“Resolving” to Recognize that Report Cards are Less Meaningful than Student Mastery
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Dear Colleagues,
Introduction
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions.
I’m not opposed to them. It does not bother me that others make them. And, if others are successful in achieving their resolutions, that’s great. . . but it will not motivate me to make a New Year’s resolution next year.
Critically, in order to make a sound resolution, you need to reflect on what you are able to do, what you are not doing, and what you “resolve” to do or change in the future.
Personally, I think I do a pretty good job of ongoing self-evaluation.
While I don’t always “hit the mark,” I know what my “marks” are, I try to analyze why I miss some marks, and then I make a plan to make amends and do better in the future.
And maybe that’s
why I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I am in a continual state of growth
and self-improvement.
_ _ _ _ _
Speaking of marks. . .
A student’s high school grades have always been a strong predictor of college admission and college graduation, respectively (even more so than the SATs or ACTs). At the same time, a recent study—coincidentally, by the research arm of ACT—investigated high school grade inflation and its presence across different academic subject areas.
The study asked two questions:
1. Is there evidence of grade inflation for high
school graduating cohorts from 2010 to 2022 in English, math, social studies,
and science courses?
2. Does grade inflation vary by racial/ethnic background, gender, percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch at the school (FRL), or percentage of students from traditionally underserved racial/ethnic groups at the school (i.e., Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Pacific Islander)?
The study answered
these questions by analyzing the data from 6,871,894 students attending 3,884 different
high schools who took the ACT test between 2010 and 2022.
