Students Are Always Half Right In Pittsburgh 881
Pittsburgh Public Schools officials have enacted a policy that sets 50 percent as the minimum score a student can receive for assignments, tests and other work. District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said, the 50 percent minimum gives children a chance to catch up and a reason to keep trying. If a student gets a 20 percent in a class for the first marking period, he or she would need a 100 percent during the second marking period just to squeak through the semester. The district and teachers union issued a joint memo to ensure staff members' compliance with the policy, which was already on the books but enforced only at some schools. At this rate, it won't be long before schools institute double extra credit Mondays and Fridays to ensure students don't take three day weekends.
As a resident of a suburb of Pittsburgh... (Score:5, Informative)
Not to even get into the fact that Dan Onorato and Luke Ravenstahl are both self-serving bitches.
Nothing new (Score:5, Informative)
Our district has had this policy for a long time. As a teacher, it's not too much of a hassle because the whole point of education is to get the kids to learn. If it's impossible to pass the year because of what a student scored the first quarter, they'll give up for the rest of the year. With this policy, there is still hope. In our district, they get their actual scores for midyear and final exams and for the 4th quarter, so they will get killed eventually if they do nothing.
By the way, the bigger problem is with kids who do the work but don't think. I have lots of students who copy their friends' work, so they have great homework grades, but bomb tests because they have no clue what they're talking about.
Damn public schools (Score:2, Informative)
Education is too important to be left to the state.
This is also in the works in Texas (Score:5, Informative)
Much like the current economic crisis, shouldn't failure be allowed? As some banks should be failing for bad investments, some students should fail to allow them to do-over.
I blew off a year of math and I went to summer school, once. I'm not proud, but it was a motivational experience. Summer school sucks.
SMU Dean David Chard In support of DISD's new grading policy [dallasnews.com]
On a more frightening note, public education now seems to be king, in California at least. Homeschooling Banned in California [naturalnews.com]
Does anyone else notice that things are going downhill? And they're speeding up?
Doesn't surprise me (Score:3, Informative)
Like anything else in government accomplishing goals is not a priority. Even when it comes to edcuating children. Or ensuring the future needs of a country.
Everyone wants a cushy job, nice pension. So, if the children are underperforming, it either the kid's fault or the teachers. Now that kids can't fail and all get 50%, well its probably a lot harder to fire a really lousy teacher, huh??!!!
I mean this one seriously to boot (sadly enough):
1) Let Students get at least 50%
2) ????
3) Profit!!!!
Re:Grading system is broken. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Or more reasonable policies (Score:4, Informative)
My school offered no IT type stuff either. We had a "computer technology" class that basically consisted of Word/Excel book exercises that even the teacher didn't know how to do.
I ended up having enough extra time in that class from blowing through the lessons on my own, that in my "down time" I kinda "helped out" the instructor for the class by trying to determine every possible way to break out of the school's sandbox/menuing system to get to a straight DOS prompt (actually with his encouragement). Every time he thought he had us sandboxed in I found a new way to do it :).
Re:Or more reasonable policies (Score:2, Informative)
Um, if you're that good at math, why would you settle for a B, and why wouldn't you deserve at least that high of a grade anyway, in recognition of your talent?
Unless you are looking for somebody else's approval you can settle for any grade you are comfortable with.
I barely studied in school and college and did just the minimum required to pass unless I was really interested in the topic (barely passed calculus, physics, aced electronics, programming, telecommunications)
Re:Or more reasonable policies (Score:3, Informative)
Because to get an A requires something like ten times the investment in effort and no one after you get your first college admission will give a hoot?
knee jerk reactions (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Or more reasonable policies (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Or more reasonable policies (Score:2, Informative)
If you were a stickler for forcing Latin grammar upon English sentences, perhaps. But English has no such rule [reference.com]. A preposition is a fine word to end a sentence with.