Student grades in school reports under review as principals claim they are unfair and inaccurate

CONTROVERSIAL school reports that grade students from A to E will be scrapped under a plan by principals who believe they are inaccurate and unfair.

CONTROVERSIAL primary school reports that grade students from A to E will be scrapped under a plan by principals who believe they are inaccurate and unfair.

The grading system has been bitterly contested for more than a decade by teachers and parents who claim it can “stigmatise” children, label them a failure and destroy their self-esteem.

Education Minister Rob Stokes agreed to a review of student reports after the NSW Primary Principals’ Association claimed they were “no longer meeting the needs of students”, The Saturday Telegraph can reveal.

Mr Stokes said the principals had raised “valid concerns that the present system of student reports and the A-to-E scale can be improved”.

Education Minister Rob Stoles has agreed to a review of student reports after claims they “no longer meet the needs of students”. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

“For some years the Australian Education Act has required all states to report student achievement on a five-point scale for each subject … twice a year,” he said. “These reports are required to be an accurate and objective assessment of the student’s progress and achievement.”

Mr Stokes said he would ask the NSW Education Standards Authority to consider the principals’ concerns about student reports in an upcoming review.

“We need student reports to be as helpful and informative as possible for schools, parents, students and teachers,” he said.

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The standardised A-to-E grading system, a condition of federal funding imposed on the state government in 2008, was fought by the NSW Teachers’ Federation all the way to the Industrial Relations Commission.

Primary Principals’ Association president Phil Seymour said allocation of A to E grades varied widely and was often used to display effort rather than performance.

“Inconsistencies are systematically embedded across grades, stages and schools and jurisdictions,” he said.

“The NSWPPA has found that the mandatory use of A-to-E grades in schools has not served schools, parents/carers, teachers or students well.

“New technologies and national resources have made this reporting scale outdated and no longer meeting the learning needs of students.”

Students Asher Christopher, 9, Shreya Dutta, 9, Fiona Crockett, Maeve Christopher, 6, and Nicole Brady, 9, in Roseville. Picture: Justin Lloyd

The principals have recommended to Mr Stokes the “abandonment of A-to-E grading in favour of an individual growth model that focuses on (a student’s) cumulative progress, advice on next steps and future learning strategies”.

It is not yet known what revised reports will look like or how the most contentious issue of comparisons between children within a class will be shown.

Parents and Citizens’ Federation president Susie Boyd said: “A to E is a perception and is very subjective, especially when associating value judgements to creative writing. The underlying purpose of education is allowing a student to experience challenges, to take risks and to learn from those experiences.”

The grading scale is designed to show a student’s depth of knowledge, understanding and range of skills.

It can be shown as A to E or the words “Outstanding”, “High”, “Sound”, “Basic” or “Limited” indicating that they equate to the letters.