Jeff Bergosh Blog: No Zero Grading Part VI: Coincidence, or Corroboration?

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Monday, April 13, 2015

No Zero Grading Part VI: Coincidence, or Corroboration?

I don't believe in coincidences, I think things happen for a reason.

I'm not Ron Fisher and I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night, either, but I can clearly see something troubling in the two report cards I've linked above.

These are two report cards from this year reflecting the work of two non-ESE students from two different Escambia County Middle Schools.

But here is the thing:

When looking at all the "F" Grades from these two report cards on Q2 and S1--one can clearly see that there are no "F" scores recorded that are below a "50." I have redacted the names of the students, the teachers, the courses, and the schools, but I can report that these six instances of "Fs" being registered as exactly "50" and no lower are from six different teachers at two separate schools reflecting the work of two different students.

So if we're not doing "No Zero Grading" institutionally at these schools--what are the odds that all six of these "F" grades would be exactly "50" on the only two report cards from these schools I have ever seen? Why not 30, 42, 26, 48, or 19? How are all the lowest "F" grades magically, exactly "50" and no lower?" It would be fascinating to see how the ghost of Ron Fisher would write up the equation rationalizing these F's all equaling exactly 50 and no lower...

As I have discussed in multiple entries to this blog over the last several days, I get the troubling sense that we, at some of our district schools, are instituting a different grading scale than that which is in Board Policy (and Fl. Statutes), printed in the Student Progression Plan, the Parents Hanbook, and that which is printed in the upper right corner of the report cards above. This troubles me because I have been told by teachers that this is happening, that artificial grade floors are being created--and these two report cards appear to corroborate this claim.

Yet I have been told by administrators that this is not happening, "to their knowledge."

I will be asking the top district administrator about this today.

I will get to the bottom of this at this week's School Board meetings.