Granger high school
Tri-Color Times An open forum for student opinion and expression
TRICOLORTIMES.COM
OCTOBER 2018 LXI-II
New PBG grading gives students control of their grades By Stephanie Gutierrez BACK TO school brings more than joy to teachers and students; it also brings stress. A new grading system has been sent out to Granite District teachers. Proficiency-based grading or as many know it, ‘PBG,’ has been put in place. Not only does it affect the way teachers score assignments, but it affects students, as well. Many may understand both proficiency-based grading systems and letter grading systems incorrectly. However, certain clarifications need to be made. With the current letter-grading systems, students are allowed to earn extra credit in any subject, and extra credit activities aren’t always related to subject matter knowledge. Hence, letter grades might not be an accurate reflection of how much students know about a subject.
On the other hand, grading using PBG allows teachers to grade students based on whether they meet or exceed standards-based expectations. Whereas with proficiencybased grading, students are provided with a variety of opportunities to show how proficient they are in a subject. With PBG, homework will not be given to be graded but for feedback on what may need to be improved. This grade will only reflect the student’s proficiency on a standard while behavior in class is counted towards citizenship. The PBG grading system focuses more on how well students master the subject they are learning instead of doing a worksheet given to buy some time. Therefore, students will be graded on how much knowledge they have on a subject. Proficiency-based
grades allow students to retake assessments until they are proficient in a subject. Furthermore, ‘points’ will not be deducted unless the student shows a lack of effort in a subject. That means no points will be taken off of an assignment if it is late. Accessing Gradebook will also be a different experience, because it will be giving a different display to the viewers. Though viewers may still see the normal transcripts, attendance, and report card, viewing PBG grades will be accessed through standards instead of assignments. This will show viewers a red, yellow, or green bar indicating the proficiency level on the standard. Teachers are trained to explain to students that when they check Gradebook, the grades given will be the ones deserved, which will
be based on the student’s effort towards the standard. Though the grading system may be new to many teachers, there are plenty of resources on proficiency-based grading, as seen on the graniteschools.org website. To many this might not be what fits best. Mr. Timothy had a strong opinion on whether having a proficiency-based grading system will allow the Gradebook platform to translate a 1-4-based grading scale to letter grades. Whereas for Mr. Stones, working with PBG grading isn’t anything new. “It shows students different parts of a subject to better understand what needs to be improved. The idea is that you’re breaking it into standards and you’ll be able to target what needs to be fixed,” Mr. Stones said. Stones has been using this continued on page 4
Step by step, Granger High’s teachers will switch to a performance-based grading system that Granite School District hopes to fully implement within two years.
Interest in swim team grows for 2018-19 season By Liliana Arreola THE GRANGER High swim team has gotten a lot more people to join this school year. Students seem to be more interested in the sport, which is a great thing. In previous years, fewer people have been interested in the sport, but this year many people have been excited about it. Elena Flores (12) has been swimming for two years. “I want to do something that is challenging,” Flores said. Challenging your body is a great thing. Being in swim can help you with that. That is one of the many reasons people join swim. People have an interest in swim for many reasons: it’s an
easier sport, they love swimming, it’s a way to challenge yourself, and it can also be because it’s the only sport they can manage. Swim helps people with stress relief. It’s a sport not many people think of, and it is one of the least common sports people join. “I joined the swim team because it is fun. Running for me is hard because my hips are injured, so swim is a great thing for me. You also get the chance to meet new people,” John Winder (9) said. Meeting new people is a goal for many and being in a sport can help with that. Many sports involve a lot of running, but for those who don’t like running or can’t run, swim is
a great thing to do. Being a part of the swim team could help students meet new people that enjoy the sport, too. When students do what they love, there are always many great rewards. “My dream is to be in the Olympics; I want to represent my country. I want to be the first of my people to take a gold medal. Swim is my passion, and it helps with the problems I deal with,” Arthur Lirano (10) said. Passion drives people to success and they can accomplish many goals when that passion is visible. Being in swim in high school could later on end up leading to the Olympics. It would be an accomplishment for many people to
be in the Olympics. Representing a country can be a goal for anyone and everyone, no matter where they come from. Being in swim could help them reach future goals they want to accomplish. “Swim is fun. There are outgoing people that are in swim. All of them accept you for who you are, they support you all the way through, and they encourage you. They are unique people that like to socialize,” Mehagan Tsosie (10) said. Many people are finding swim as a place to have fun while doing something they love. In swim, they all encourage each other and support each other in what they do.
Coaches and players have bad days By Miguel Acosta PLAYERS deal with a lot of pressure from academics, sports, and personal life. Coaches go through a lot of stress as well, and it may be hard for coaches to maintain a good relationship with their students and players. Coaches may coach more than one team and teach classes. With all that stress you never know what kinds of problems may come up in the players or coaches’ lives, like dealing with a loss of a close family member or friend, parent getting a divorce, etc. Nonetheless, coaches and players have a way of making a player feel like they are there for them. Edward Lolani (12), the captain of the varsity football team, trusts his teammates and his coach to help when another player on the team needs help. “Coach would let the players know about a player who has had something happened to them, so that way we can be there for the player and help with positive attitudes,” Lolani said. “Coach never forces someone to play if they’re having a bad day or if something is happening with that team member. It is up to the person to decide if he is comfortable enough to tell a coach.” While they may occasionally have bad days, coaches stand ready to help players with their problems. “We’re explicit in our support. We take him aside and have private meetings with him to see what we can do to help. We encourage our players to be nice to each other. We’ve had kids lose loved ones and parents go through divorces, etc,” Mr. Chandler, boys basketball head coach, said. And when things get tough in their personal lives, the coaches turn to each other for support. Chandler remembers this happening in his life last year. “Absolutely. We all have bad days. I try not to bring that with me, but sometimes it just happens. Last year, my father went through a heart attack and a triple bypass. We had a game right after, and I wasn’t as mentally present as I could have been because I was worried about my father’s recovery. Everybody is human, everybody has stress, and everybody has a whole life outside of basketball. Sometimes they blur together,” he said.
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