It’s the time of the year – semester’s end – when student and parent alike think about grades. For those of you new to PFFS, we have a system of providing feedback, assessment and grades that is different from most public schools. It can be confusing at first, but ultimately we believe our system provides way more specific information about what our young people know and can do than does the traditional system.
To help clarify our program, we are holding a Parent Night on January 13th, from 5:30-6:30 at PFFS-Downtown. We are having the event shortly after first semester Narratives have gone home (January 9th) so that you will have those in hand for the discussion.
You can use Schoology to see whether or not students have turned in assignments and how they did on them. Please know, however, that those grades are NOT intended to be averaged. Most assignments are assessed on a 4 point scale that roughly and imperfectly translates our H (highly proficient) P (proficient) N (near proficient) and U (underperforming). If your child is receiving many 3s, they are performing at a level that is proficient for their grade level.
If you want to read more about the difference between the mid-semester Progress Report and the end of the semester Narrative, see Progress Reports
To read a blog post discussing the larger issues and challenges around grades see The Thing About Grades
