Student leaders seek less weight for exams

Staff Writer

Not surprisingly, students at the county's public high schools want fewer attendance requirements and do not want final exams to account for more of their grades.

But not because they want to slack off, the students said.

"Students see tests as a reflection of one day and not cumulative for the whole semester," said Jinny Jang, a junior at Wootton High School and vice president of the county's student government association, which met recently at Sherwood High School.

Student leaders met to discuss possible changes to the county's grading and reporting procedures. Two possible changes could make a big difference for high school students: increasing the weight of the final exam and losing credit for unexcused absences.

Finals currently are worth 25 percent of the final grade.

But students who do well during the year can skip the final and still pass the course -- especially graduating seniors, who have nothing to lose.

A group of parents and school system staff is recommending the final be worth 31 percent of the grade, which would make it necessary to take and pass the final in order to pass the course.

Student leaders oppose increasing the weight of the final and want the school system to offer an exemption from finals for students who get an "A" for both of their semester grades. That would reward the students who do the hard work during the semester, they explained.

"A two-hour exam shouldn't determine whether you pass or fail," said Deanna Head, a junior at Damascus High School.

Increasing the weight of the final may give students less incentive to pay attention and do the regular course work, and create more cramming and stress for the final, argued Herschel Hartz, a senior and student government president at Walter Johnson High School.

The "double-A" exemption is highly unlikely because teachers see the finals as preparation for college entrance exams, said Betsy Brown, a supervisor in the school system's Office of Curriculum and Instruction and co-chairwoman of the grading advisory group. In addition, the state tests required for graduation are given as final exams.

Classroom attendance is another big issue.

Students taking high school courses lose credit if they have five or more unexcused absences or 15 or more unexcused tardies. Absences do not directly affect the grades in middle or elementary school courses.

But the high school attendance policy is applied inconsistently and causes more paperwork for teachers, according to a summary from the grading and reporting panel.

Being in class is valuable, student leaders said, but being in class every single day should not be required. They cited themselves as examples: They were all missing class to participate in the student government assembly.

Brian Stelter, a senior at Damascus High School and the student government secretary, said he has missed his English class three times already this semester.

Although students are not penalized for excused absences, it creates paperwork hassles for students and principals, and sometimes there are errors in the system, Stelter said.

The loss of credit policy is likely to be changed. Although attendance is important, it is a behavior, Brown argued, and the intent of the grading panel is not to base grades on behavior.

One option would require students to attend 90 percent of classes -- 81 days -- with no distinction between excused or unexcused absences.

Another option would be to allow credit by examination; students would take a test to show their proficiency and get credit or be allowed to enroll in a more advanced course. That would end the "seat time" requirement, forcing students to sit through courses they do not need.

The systemwide review of grading policies and practices will go to the school board in January, with final approval scheduled for March. Officials say they hope the end product will give teachers more consistent guidance about grading and give parents a clearer idea of what their children know.

Parents will get two more chances to review possible the possible policy and regulation changes: today from 7:30-9 p.m. at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, and Thursday from 7:30-9 p.m. at Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring.