A,B,C or is it 1,2,3?

Elementary education has transformed into a school that has state testing, standards and not enough time in the day to fit in the hectic schedule. The report cards alone are 6 pages long, that covers every aspect of the student's personality, interpersonal skills, academic achievement and intra personal skills. I found the Tribune article to really divulge into what many elementary schools are facing. Expectations for administrators and teachers has increased yearly and students are supposed to achieve more in less school time. Having the standards based report cards allows parents to understand where they're son/daughter is progressing or needs assistance.

I think that letter grades has been part of the education system for so long that to eliminate it, parents and students alike would always do comparisons. It is a set standard, there is an achievement level and from receiving a certain letter grade there is an understanding of your educational progress. Using in NYC for cleanliness, is a way to uphold standards and sometimes public humiliation is the best way to make changes. I think that there should be a policy of minor changes to be allowed before the final grade is given. I thought that some restaurant owners made valid points that it may be a turn off to many people who would eat there, but it also implies that maybe some places have not holding themselves to the highest quality and many people may have eaten in places that are not sanitary.

I don't think that grades are necessarily important for the students, but the parents need to know where there child is and more emphasis needs to be put on education outside of the school. In Chapter 4 on cooperation vs. competition phases, elementary students are more in their cooperative phases which emphasis is on belonging and fun. Students need to be given opportunity to develop social skills with other student and to learn how to act in a social setting. I think that once students shift to the competitive phase that is when those grades really become more important because of the standard set by their peers and teachers.