An article in the June 21, 2009 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the pressure to pass students is extremely strong in Philadelphia, even students who don’t go to class or can’t read. A teacher at one high school described getting pressure from the school’s administrators to pass a student who had 89 absences in less than a year.
The nation’s school districts get measured by graduation rate through NCLB, teachers in the Philadelphia District say they are also measured on the number of students who pass each grade level. I believe the two are tied together because the graduation rate isn’t a raw number of how many students receive diplomas, but how many students receive diplomas on time within the standard 4 years of high school. I completely disagree with this. If the acronym is truly No Child Left Behind why do we punish schools for slowing down and allowing a student to take 4 ½ or 5 years to graduate?
Teachers from around Philadelphia have come forward to say they feel intense pressure to pass students. They say the pressure comes from their principals in the form of memos, emails and an enormous amount of paperwork that must be completed before a student can fail a class.
The District actually has a policy that requires teachers to give every student at least a 50 even if the student didn’t attend class or do the work. Some principals in different buildings have raised that minimum grade to 60. Passing is 65 in the District. Teachers are understandably upset with this policy because it is undermining the teachers’ professionalism. This is grade inflation pure and simple! Principals say the directive is coming from the Superintendent’s office.
Social promotion has occurred in Philadelphia for decades, and sadly, it is still common in ND in elementary schools. This is a dangerous path we are taking. Students used to be responsible for coming to school prepared to learn the material and earn passing grades. Now, more responsibility is placed on teachers to make sure students pass.
Most of the social promotion problems in ND occur at the elementary. ND high schools set their graduation requirements based on credits and most have very strict attendance policies. For example, my sons’ high school enforces an attendance policy that states after 12 absences in a semester the student will lose credit for that class. Letters start going home to parents after the fifth absence has occurred in any one class warning the student and family that they are in danger of losing credit for that class. The Bismarck District where I work has rewritten their attendance policy. BPS has written stronger language requiring that students who miss 20 days or more may be required to attend additional programming, i.e. extended day, summer school, etc. I don’t think social promotion serves any good purpose at any level. If students haven’t mastered the material at one grade level how can we expect them to be successful at the next level?
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I think this problem is probably far more widespread than we realize. We are dealing with a dumbing down of education as well as grade inflation. We are dealing with students (and their parents) who are interested only in the grade and not the education. Many students assume that just turning in their assignment means an automatic A. This is a trend that I find quite disturbing.
ReplyDeleteKirsten,
ReplyDeleteStudents and parents have the mentality that the school will not hold their child back. I have had a couple of instances when I felt the child was best to repeat the grade or take summer school. This idea was opposed by the parents and my principal sided with the parents. We are beginning to see the effects of this idea that all students pass no matter what on our society and our culture. We see colleges and universities lower their entrance standards each year. I think this is sad and we are only hurting the student to keep advancing him/her when he/she is not prepared.
This is such a good topic, Kirsten, because I think variations of this are going on all through out our educational system. I would be surprised if there was a single school that was completely free of this, and it takes a number of forms and is caused by several things.
ReplyDeleteFor example, I have seen in my short time in education what seems to be a fear of flunking students. Some schools and teachers avaoid them like the plague. We alter kids work (do I dare use the term "dumbing down"?), allow corrections, give extra credit, and so on, all to get the kids into a grade they probably in all reality don't deserve and that doesn't reflect their true ability.
Differentiating instruction comes to mind. Now don't jump all over me! I know with our diverse classroom populations and the need to be inclusive, differentiating instruction is important, but I can't be the only one who has had students notice that kids are getting grades based on very different criteria. I have always been a little stumped as to what to say when one of the higher performers in my class gets a B on regular work and then another child who sits next to them who does far different and easier work gets an A on the "same assignment". I don't blame the student for getting mad and I feel a little bad for the other student because they leave the school thinking they learned something - they got an A after all - when in fact, they may not have.
Granted, this is a bit different from actual social promotion but kids are still getting grades, and moving on based on those grades, that they do not deserve.
I wonder - are doing those kids more harm than good?
Not only is it not right in the educational system, but what are these students going to do when they are out of school. Do they have the skills needed to survive and make a living? We do a great injustice to these students and put an even bigger burden on our social services funds. I personally think that students should prove that they are ready to be advanced to the next grade level instead of just being accepted as such. Students need to learn to work for advancement. Would an employer automatically give an employee a raise just because they had been with the company for 5 years but failed to complete any projects? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteKirsten,
ReplyDeleteGreat topic and one big AMEN from me. It is absolutely amazing to me how the main concept is to educate our nation's children and then turn around and socially promote students who are not passing! This is an appalling practice and detrimental to the future of society. I have recently seen this happen and was shocked. What kind of a message are we sending and how are we aiding these students in the long run by allowing them to enter the next grade or graduate? When did the schools become afraid to fail students who can't make the grade?
I would love to sit down and talk to you about some of the rules that are implemented in your son’s school. I would especially like to talk about the fact that after 12 absences, the student will receive no credit for the class. My school has said for the last four years that rules like that “would not hold up in court if challenged by a parent.” Is that true? Teachers in my district are between a rock and a hard place because students cannot be punished for excused absences having to do with medicine, family (which includes religion), and extra curricular reasons.
ReplyDeleteAs I am looking at the syllabi for absences at Bismarck, I see that the principal can excuse some of the absences at his discretion. How many times has that happened? I hate this part of public schooling. Kids are getting way more leeway and rights than the teachers. That always makes for a dangerous situation.
It is not as big of an issue in my class, but I have heard many other teachers in my school/district complain about the same thing. What really makes it difficult for some of these teachers is that the students that are being pushed along also tend to be the one who are most disrespectful in class. It must feel like a smack in the face to the teacher that is asked to pass a student who has repeatedly refused to work in class, do homework or even behave. At our school we also have a minimum score that we should be giving students. I don't see how this is fair to anyone, most of all to the student. Eventually these kids will have to gradaute and get a job and if we are just letting them skim by, they will continue to do it. Just like anything else, if done enough it will become a way of life. If they learn to skate by and that someone else will take care of them they will eventually just become a burden on society.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. Even though my students are not expected to read, a teacher and parent can usually tell when a student is ready for first grade. The discrepancies are harder to tell as the student progresses through the grades...until sometimes it's too late. I know for a fact, it's very uncommon for most schools to hold back a student after 3rd grade. If a teacher suggests retaining a student parents may threaten to pull their child out or to home school. Parents have this right as they should...this is why it is so important to keep assessment data and records. Having this information available in order to persuade the parent one way or the other sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t- It's a great tool to show that we as a learning community are accountable.
ReplyDelete