Evidence Based Reporting (EBR) is starting to be integrated into the freshmen grading system. How will it change learning at South?
EBR is a system of learning which focuses on students attaining proficiency in given standards predetermined by the state. As a current student, I have found that the A-F scale doesn’t incentivize or measure real learning, so I welcome a change. However, the EBR system is not without its problems. Nyasia Lee, a freshman who has already had EBR phased into many of their classes and prefers traditional grading, had this to say about it. “I like A-F more because it’s a bit easier. I think the grading scale is more reflective of what you actually learn. In EBR, if you get a 2 in one spot, you have a 2 for the entire class. If you get two 1’s, you get an F for the entire class. I don’t like that.”
Although EBR was created in part to reduce teacher bias and subjective grading, it may be doing the opposite. In the current proposed grading scale, a few bad grades early in the semester can bring down a student to a not proficient (F) or partially proficient (C-D) grade, even if they make it up for it with outstanding grades later on. In light of this, the system also gives teachers the power to override EBR-given grades if they feel they are inaccurate, which nullifies the objectiveness that was the goal of EBR in the first place.
Nonetheless, EBR is liked by some students, such as freshman David Robinson. “I would prefer EBR. I like how not all the homework is graded – you can do all the homework if you choose to, but not all of it is graded. I also like how you can do retakes – that helps a lot.”
As EBR is being implemented, it isn’t just changing how students learn, but also how teachers teach. I sat down with Mrs. Hansen, a Latin teacher at South and Davies, which has already implemented EBR, to understand the issue from a teacher perspective.
Devyn: “How has EBR changed how you teach?”
Hansen: “It has gotten me to focus more and zero in on what skills are essential for Latin – Which in turn helps the students focus more on what they are expected to do.”
Devyn: “How do you think EBR helps teachers?”
Hansen: “For translation, instead of going sentence-by-sentence, we instead are looking at what kind of errors students are making (i.e. vocab, tense, noun usage). I look at translations as a whole, and it actually goes a lot faster for me… I can look at the overall picture and see if they made a lot of [specific kind of errors]. In order to get a proficient score, I can look to see if students are proficient in those areas. That also gives students better feedback on what they need to study.”
Devyn: “Has EBR been hard to transition to?”
Hansen: “Yes. The thing is that our district is not doing half of EBR: the behavior and responsibility piece. Because that part is missing district wide, it’s really hard to stay accountable. I have a lot of kids who aren’t doing their homework, and that’s affecting their proficiency. So then I’m having to add things in myself, like you can’t do a retake unless you have all your practices done, which is a bookkeeping nightmare for me. That’s also hard for parents and students because every teacher is doing their own thing like that, instead of having a district policy. So it’s confusing because it’s different in every class, so students and parents don’t know what to expect.”
Devyn: “Do you think EBR is currently subjective?”
“Yes; there are problems with the bimodal matrix (proposed grading calculator). The way that it calculates grades does not work with powerschool, so that’s another issue district wide that we need to figure out, because Powerschool is not set up for EBR. That does make it harder for teachers, because we are having to check every student’s grade and make sure it’s being calculated correctly and if it makes sense. That is making it harder for teachers.”
Devyn: “On an ending note, would you say EBR in the long-run is more beneficial for students learning?”
“I believe it is. I agree wholeheartedly with the thought and the theory behind EBR, but it’s the logistics that are making it tough.”
Although EBR has issues, it has the potential to be a great system for students and teachers alike. We urge the school district to recognize its issues and move forward with remedying the problems it presents.
