Honor Roll

A small group of passionate fifth grade parents attended the presentation about grading and Honor Roll last Thursday night. We had a great discussion about the meaning of scores on the new report card and whether Honor Roll fits this new paradigm. Although the temptation is there to translate number scores to letter grades, it is a mistake. They simply mean different things. A grade of a B on a report card presumably means that a student did better than average in that class. But does it really? How much of that grade is due to simply completing homework, whether accurate or not? How much is it a reflection of one low quiz in an otherwise stellar quarter? Is a “B” really above average if the average grade is an A- (as it was at CRMS for Q1)? Are we all well above average? There are so many variables behind traditional grades, that it is nearly impossible to truly interpret how much actual learning has taken place. After a fantastic discussion, there was consensus at the meeting that Honor Roll doesn’t make sense with standards-based reporting. It is like an oxymoron. Standards-based grading is as close as we can get to objective classroom reporting about student learning. The goal is to support student learning and mastery, and do whatever it takes to help students achieve it. Kids learn most things at different rates. We don’t want kids (or parents) fretful that they didn’t make honor roll because they hadn’t mastered their spelling words, yet were four grades ahead in reading. We reward students in so many ways at CRMS, from the Wall of Greatness to sportsmanship to achievement on standardized tests. As it is, anywhere from 65 – 80% of our student body makes the traditional honor roll. At some point, its intended purpose is diminished. When you combine the developmental level (and variation thereof!) of our student body with our new grading system, it just doesn’t make sense to continue with Honor Roll. For that reason, we will discontinue having an Honor Roll with standards-based report cards.