Recently, the issue of standardized testing has been prevalent in the media and in Education. There have been a number of arguments for and against required testing due to students who felt it was unfair to be required to pass a standard test given throughout the state. A good argument can be made for either side, but personally, I have an opinion on the topic. Throughout my 4 years in High School, I heard many rumors of grading standards going down, to where a passing grade would become a 60, instead of a 70. Another thing I noticed was when I graduated, I walked the stage with certain students who I was pretty sure were unlikely to have passed their classes. I personally feel like in today's education system, standards have been lowered, and it is worrying. I feel like a High School diploma isn't as valuable as it used to be, people used to work very hard to pass High School, but now, there are arguments for no more grading in schools, with a number of schools following a "free" concept, where there are no grades, no assignments, nothing, the students choose what they do "
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2003645914_unschooled01m.html". I personally believe there should be higher standards, a diploma should mean something, not just a piece of paper given to students after four years, but something earned. People are too worried about offending other people, one argument is that it's unfair to fail students, well, I say, too bad, if everyone is given a diploma, then where is the value? During my senior year in High School, a number of students brought alcohol to a school event. They were threatened with not walking the stage, but guess what, they did. Empty threats, low standards, and giving everyone a diploma after four years. This brings me to another area in schools that bothers me. Many schools have banned dodge ball from gym class because it could injure students or make them feel bad. I have also heard about banning any form of activity where students can lose, due to them feeling sad, I don't understand why we have adopted this mindset of "don't offend anyone, everything must be P.C". In the end, when I become a teacher, I can honestly say that students will earn their grades, if you deserve a 40, well, you'll get a 40, not because I want to offend or sadden or discourage the student, but because my classroom will have standards. On a slight side note, this is also a problem in colleges, where in my freshman psychology class, it was scaled so that no matter what, three students at least would get an A.........why?
As a disclaimer, this is obviously all my opinion and I beg of anyone reading this to agree/disagree with me, I'd love to have a discussion about this!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-sigman/when-everyone-gets-a-trop_b_1431319.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-he/grade-inflation-killing-i_b_1392527.html
I agree that schools should have standards and that a diploma should be something that should be earned and something that people should be proud of earning. And as for those rumors of lowering the passing grade from a 70 to a 60, I don't think that's the solution that schools should be going for. Obviously, schools want the students to graduate, but instead of lowering the standards, they should be getting students motivated to actually earn their diploma and their good grades. There are students out there who do work very hard and when they receive their diploma, they should feel proud of themselves. Then there are students who want to graduate and do try hard, but struggle with schoolwork. If schools actually help these students with their work instead of just lowering the grade they need to pass, it'll be more beneficial to them in the end. Basically, I think schools should have standards and do their best to help the students who need and want the help and guidance, but lowering the grades needed to pass isn't really considered help. It should also be the students responsibility to meet them halfway instead of having diplomas and passing grades handed to them.
ReplyDeleteAs far as grading goes, I do think allowing anyone and everyone to pass a class sets a horrible precedent for other students who do work hard. I don't know how much this relates to what you're saying, but Rhode Island was considering adopting a 3-tiered diploma system. Basically. students received an "honors" diploma if they scored "highly proficient" on standardized tests and in other areas, with the lowest tier being a certificate. Of course, the state didn't adopt this because of the outcry saying it was discriminatory, but I think this goes along with what you're saying: Why should students work hard if their is no distinction between themselves and a student who shows up late to his or her classes a majority of the year and still passes, getting the same diploma as someone who spent countless hours studying.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, do I want anyone to fail my class? Of course not. I feel like its my job to not only teach the content but to motivate my students to do well. So, if i see failing grades in my class, then I feel like I'm doing something wrong. But I agree - I don't think we should simply "hand out" grades. But honestly, I'm not opposed to scaling. I think it allows you to grade based on the intelligence level of each class. One form I've seen used is that relates to this taking the highest grade in the class and making that the "A."
Just a quick note on the being "P.C." I think we all need to understand that society has changed, and quite honestly, these things are in place to protect both the school and the student. The sad truth is, people will find any reason to sue someone. School must be overly cautious not to offend because of this reason. Also, school is an area where everyone must be accepted, so this leads to the "sterilization" of school, which your dodgeball example proves. Personally, I can understand why it happening, and I don't have a problem with it.
Chris- I would be curious to hear how you feel about a couple of things we discussed last class regarding this topic. One of these things was "Expanded Learning Opportunities," a program that allows students to earn credit for pursuing an interest. Would this fall under the category of "free," in which students make up their own curriculum? I would argue that schools, in fact, don't have ENOUGH student ownership and input, rather than arguing against student choices when it comes to curriculum. While I've never really heard of the free concept, I think that students are infinitely more likely to invest their time and effort towards something that they care about and have ownership of, not some rigorous standards that they couldn't care less about meeting. Sure, taking failing students and simply lowering the grade for them to pass is wrong......but creating unreachable standards that teachers and students have no input in (Common Core is developed by David Coleman, a man who has never held a teaching job, but between leading the College Board and Common Core has somehow become the de facto educational czar in America) is going in the wrong direction in my book. I would argue that students should be more in charge of their educations, not less.
ReplyDeleteI think the one thing I disagree with is "People are too worried about offending other people, one argument is that it's unfair to fail students, well, I say, too bad, if everyone is given a diploma, then where is the value?" I think the the goal of education should be that everyone gets a diploma. Not in a hand out sort of way but rather that they've earned it. I try not to look at diplomas as something to have value because I think that we should strive for a society that looks at having a high school education as something common. It should be something everyone has.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with your attitude towards diplomas, Joey.Yes, we want our students to believe that they will graduate and earn a diploma. That should be the expectation of every student that steps foot in a classroom. But to say a diploma should have no value in our society is wrong. Should we bypass high school graduation and send diplomas to the students in the mail. If diplomas aren't valuable, then celebrating them is pointless, right? I know what you're saying. Our students should strive to further their education after high school. But you need to think about the psychological effect that graduating has on students. It promotes a sense of accomplishment - something that is vital to a teenager's development.
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