I understand the reasoning behind standardized testing and standards, when the reason is "because grades are subjective". While reading Sinhue Noriega's "If It's Broken Don't Fix it", he talked about how money talks, so passing students regardless of skill is an unwritten law. Additionally, he mentioned how it often seems that all anyone cares about is the letter grade, and I do often find this true - a grade matters more than actual learning of skills or content.
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How can grades both matter and not matter when attendance takes precedence? Well, in the end attendance means money, not grades. Pushing through and passing as many kids as possible could lessen drop outs, increase enrollment and attendance, and please the public -theoretically. And parents want good grades above all else (in general), and will often seek alternative placement if their desires are not met, which means their child leaves the school and thus the school loses money.
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Therefore, passing grades please everyone no matter the cost. I have worked and blogged about a school where 21% is passing (D-) and students can re-take the tests (the only things graded) as much as they want. A child can fail at,say, 10%, retake the test at 21%, and pass. Everyone is happy...parents and students like the passing grade which keeps the students enrolled. I have also experienced other grading issues that border the immoral, illogical, and illegal. And according to Mr. Noriega, I'm not alone.
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In another school I worked in, I had two students, let's call them John and Joe. John was a mainstreamed special ed student and Joe was your regular old class clown. Both ended up with C grades at the end of the semester and both had angry mothers.
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John's mom came in for a conference and was quite irate. Her son got a C-, the first C grade of his lifetime. My school's policy was that no special ed student could get below a C- because they had a modified curriculum and had been given a fair education and thus could not fail. Fair enough. So I gave John a C-. I explained to his mom and John himself that I had never even received on bit of work from him, Not even his name on paper, and that he had never participated in class. I had modified all instruction as per his IEP and offered tutoring and re-takes of quizzes and tests, which he ignored. Therefore he got a C-. John then asked me how that could equate a C- when, "I showed up every day in class. I've always got at least a B for showing up to class." And he was dead serious. His mother was so mad she enrolled him in another school and I was in hot water. I had to provide documentation of all modifications, attempts to re-teach, communications, and work samples to save my own job since he meant a loss in funds. I had the damndest time with work samples since there were none. But in the end I kept my job.
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Then came Joe. A smart student who preferred to clown around, likely bored by school. He did the bare minimum at a mediocre level, so he earned a C. His mother withdrew him. Being a small, close-knit classroom, I often would call home if a student were sick and missed class and I had assumed after not seeing him for a week that something had gone wrong. This is when I learned he had been withdrawn (albeit still on our roll sheets). Suddenly, his mother was yelling at me over his grade, and yet she seemed to be agreeing with me so I was bewildered. "His grade is a c! He earned a C rightfully. I saw his progress reports and work samples! This is why we left the school!" Yeah...I was totally lost, so I asked her to clarify, especially because we'd built a parent-teacher rapport which is why she was quite knowledgeable about his grade. Come to find out, his transcripts showed a B in my class. She called the school to change it and they said yes, he has a B, it has been reviewed and sonar by I administration as is the policy. So...I know I gave a C but double checked just in case and yep, C
But there wasn't a thing I could do. I was powerless and yet knew the truth and we had lost a student over something I didn't do. Because grades can mean money, and I bet the B was in hopes to keep Joe in our school.
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