U-32 students who want to check their progress toward graduation can log on to Infinite Campus, where with a series of only 2 clicks students and parents to see a student’s “posted graduation standard proficiencies.” One-click on the “more” tab…
Category: Proficiencies
Maze to Graduation: 3 Repeated Messages from the Class of 2020
Note: This piece uses reporting from journalism class by Sage Winner, Anna Knauss, Mary Lorden, Emily Hunt, Cameron Edson, Jasmine Toro, Anna Farber, Maya Elliott, Ella Lyford, and Celia Teachout Part 1 regarding the Class of 2020 can be found…
Maze to Graduation: Lessons from the Class of 2020
Senior Jesse Wild rolls out of bed at around 8:30. His first class begins in an hour, and with a TA Zoom call in the afternoon and some homework to complete, his nights are usually free to play games…
U-32’s GPA Bailout
Six seniors with their GPA changes. Clockwise from Upper Left: JP McGinley, Jenna Mekkelsen, Gary Arleth, Ella Lyford, Shannon McGinley, and Amanda Reed. Their GPA’s rose as much as .5. U-32’s GPA Bailout On December 19th at 8:55, Owen…
PLP’s: “Checking the boxes to Proficiency”
Students at U-32 are required to demonstrate proficiency in Engaged Citizenship. In the school’s most recent description, a few examples were given for how one might complete that task: “One student might take a summer job with VPIRG (Vermont Public…
Transferable Skills: Critical or Forgotten?
“Can you be patriotic if you avoid the draft?” Students are circled around the edge of the room for a graded discussion in U.S. History, a required course for juniors. Patrick Towne sits listening, waiting for a gap to…
The Year of the Proficiency: Three Holes in our System
Christiana Martin, the AP US History teacher, leads a group of students through a review session. Her students achieve proficiency in economics without ever directly being assessed on the standard. The AP curriculum covers the topic enough times, that she…
Summer School: Opportunity or Penalty?
Editor’s Note: This piece includes reporting from Jacob Miller Arsenault. As each month passes, Drew Junkins, a Pre-Calculus and Geometry teacher at U-32, puts another big X on the calendar hanging in the front of his room. Students and teachers alike…
Summer School or Super Senior? 15 Juniors Respond to “The Meeting”
The cafeteria was packed with juniors giving blank stares or holding side conversations as Steven Dellinger-Pate explained the final steps the Class of 2020 has to take in order to graduate. Given the weight of the situation, few students seemed…
The Year of the Proficiency: Impact on Seniors
Kaisy Wheeler, a senior at U-32, was shocked by the outcome of her first quarter pre-calculus grade after it was converted from the proficiency system to the old carnegie letter grading system. “When you get a lot of twos, for…
The Year of the Proficiency: 3 Schools, 3 Inconsistencies
Every Thursday afternoon, U-32’s principal, Steven Dellinger Pate, has an open callback for students to discuss the school’s ongoing progress to define what proficiency means at U-32. Conversations are based on issues that the student body has identified, and a…
The Year of the Proficiency: Lessons from Maine
Editor’s Note: This article is based in research, but takes the view of an editorial on U-32’s proficiency-based grading system. Vermont is not alone in its struggles with proficiency-based learning. In 2012, one year before Vermont signed Act 77 into…
The Year of the Proficiency: Can you be “Advanced” without AP?
Sylvie Williams walks into pre-calculus class at 8:10 am on a Friday morning. Her teacher hands her an entrance ticket. She pulls out a pencil and sets to work. As she works to solve the domain of a function, her…
The Year of the Proficiency: An Introduction
This past summer, the U-32 administration hired a third party designer to produce glossy pamphlets that attempt to explain the Proficiency-Based Learning system, the major overhaul of the public education system mandated by Vermont state law under Act 77. The…
Do Proficiencies Motivate Students?
Students are scattered around the science lab in small groups. In front of each lies a packet and a small plastic dish. As the dishes are opened, students rush over to other groups, showing the bacteria-filled containers to their friends.…