Milwaukee Public Schools surprise parents, teacher by moving to standards-based grading

Under the new grading system that is being put into place by Milwaukee Public Schools, little things like turning in work will no longer be important. Just like the system that has been put into effect, against the wishes of parents and most teachers at Joplin's East Middle School this year, Milwaukee has entered the standards-based grading era:

Administrators say the changes capture a more nuanced picture of a student’s academic progress. They also align with the push schools are making to implement the Common Core, a set of nationwide academic standards voluntarily adopted by most states that raise the bar on what students should know and be able to do in core academic subjects.

According to MPS, the updated report card identifies the skills students need to master in each grade level, and replaces overall letter grades with an AD for advanced, PR for proficient, BA for basic and MI for minimal. Proficient is the level expected for a student’s grade level.

The report card offers separate feedback about a student’s work habits, behavior and effort — such as following rules or arriving to class prepared — on a scale of 1 t0 4.

If this is what Common Core Standards are all about, then how in the world will they prepare students to become work or college ready? Any system that does not place a premium on actually doing the work is doomed to failure.