The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County is scheduled to vote on a new policy that would replace the current high school semester exams with more timely quarterly assessments at its next meeting, scheduled for November 4, 2015.
School system staff members has been working on the policy since last school year, and have had discussions with a variety of student, parent, and teacher groups. The Board has publicly reviewed the policy twice – at its September 16, 2015, and October 21, 2015, meetings – and has accepted public comment on the policy and regulation.
Under the draft of the policy and regulation being reviewed by the Board, quarterly assessments will be taken by children in grades 3 through 12 during normal class periods and will reflect material covered during a given amount of time. As this topic has been being discussed, the Division of Curriculum and Instruction has been creating assessments that reduce the amount of tests children must take.
If implemented, the policy and regulation would alter the way grades are calculated for high school students. Currently, a student’s semester grade is made up of two marking period grades (40 percent each) and a semester exam grade (20 percent). Under the proposed policy and regulation, 50 percent of a student’s semester grade would come from each marking period. The quarterly assessment would make up 10 percent of a marking period grade.
Under the proposed policy and regulation, quarterly assessments need not be written exams. In a dance or art class, for example, the assessment could be a performance or project.
To see the video of the September 16, 2015, presentation to the Board of Education, click here.
The Board will meet on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. to vote to go into closed session, during which time it will discuss confidential matters as permitted by the Maryland Open Meetings Act including, but not limited to, legal advice, personnel, and negotiations. Closed session is not open to the public. The general session of the meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 10 a.m.
A complete agenda for the meeting can be found below. More information on agenda items will be posted on the AACPS website in the Board Docs section under the Board of Education tab.
The general session of Wednesday’s Board meeting will be broadcast live on AACPS-TV, which can be found on Channel 96 on Comcast and Broadstripe, and Channel 36 on Verizon. High definition broadcasts can be seen on Channel 996 on Comcast and Channel 496 on Broadstripe. Rebroadcasts are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. the day after the meeting and 2:00 p.m. on subsequent Sundays.
The meeting can also be viewed live on the Internet here.
Archived videos of Board meetings can be found online here.