School Board of Broward County Board Workshop – February 12, 2013

1. School Board of Broward CountyBoard Workshop – February 12, 2013

2. School Board of Broward CountyBoard Workshop – February 12, 2013

3. School Board of Broward CountyBoard Workshop – February 12, 2013

4. Substantive Policy Considerations for 2013-14 School Board of Broward CountyBoard Workshop – February 12, 2013

5. 2 • Committee Meetings • & Workgroups • October 1, 2012 • October 30, 2012 • November 5, 2012 • November 19, 2012 • December 3, 2012 • December 10, 2012 • January 9, 2013 • February 4, 2013 1 Public Invitation for Review Tuesday, January 29th 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm KCW 3 Public Wiki http://studentprogressionplan.wikispaces.com/ Stakeholder Input

6. A A B B C C D D F F The Power of the “F”

7. F percentage range 0-59 F percentage range 50-59 CURRENT PRACTICE Suggested by committee See Page __ of Policy 6000.1 The Power of the “F”

8. Pros (of Committee Recommendation) The percentage range for “F” will be 10 percentage points (similar to A, B, C, D) Minimizes “no chance for success” grading scenarios in classrooms Grading practice aligns to current research recommendations Discourages use of “grades as weapons” Helps to separate “learning assessment ” from “behavior and attitude” Cons (of Committee Recommendation) • Requires teacher and parent education • ETS programming changes required • No evidentiary research showing positive impact on student outcome (at this time) • Can be perceived as interfering with a teacher’s professional discretion as to determine grades • Can be perceived as allowing students to avoid taking responsibility for their learning • Can be perceived as “unfair” to students who put forth effort to attain high levels of achievement The Power of the “F”

9. How’s that workin’ for you? The BCPS dropout rate increased from 1.6 percent in 2010-11 to 2.0 percent in 2011-121. The Power of the “F”

10. If a 60 is passing, which students are passing? • Which students should be passing? The Power of the “F”

11. Continue to Convert to Points Before Averaging Exams or Eliminate the Point Conversion of Calculating Report Card Grades

12. CURRENT PRACTICE Report card will continue to reflect letter grades calculated by the current method of converting percentages to points and then averaging Suggested by committee Continue to Convert to Points Before Averaging Exams or Eliminate the Point Conversion of Calculating Report Card Grades Report cards, term grades, and final grades will reflect the average percentage earned in a course

13. CURRENT PRACTICE Continue to Convert to Points Before Averaging Exams or Eliminate the Point Conversion of Calculating Report Card Grades

14. Cons (of Committee Recommendation) • Exams have little power to help a student’s grades. A “B” student cannot raise his grade to an “A” by scoring well on the exam • Reported grades will not be as accurate a reflection of student performance as is possible • Incremental improvements or declines in student performance will not be communicated • The current reporting of letter grades does not allow for sufficient impact of exam grades Continue to Convert to Points Before Averaging Exams or Eliminate the Point Conversion of Calculating Report Card Grades Pros (of Committee Recommendation) • Grade reporting will be consistent with past practice of letter grades that translate into a 4-point scale • No ETS changes required • A shift in grading practices with the shift to competency-based learning is on the horizon – too many changes may be confusing and the current change may be undone

15. Board Member Request: Revisit the “gpa” impact of high school courses taken by students in middle school. Before: High School courses taken in middle school impact only the “core gpa” used by the State and Post-secondary Institutions Effective July, 2012: High School courses taken in middle school impact the “weighted gpa” used locally only to determine class rank Impact of High School Courses Taken in Middle Gradeson the High School Weighted GPA

16. CURRENT PRACTICE Keep the July 2012 change in place. High school courses taken in the middle grades impact the gpa for all students equally, regardless of grade Suggested by committee Impact of High School Courses Taken in Middle Gradeson the High School Weighted GPA Return to “before” where only “unweightedgpa” is impacted for students in middle grades taking high school courses

17. Cons (of Committee Recommendation) • For middle grade students who do not want to risk impacting their weighted gpa (class rank), the selection of high school courses available to them may be limited Impact of High School Courses Taken in Middle Gradeson the High School Weighted GPA Pros (of Committee Recommendation) • Consistency with previous ruling • Equity of impact on students regardless of grade level • No ETS changes required

18. Academically Challenging Curriculum to Enhance Learning (ACCEL) F.S. 1002.3105, Effective July, 2012 Clarify ACCEL Language

19. Ensure statutory alignment to ACCEL legislation by providing more specific language with regard to ACCEL opportunities REQUIRED See Page __ of Policy 6000.1 Clarify ACCEL Language Current policy is too general and primarily addresses virtual-ed acceleration

20. ACCEL options are offered to all students, K-12, to provide academically challenging curriculum or accelerated instruction. Each school offers: • Whole-grade and midyear promotion • Subject-matter acceleration • Virtual instruction in higher-grade level subjects Additional ACCEL options may include, but are not limited to, the following: • Enriched science, technology, engineering, and STEM coursework • Enrichment programs • Flexible grouping • Advanced academic courses • Combined classes • Self-paced instruction • Curriculum compacting • Advanced-content instruction • Telescoping curriculum SAMPLE CURRENT LANGUAGE SAMPLE REQUIRED LANGUAGE See Pages __ of Policy 6000.1 Clarify ACCEL Language Mid- or full-year promotion may occur within the school at the principal’s discretion in accordance with the procedural guidelines established by the district. When a parent requests such acceleration, the principal may implement an academic contract. Failure of the student to meet the conditions of the contract may result in reassigned of the student to the previous grade level. A student may be mid-year promoted only when the student has …..(varies for elementary and middle school levels)

21. Cons (of ACCEL Legislation) • ACCEL options are challenging in light of class-size and budgetary constraints • Virtual school acceleration can decrease a school’s FTE • ACCEL related processes increase staff work load without additional funding support Clarify ACCEL Language Pros (of ACCEL Legislation) • Language addresses mid-year, whole-grade, subject, and state credit-acceleration-program (CAP) options K-12 • Allows for personalization and student acceleration of learning • Provides a formalized process for student acceleration • Provides student, parent, and school accountability

22. Broward County Public Schools The School Board of Broward County, Florida Laurie Rich Levinson, Chair Patricia Good, Vice Chair Robin Bartleman Donna P. Korn Ann Murray Katherine M. Leach Abby M. Freedman Dr. Rosalind Osgood Nora Rupert Robert W. Runcie, Superintendent of Schools