The email below was sent to the parents of Talbot County Public Schools on or around August 14.
This NEW grading policy, Policy Code 9.38-AR, was enacted via an Administrative Regulation “AR” and will go into effect THIS current school year, 2026-2027.
This new policy eliminates the highly unpopular “50% minimum floor” policy used for grading last year. In 2025-26, Talbot County “increased” its math proficiency by 1.8% to 20.7% and reading proficiency by 1.4% to 46.8%.
Interestingly, another Eastern Shore county, Worcester, has a math proficiency of 48.8%, which is 28.1% higher than Talbot, and a reading proficiency of 69.9%, which is 23.1% higher than Talbot. They had COVID in Worcester too.
Worcester, Queen Anne, and Caroline all score higher than Talbot in both categories.
Compared with statewide results, Talbot is 6.4% BELOW Maryland in math proficiency and 4.9% below in reading.
Please do your homework as you read below to understand “Summative vs Formative.” Understand subjective vs. objective grading. Every one of the parents and teachers questioned about this “new” grading policy are dumbfounded.
Could this leave the door open for “moving the grading goalposts” again with this NEW policy? You decide.
If you consider these results dismal for the almost $19,000 per child we taxpayers spend annually for each Talbot County student, then don’t accept the apologists’ excuses or fall for their sleight of hand – no amount of footnotes or spin can change the actual numbers, the actual results, and the facts.
Vote for Change. Eight years of efforts by Emily Jackson and Amy Dodson, although well-meaning, nevertheless have been a failure for the children of Talbot County and for the taxpayers.
Please vote for change and fresh ideas from true educators, and elect Mike Butler, Lisa Hayes, and Anne Rosen to the Talbot County School Board.
Shari Wilcoxon
Chair, Talbot County Republican Central Committee
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Dear TCPS Families,
Over the past year, TCPS has conducted a comprehensive review of its grading practices in collaboration with teachers, administrators, and families. Informed by district data, research, community feedback, and grading simulations, TCPS will implement the following new grading practices for the 2026-2027 school year.
Key Shifts in Elementary (PreK-5th Grade)
Competency-based standards (SP / DP / AP / EM / NM) will be used for ALL grades PreK-5. Previously, grades 3-5 received traditional letter grades.
Why: Competency standards are clusters of related skills within a subject that are assessed together and reported using a four-level scale instead of a single letter grade. This model creates one consistent reporting model across every elementary grade. A proficiency scale shows what a student can actually do, rather than compressing that into a single letter — giving a clearer, more accurate picture of learning and growth for young learners.
Parents/guardians will be able to see progress on individual assignments and observations throughout the marking period, not just at report card time.
Why: Increases transparency and keeps families informed in real time, so concerns can be addressed early rather than coming as a surprise at the end of the marking period.
Progress is evaluated as both academic and developmental, using work samples, performance-based tasks, observational data, and classroom curriculum assessments.
Why: Reflects that early learning includes developmental growth alongside academics, and ensures grading is based on multiple, well-rounded sources of evidence rather than a single test or assignment.
Competency Standards Proficiency Scale (PreK-5)
SP — Surpassing Proficiency: skills and understanding exceed grade-level expectations in this area.
DP — Demonstrating Proficiency: skills and understanding meet grade-level expectations in this area.
AP — Approaching Proficiency: skills and understanding are approaching grade-level expectations.
EM — Emerging: skills and understanding are just beginning to develop in this area.
NM — Not Measured: this skill has not yet been taught or assessed in this marking period.
Key Shifts in Grades 6-12
Grading Weight
– Formative weight: previously 30% of the reported grade, now 40% of the reported grade.
– Summative weight: previously 70% of the reported grade, now 60% of the reported grade.
Grading Scale (6-12)
Grades 6-12 use a hybrid model: traditional letter grades (A+ through F, including I and M for incomplete or missing), paired with a 4-point quality scale, with no artificial floor on individual assignment scores (minimum “50% as the floor grading” is eliminated).
For more information on the grading scale, please visit this additional resource.
Other Key Changes
Every unit must include formative assessment(s) before the related summative, covering all the same learning outcomes, with adequate time for feedback and reteaching first.
Why: Ensures students have practiced and received feedback on a skill before being formally evaluated on a summative assessment.
Teachers must keep gradebooks current, entering grades within 5 school days of submission (up to 8 school days for lengthy summatives like major projects, labs, or essays, if communicated in advance).
Why: Keeps grade information current so students and families can respond quickly, and sets a consistent, predictable timeline for feedback across all teachers and schools.
Grades cannot be disproportionately entered near the end of a marking period in a way that significantly changes a student’s grade, without prior documentation and communication with the family.
Why: Avoids last-minute grade surprises and keeps families informed early enough to provide support.
Missing or incomplete formative work can be submitted for full credit if completed before the related summative. Students present on a summative’s due date must complete it that day or within 5 school days, unless the teacher approves an exception. However, tests must be completed on the day of administration if the student is present.
Why: Encourages students to complete practice while still holding a firm, fair line on summative timeliness so grades reflect actual mastery.
Reteaching/reassessment applies to formative work only: mandatory for a D+ or below, available upon request for a C- or above. It must happen before the related summative, within the same marking period. Summative assessments and final exams are not eligible for reassessment, except for verified extenuating circumstances or principal approval.
Why: Gives every student a path to mastery while a skill is still being built, without opening the door to endless retakes on final assessments — preserving the integrity of summative grades.
These updates are designed to make grading more accurate, consistent, and transparent. They will also provide a clearer picture of student learning and growth, strengthening partnerships between families and teachers in support of student progress. Thank you for your support.
Robin Werner
Director of Teaching and Learning
5 Responses
One can admit there are problems with Talbot Schools, and totally reject Ms. Wilcoxon’s recommendations for change. Some may remember that people elected Donald Trump as a change candidate. Change does not mean good. Even people who admit they voted for Trump three times are appearing on TV at gas pumps saying “This is not what I voted for.” Like the vast majority of Americans, they want him gone.
Ms. Wilcoxon supports Moms for Liberty, a billionaire-funded hard-right reactionary group in Florida that wants to bring cultural wars into public schools. Somerset County, only a few miles south of here, elected a school board made if of people sympathetic to Moms for Liberty. Lawsuits have been filed against them for violating Maryland’s public records laws, for violating state laws concerning censorship, for not holding open meetings, and for making illegal administrative changes. Ms. Wilcoxon’s favorite candidates should explain why they support the lawless authoritarian Moms for Liberty.
One can admit that the trains in Italy did not run on time, yet object to electing Mussolini to fix the problem. I hope most people in Talbot County would rather vote for hard working people trying to solve hard problems rather than followers of hate groups like of Moms for Liberty.
Moms for Liberty is an organization to protect children and the teachers. spewing propaganda does not work.
When you write lies about a person at least have the conviction to let the person respond instead of blocking them
Very typical of one who doesn’t have any answers, always attack the person.
Talbot County doesn’t need Moms For Liberty to protect children or fix the school system. Beyond the critical bombast, there is nary a practical solution in their “One size fits all” repertoire. They insinuate they don’t have a voice in the public schools, yet they already have a loud voice. What they really want is control – control of the administration, control of the curriculum, control of the books our children read and control of the school systems’ financial management. This group acts like they are better parents than the rest of us or they have a better moral compass than the rest of us. They act like their extremist opinions qualify them to tell you what your kids can and can’t read, as if they are somehow morally superior. They aren’t.
To think these people fully support a pedophile as US president should fully disqualify all of them. The last thing Talbot County schools need is a group seeking to disrupt the public schools by cutting badly needed staff and services, replacing non-conforming administrators (like they dismiss non-conforming county council members) and showing their contempt for our state’s efforts to strengthen our public schools statewide.
Talbot Spy Readers —
Here’s the best advice regarding anything coming from Republican Party Boss Wilcoxon: scroll on.
Don’t glorify this propaganda by attempting to engage in a fact or character argument here. The draft is nobody’s idea of a qualified fact or character witness. Ignoring this nonsense is the proper play, not propelling it any further with engagement. This dreck is too radical for Talbot. It’s a shame something like this opinion piece has to throw shade on the intelligence of the Talbot vote. I repeat: scroll on.
Well the usual Democrat naysayers are responding to this article. This article is about grading. This article is trying to get you to think about what the school system is doing. This article has nothing to do with politics.
There is no reason to change the grading systems for K-5. These are the formative years in a child’s education. If you cannot see where your child stands in comparison to the level they should be there is no way to help them. This is way too subjective. How are parents supposed to know where the shortcomings are with a system like this?
This theoretical grading system will certainly not bring scores up to where they should be. Teaching the subject and making sure it is understood will. If there are bad results on a test reinforce the previous lesson and test again. The return to basic subjects is sorely needed at TPS.
All classes should be taught in English. If you do not understand the language in school you do not learn. Start teaching English in preschool and make sure it is being learned. English as a second language is not working. There is no back up at home for a child to get help.
Hire more teachers and eliminate the majority of these high paid administrative positions which do nothing to educate anyone. Stick to the letter grading system and keep a child back if they cannot perform at grade level by the end of the year. Stop social promotions and promoting children that you do not want to deal with. The school system is not a baby sitting service.