Letter
grades like A’s and B’s are soon to be a thing of the past for public schools
in Maine. On May 19, 2012, the Maine
Legislature passed into law LD1422, An Act to Prepare Maine People for the
Future Economy, a bill sponsored by Senator Brian Langley. This law requires
schools in Maine that receive State funding to change from a letter grade
system, where scores are averaged to receive a mark to standards-based grading,
where students must demonstrate that they meet certain requirements before they
can move ahead or get credit for that particular class.
For Windham, this impacts the
current eighth grade class more than any other. The class of 2018 will be the
first one to graduate with the new proficiency-based diploma. What will that
look like? Administrators and teachers aren’t sure yet.
“We set the standards for what we
are going to hold students to to meet those standards,” said Windham High
School principal Chris Howell. Through the proficiency-based diploma Windham
High School (WHS) is certifying what a child knows and doesn’t know.
Each year when a child graduates
from a high school no one can tell exactly what the child has learned over
their educational career.
“Standards ensure consistent
learning expectations,” according to Leadership in Action, a briefing series
for New England educational leaders. “In many high schools, each teacher
decides how grades will be awarded. The result? Some courses are very
demanding, while others have few requirements. Grades may be based entirely on
the quality of a student’s work, while others consider attendance, class
participation, and homework completion. Without consistent learning
expectations, schools cannot make sure that all students acquire the essential
skills they need.”
No longer will students be promoted
by grade. They will have to pass the standards before they can receive credit
for the course, according to Howell. There will be many opportunities to meet
the standards. It’s not going to keep students from graduating if they missed
the standard the first time, there will be other chances, said Howell. To make
sure this happens, Howell and the teachers at WHS are revamping the curriculum
to provide those opportunities.
“Learning standards establish a
minimum level of proficiency, based on common high expectations, that all
students must meet before moving on,” said Leadership in Action.
“I hope when we graduate students
they will be better prepared and we’ll have greater transparency,” Howell said.
“We’re not going to do any harm to any kids.”
Schools that do not receive State
funding are not required to comply with the law. Schools like Windham Christian
Academy and Cheverus are not bound by the law to used standards-based grading.
Cheverus is planning to still use a traditional grading system, according to
assistant principal Bill Burke.
At WHS
“We are working pretty hard,” said director of
curriculum, instruction and assessment
at RSU 14 Christine Hesler. Using guiding principles and trying to figure out
how to report these to colleges are two things the administration is working
on. The RSU is working with Great Schools Partnerships, a non-profit
organization, to help schools implement standards-based learning.
At
WHS, for the first few years of this new grading system, there may be two
transcripts for graduating seniors. One will be traditional with letter grades
and a grade point average (GPA), while the other will be the proficiency-based
transcript letting colleges know which standards a student had to meet to earn
the diploma.
The
proficiency-based report card is not mandatory, according to www.gettingtoproficiency.org a State website for schools to
use as a resource to explain proficiency-based and standards-based learning and
grading.
“Letter
grades have nothing to do with the changes that are outlined. If I can sum
it up in one idea, this is about students demonstrating proficiency in all
standards to earn a diploma. Grades are feedback and are a product of the
process,” said Howell.
“The
last thing we want to do is hinder a student from getting into a school,” said
Howell. “It’s a complex system.”
For students in the special
education program, it could mean that they might not receive a diploma at
graduation, instead they would get a certificate of attendance if they do not
meet the standards set in their individualized education plan.
Having a system where students can
demonstrate proficiency in certain area, provides different educational
opportunities. “What do (parents) want the senior year to look like for their
kids? They could earn up to 30 credits from a community college or the University
of Maine for free or a very reduced rate,” said Howell.
Leadership in Action tells educators
that “The focus is on learning, not time. In most high schools, students are
expected to attend class for a certain amount of time every day and graduate in
four years. The time students spend in school is consistent, but what they
learn is often extremely inconsistent. In a proficiency-based system, learning
expectations remain constant while time is variable. One student may graduate
in three years, while another graduates in five—but every student graduates
prepared for future success.”
“Obviously this is a work in progress,”
Hesler said.
The Standards
There will be standards for every
class offered
at the high school level, with usually eight concepts to
master. Think of checks in a box that a student must receive to earn credit for
that skill. There will also be guiding principles,
for example a student needs to be a clear and effective communicator and
a responsible and involved citizen. These must also be met before graduation.
Tracking
the standards for teachers will be tricky.
Reporting and tracking 1,100 students is a lot of work. Hesler is looking into
software to track the standards for each child. It may be a dashboard of sorts
that is accessible to teachers, it may be something else. They are looking at a
few different programs. “I’ve got feelers out there to figure out what’s best
for Windham High School,” she said.
“This has to be perfect. We’re talking about
students and their college careers and technical careers,” said Howell.
Getting into college
“Colleges in Maine have signed off
on not to disadvantage a student from Maine,” Howell said. “In 2013, the New England Secondary
Schools Consortium approached colleges and universities throughout New England
and asked them to endorse proficiency-based approaches to teaching, learning,
and graduation, while also stating that no student will be disadvantaged
because they were educated in a proficiency-based learning system.” The schools
that signed this endorsement can be found at newenglandssc.org/endorsement.
The University of Maine in Orono is
one of the schools whose name is on that site. Sharon Oliver, senior director
of admissions, has seen different transcripts over the years. She’s seen
schools that rank students and some that don’t. “We are counting on the
information that the schools send us,” she said. “Different schools have
interpreted the law in different ways,” she said. According to Oliver, schools
like Windham send a sheet explaining the transcript to each college.
“When a student applies to a school
we send a report on what that means. We tell about Windham High School and
information about how they grade,” Hesler said.
Oliver said UMaine will rely heavily
on that description sheet.
“We want to see where the rubber
meets the road,” Oliver said. “What are the standards and did they meet or
exceed them.”
“We do a holistic read,” she said.
Standardized tests like the SATs also provide information for admissions
officers. “Summary data like GPA, class rank all help to make a snap decision,”
Oliver said.
Admissions wants to see what a
student was involved in, are they academically qualified for the major they are
interested in and can they be successful.
“We are counting on high schools to
work with us as a team,” Oliver said.
Colleges are invited to take classes
on how to evaluate the proficiency-based transcripts according to David
Svenson, from the marketing department at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish. “The
transcripts are considered equal for consideration. We are looking at the whole
package,” Svenson said.
Southern Maine Community College
said that the new transcripts will not affect them. “We want to see that they
have graduated from high school. The only thing we look for is that a student
has a minimum requirement for English competency. They find this out through the
Accuplacer, SAT, ACT or TOPEL standardized tests, according to an admissions
officer there.
At Boston University, one admissions
counselor, who asked not to be named, had never seen a proficiency-based
transcript. “Not having a GPA, one of the main criteria to match themselves up
to others and to not have one of the main criteria would certainly seem like a
downfall,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy to evaluate.” In a school that
receives 52,000 applications with certain programs needing a minimum GPA to
apply “it’s a disadvantage, almost a nuisance,” he said.
The administration at WHS is working
with the Department of Education in Augusta to make the transition easier for
students and parents.
“The last thing we want to do is
make things confusing for parents,” said Howell. The hard part for most
administrators is the perceived lack of support at the State level to support
this program financially. The law was supposed to go into effect last year, but
was held back because of lack of funding.
Hall-Dale High School graduated its
first class with standards-based grading last June, according to Howell. The
law goes into effect on January 1, 2014.
Oliver from UMaine summed up the requirements,
“it’s all about communication.”
At the RSU 14 administration has
said, this is a work in progress and will continue to evolve over the next few
months and beyond.
Homecoming
week is exciting for high-schoolers and this year was no different. Each day
last week, students dressed according to themes and causes. On Monday students
arrived in pajamas for pj day, Tuesday the teens showed the pride in their
favorite professional teams or as a superhero by wearing a shirt or costume,
Wednesday was wacky and Thursday was wear pink in support of assistant
principal Deb McAfee who is battling breast cancer. Friday was class day, where
students wear shirts declaring their class. First years wore gray, sophomores
wore maroon, juniors wore blue and seniors, who traditionally wear white, wore
Arctic camouflage.
Saturday
the band, athletic teams, members of each class and players from Windham Youth
Soccer Association gathered to march in a homecoming parade. Each class had a
float decorated with a theme. There the administration declared the senior
class the winner of the school spirit award with their seventies disco themed
float and ultimate school spirit. Fourth place went to the junior class with
their hip hop float, third went to the freshmen for “the roaring 2017s” float and
second was awarded to the sophomores with their Beatle’s inspirited creation. There
was a fair held after the parade and finally the week was capped off with a
homecoming dance at the high school Saturday night. 
