Authors Note: It has been more than three weeks since I have posted. On the positive side, this means I finished the rough draft of my manuscript. Of course, anyone familiar with the writing process knows this is just the beginning. I took a break to clear my head and to allow tempers to die down from my last post. I have said so privately to some, but I say so publicly to everyone else that I sincerely apologize for my behavior during the last post.
It is a privilege to write for the Hurricane and something I don't take lightly. It may take awhile, but hopefully I can recapture the trust and the good will I had built up in close to a year that this site has been running. Now, I return to the issues that everyone knows me best for: education.
Nine districts in the state of Texas (including Houston ISD and Clear Creek ISD in our area) have sued the state of Texas over a recent revision in grading policy. This isn't a small affair as any teacher would attest. I will do the best I can to give both sides of the argument before I fall down on the side I support. If anyone wants to read a more in depth account they can try new grading policy.
The unbiased version has the state of Texas mandating that all districts life the mandatory 50 rule for grading. Most districts have moved to a nine week grading period. A student that makes a 50 in the first nine weeks could conceivably earn a 90 in the second nine weeks and therefore pass for the semester. So, theoretically, under the old policy, a student could earn a zero, be given a 50 and then have a mathematical chance to pass. Proponents of the mandatory 50 rule say that giving a student a 50 gives them the opportunity to pass and so they don't mentally (and often physically) check out after the first nine weeks.
The state of Texas chose to forbid these policies because students were not getting what they earned. The numbers that the site gives are fairly accurate across the board, but in a regular classroom this usually affects two or three students per class. The argument against the mandatory 50 is simple. If a student doesn't earn a 50 they shouldn't get a 50. Hardline teachers want the option of giving a student a 3 (as I did to one student early in my career) if that is what they earned. It is a small attempt to teach students responsibility. By now, you can probably see which side I am on.
However, since I've moved up the chain to counselor, I can see both sides of the issue. Schools earn their money through average daily attendance (ADA). The occasional student will recover from a 50 (maybe 5%) but some will at least levy an effort. That effort means they are not disrupting class and they are learning something. It's a hard choice and has become even harder based on the state's recommendations at the elementary level. The state recommends that a student's promotion should be based on his or her average in every class (including fine arts). Anyone familiar with the way those classes work understands that students cannot fail if you give out the mandatory 50. In other words, there would be no more forced retentions.
This is a dangerous problem and one possible advantage of removing the mandatory 50 rule. So, a student that earns a 20 or a 30 because they don't turn in homework or simply cannot read will not be promoted based on the 95s he gets in music, PE, and Art. So, this is not just a simple lawsuit. Those nine districts want to continue giving mandatory 50s for the reasons introduced earlier.
Those of you that have been reading my education pieces for awhile know where I stand here. I'm a bit old-fashioned when it comes to education. Not everyone is meant to go to college and some people are going to struggle. It is my job to help those students. I don't believe that you help anyone by giving them something they didn't earn. You help them by being there for them during tutorials before school and after school. You help them by trying alternative methods of teaching that may jell with them. You try to help by involving the parents and forming a partnership with them. Gift grades and gift promotions don't help a student. Those things give them a false sense of reality and we all know we have a little too much of that going around.
Hey Scott,
I never lost trust...I honestly didn't see why stimulating a debate by whatever mechanism is not fair game on a blog. I admit I also thought you were just throwing jabs at Carguy's 'payday by post' whirlygig (that's not real is it).
I had a unique approach to academics when I was in high school...I would literally do nothing for the 1st and 3rd terms to see if I could ace the course in the 2nd and 4th terms. It worked out beautifully with the exception of an accounting course I took. Okay, it never worked for my biology class either but that really is the only other exception (the teacher didn't like me :O). I proudly graduated in the bottom .001% of my class. As is obvious, I wasn't a very smart school kid.
I like your take on the 50-rule with the option of giving anything you like in the 2nd term, but, overall, it seems bizarre to award a grade that is other than what it actually is...you're right, there is way too much of that going on already.
When I taught in Pasadena they had an interesting compromise policy that I am sure no longer exists. We had to give a 50 in the first nine weeks to afford the student the opportunity to pass, but we could give anything we wanted in the second nine weeks. I am okay with that solution because it gives you all the advantages of the mandatory 50 rule and fewer of the downsides.
The question that is not easily answered is whether a student becomes more at risk to drop out by failing or whether they are more at risk by being passed up without mastering skills. A 14 year old fourth grader is certainly at risk of dropping out, but a ninth grader that is on a third grade reading level is just as at risk. You are damned if you do and damned if you don't.
I was just messin' with ya.
In so much as we have had organized public education since, what 1885 or so, we seem to have a LOT of problems. Now you and I have solved many of them, together, we just need to get the school districts to implement our fixes. How hard could that be?
This, this is a tough one. First, we can't just retain a lot of students, and "B", we don't want to promote kids that are just gonna be a burden to teachers and other students up the ladder.
I am willing to support the "Mandatory 50" rule, for now, and re-evaluate it after 5 years.
I agree.