I had to check the date of the newspaper to make sure I had not somehow picked up an April 1st edition and this was a joke. But it wasn’t.
The Dallas Independent School District has released new grading policies, which officials there say will help students excel, but has many parents and young people protesting. The policies say that no student can be given a grade below 50 on their report card. Students will be allowed to retake a failed test. No grades will be given on homework unless it will help students pass. this is for grades 2-5. Students can’t receive a zero or have a grade reduction for work not done or not completed on time.
This is unbelievable. Talk about failing our children and the whole educational system.
How does this prepare young people for the realities of life after high school? Not every college is going to treat them with such consideration. Not to mention what it will be like on their first job.
We are a nation soft on character, and character comes from accepting the consequences of one’s choices and actions.
One high school student wrote a letter to the editor in which she offered the opinion that these new policies are not fair to the other students who earn their grades. She also wrote “…it discredits the work of any individual who graduates under this policy.”
How true that is. And how sad that a diploma from a Dallas high school may not be based on real learning, but on “giving a student a chance to excel.”
For all the things you’ve mentioned, there are pros and cons both ways. I’ve been teaching high school for twelve years and I’ll tell you that things cycle in and out of fashion. All I know is this: I have a total of 168 students and I’m already freaking out about learning everyone’s name.
Karen
That’s true, Karen. And I hope that the new system is somehow good for the students. I admire your courage to hang in there teaching. It is not an easy job.
I’d freak out about learning the names of 168 students, too. Maybe they should all wear permanent name tags. 🙂
WOW! You’ve got to be kidding. That’s not helpful at all. That’s just a new way to keep the kids moving through grades and help them graduate so they can say the program works. But, if the kids can’t count or read or do other things they need to do, what good was it?