Parents see pitfalls in new grading system

“Can there be a proficiency-based learning grading equivalency?” asked parent Sandy D’Alesandro Huber. “I admire Vermont is on the forefront of this, but we want to continue without damaging the kids leaving high school for college.”

The new 1-5 proficiency scale, which has no gradations, is frustrating to admissions counselors, Huber claims, and it’s not widely recognized. Merit-based scholarships are also based on grade-point averages, and if there are no traditional grades, how will that work?

Huber and a number of other parents would like the school board and the administration to develop a GPA equivalency for the proficiency scale or offer side-by-side 1-5 and A-F reporting, at least until colleges across the country come on board with the new system.

“One benefit of the proficiency-based system is that it creates a comprehensive view of each student. But that doesn’t mean we have to eliminate the traditional grading system,” said Kerry Glanz. “At both school and work, these kids are going to be graded against their peers.”

Added Leigh Pelletier, “Without a GPA, the report card says proficient, but students don’t know where they fall in relation to the rest of the class. There’s also no easy GPA conversion when it’s only 1-5.”

If everyone is proficient or proficient with distinction at the time of graduation, they’d have a score of 4 or 5. There would be no 4.5 or 4.82.

“How will you pick a valedictorian? If they’re all 5’s, how can you differentiate between students?” Cindy Jackman asked.

Theodore Casparian, a math tutor in Stowe, doesn’t think the students should be differentiated, and to him, the proficiency-based learning is fabulous.

“The point is not about, I’m better than you are. It’s about just knowing the material before graduation,” he said.

As the board continues to develop the report cards and the transcripts for students under the proficiency-based system, board chair Cara Zimmerman said that keeping the lines of communication open with parents will be key. While she didn’t have a response to any of the parents’ questions at this point, the goal right now is to get through the first-quarter report cards and go from there. As the board figures out how the reporting system needs to change, it will keep parents and students in the loop.

The school has a few years yet to completely figure it out, as this year’s juniors and seniors will graduate under the old reporting and grading system. The sophomore and freshman classes will see the new report cards and transcripts.

Community use of schools

Last spring, a controversial autism summit scheduled at Stowe High School tested the school board’s policy on who’s allowed to use school facilities.

The board plans to bring the issue back to residents at Town Meeting Day in March.

The autism event had been approved months in advance, and when major questions arose, it was too late for the board to kick the summit off school property, but the school district does have the option to limit public use in the future if that’s what residents want.

Use of the facilities can’t be limited according to the content of the message without running afoul of federal free speech laws, but officials could allow only municipal or school-related events to be held on school grounds, shutting out a number of other organizations that rent them out. That list now includes the Vermont Beekeepers Association, the annual Bitter Lacrosse Tournament, Stowe Performing Arts, Stowe Derby, Vermont Symphonic Winds, and others.

The current policy, in place since 2005, allows anyone, not-for-profit or for-profit, to apply to use any of the Stowe School District’s buildings.

The community funds the schools, so the argument was that people in the community should be able to use the grounds when school isn’t in session or using them for other events.

The plan is to bring the conversation to the annual town meeting for community input, because “this is really a townwide issue, not just a school issue,” said board member Emily Bradbury.

Any vote next March would be nonbinding under the “other business” category, and if the board ultimately decides to revise the policy, it will have to go through the policy change process, which would require further public hearings.