It’s time to re-think six-week grading periods

Many students don’t look forward to the end of the six-week grading periods because of the plethora of due dates. From tests, to projects, to essays and, of course, a heavier homework load than usual, teachers have to rush to get grades entered by the deadline.

There was a time when this system made sense. The six-week grading periods originated before the use of the Aeries online grading system. They were a tool that teachers used to finalize grades followed by a report card so that students and parents could get an idea of a student’s grades in each subject.

But now we have Aeries, and parents have 24-hour access to their sons’ and daughters’ grades, missing assignments and how they are doing in their classes as a whole.

In short, six-week grading periods are no longer needed. The Thursdays and Fridays at the tail end of these six-week blocks certainly appear to be some of the most hectic times of the school year, unnecessarily adding to students’ stress. Almost every teacher sets the due date for one major assignment or test during that Thursday or Friday. This amounts to about four tests and a couple projects in addition to the nightly homework.

Assigning this many tests and projects to students in a short period of time means that they’ll be challenged to complete all the work. Imagine the amount of time a student needs to invest, for example, to prepare for four tests and create two graphic novels, all while keeping up on homework and reading.

This does not leave much time to truly understand new concepts and practice enough to feel confident. Students hurry to finish projects they would otherwise devote greater time and energy to. Quality of work and true comprehension of material go out the door.

At the same time, teachers must feel almost the same way students do since they have to plan, grade and enter most of the assigned work before the six-week deadline. Rather than focusing on the grading periods, teachers should channel their energy and efforts into teaching students well rather than trying to throw a bunch of grades into Aeries before the deadline.

Our idea is simple: Eliminate the six-week progress reports altogether.

As high school students, we have a responsibility to check our progress ourselves. The only grading periods that should remain are semester grades, because those are the only grades that show up on transcripts.