student, parent, and school accountability

Cons(of ACCEL Legislation)

• ACCEL options are challenging in light of class-size and budgetary constraints

• Virtual school acceleration can decrease a school’s FTE

• ACCEL related processes increase staff work load without additional funding support

Clarify ACCEL Language

21Broward County Public Schools

The School Board of Broward County, Florida

Laurie Rich Levinson, ChairPatricia Good, Vice Chair

Robin BartlemanDonna P. KornAnn Murray

Katherine M. LeachAbby M. Freedman

Dr. Rosalind OsgoodNora Rupert

Robert W. Runcie, Superintendent of Schools