The pvssification of America continues... :(

[spacejamz]

All I can say is WTF??? These kids will have no idea of how to handle deadlines or prioritizing anything and will be useless additions to the workforce (assuming they even finish school and apply for a job)...

Reading the key points at the end of the article makes me want to puke...

Text

DISD plan to ease grading standards angers teachers

04:26 AM CDT on Friday, August 15, 2008
By KENT FISCHER / The Dallas Morning News
kfischer@dallasnews.com

Dallas public school students who flunk tests, blow off homework and miss assignment deadlines can make up the work without penalty, under new rules that have angered many teachers.

The new rules will be distributed when teachers return to their campuses next week. But many who have already seen the regulations say they are too lenient on slackers, and will come at the expense of kids who work hard.

For example, the new rules require teachers to accept late work and prevent them from penalizing students for missed deadlines. Homework grades that would drag down a student's overall average will be thrown out.

"The purpose behind it is to ensure fair and credible evaluation of learning ? from grade to grade and school to school," said Denise Collier, the district's chief academic officer.

Some teachers said the new rules offer kids too many loopholes.

"It's like we're sending the message to kids that deadlines don't matter, studying is optional, and no matter how little you do, you're still [going to] pass all your classes anyway," said Ray Cox, who teaches world languages at Franklin Middle School.

The intent may have been to create a uniform grading policy, but the result was to lower standards, said Dale Kaiser, president of the teachers' group NEA-Dallas.

The school board and superintendent "talk about elevating standards and holding high expectations for kids, but we're telling the kids that whether they do the work or not is irrelevant," he said.

The new guidelines were developed by district staff and did not require school board approval.

District records state that the changes are part of a switch to "effort-based" grading and are designed to give students multiple opportunities to demonstrate that they've mastered class material. Requiring teachers to contact parents instead of awarding zeros is designed to increase home-school communications, according to district materials presented recently to principals. Retests and deadline extensions are meant to motivate students to do better after initial failure.

Some of the rules are similar to those in place in nearby districts, but many of the district's new rules appear to be unique.

For example, teachers in Allen ISD can give zeros at their discretion. In Richardson and Fort Worth ISDs, teachers grade homework without regard to whether it will lower a student's overall class average. In Grand Prairie, students automatically incur substantial penalties for turning in late work.

Last school year, Dallas' board of trustees reaffirmed a policy that prevented teachers from giving students a grade lower than a 50 in any one grading period. The reason given was that students who fall below 50 have no hope or motivation to bring up their grades and just give up.

During the discussion, trustees asked administrators to develop standardized grading rules for elementary, middle and high school teachers.

Those rules were finalized this summer and have been sent to principals. Copies of the new rules were posted on The Dallas Morning News' DISD blog Wednesday.

Teacher reaction was swift and overwhelmingly negative.

One recent DISD graduate commented that he thought the new rules would give students the wrong impression of how businesses operate.

"Babying the rules so that [students] have almost unlimited chances to pass, that's unreal," said Joshua Perry, a 2007 graduate of Skyline High School. "In the real world, you don't get a whole lot of chances or other ways to make something up."

Key points in DISD?s new grading policy

?Homework grades should be given only when the grades will "raise a student's average, not lower it."

?Teachers must accept overdue assignments, and their principal will decide whether students are to be penalized for missing deadlines.

?Students who flunk tests can retake the exam and keep the higher grade.

?Teachers cannot give a zero on an assignment unless they call parents and make "efforts to assist students in completing the work."

SOURCE: Dallas ISD records

 

[moshquerade]

a big :thumbsdown:

 

[Chryso]

That is the dumbest thing I have seen this week.

 

[bonkers325]

thats not pussification. thats just making the youth of america dumber and less responsible.

 

[grrl]

I can only sigh and shake my head in disbelief.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: grrl
I can only sigh and shake my head in disbelief.

That's pretty much what I did when I read the thread title.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

WTF?

 

[Regs]

Is this really anything new about kids missing deadlines?

Take a look at half our managers. Most of them are morons anyway and get where they're at by kissing some major ass and playing the "game". Come to think of it, half the people I work with 4 years in college are morons.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: grrl
I can only sigh and shake my head in disbelief.

yea same

 

[dsity]

Any student from this area would have misleading GPAs.

I personally think this is directly involved with Texas highschool football.

 

[BassBomb]

Homework grades should be given only when the grades will "raise a student's average, not lower it."

?Teachers cannot give a zero on an assignment unless they call parents and make "efforts to assist students in completing the work."

WOW

That is epic stupidity.

 

[TechBoyJK]

you can't get a bad grade on homework because it will lower your overall grade?? WTF is the point then?

lol, I know you said you needed that report by Friday Sir, but I was afraid it would give you a bad impression on me so I didn't give it to you at all. I'll give it to you when I'm ready.

Can we say "fired"?

 

[nakedfrog]

District records state that the changes are part of a switch to "effort-based" grading

That's incredibly stupid. They might as well stop giving out report cards.
It's not like they'll be awarded "effort-based" raises once they graduate.

 

[SP33Demon]

No consequences = no learning. Suffice it to say Texas will fall behind the poorest states (West Va) in education now.

 

[Aikouka]

I think some of these are actually looking to help students, but as they said, just scream, "exploit me!" I can see how helpful it would be that when a student does poorly on a homework or a test, have them retake it. I mean, do they necessarily learn from getting the poor grade? I don't think ignoring the failure is right, but working with the student to make sure they learn the material instead of just going on would be a better way. But how to make it work? I don't know... maybe an average of the two grades? Perhaps just saying if they pass the next test (regardless of the score), they are raised to the lowest passing grade (so even if you get a 100, you still get a 68 or whatever the lowest possible passing grade is).

So in other words, I can see that they're trying to make it so instead of just failing a student, they are pushing to make sure the student learns the material rather than just going on... but this will just get exploited .

EDIT:

I'm just waiting for someone to blame this on No Child Left Behind .

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
I think some of these are actually looking to help students, but as they said, just scream, "exploit me!" I can see how helpful it would be that when a student does poorly on a homework or a test, have them retake it. I mean, do they necessarily learn from getting the poor grade? I don't think ignoring the failure is right, but working with the student to make sure they learn the material instead of just going on would be a better way. But how to make it work? I don't know... maybe an average of the two grades? Perhaps just saying if they pass the next test (regardless of the score), they are raised to the lowest passing grade (so even if you get a 100, you still get a 68 or whatever the lowest possible passing grade is).

So in other words, I can see that they're trying to make it so instead of just failing a student, they are pushing to make sure the student learns the material rather than just going on... but this will just get exploited .

EDIT:

I'm just waiting for someone to blame this on No Child Left Behind .

the fact that it will just get exploited is what makes it so stupid. What grade school student that wants to be playing video games will do homework instead when they know they dont have to?

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Homework grades should be given only when the grades will "raise a student's average, not lower it."

?Teachers cannot give a zero on an assignment unless they call parents and make "efforts to assist students in completing the work."

WOW

That is epic stupidity.

Wow. I'm in total agreement.

 

[Wheezer]

I am calling it now....you see the writing on the wall....our country is headed down the shitter when these children become adults because they will have nothing but a sense of entitlement and feel that they are owed everything including a job and will have no idea what real blood sweat and tears are to earn something.

China and the rest of the world will blow by us like we are standing still.

and people will bitch that it is either the fault of the Democrats or the Republicans what ever the flavor of the month is that is in the Whitehouse.

This will end up happening in more and more schools just so they can continue to get federal money.

Forget personal responsibility....who needs it.

I urge all of you to start putting money the only safe place there is......under your mattresses...do you really want kids like this in the banking industry taking care of your money?

 

[nanette1985]

This is the No Child Left Behind act. All students have to get good grades in order to meet federal standards. I'm about the least politically active person alive but I urge you to contact your elected representatives and get that hideous act changed.

 

[waffleironhead]

School in general is more organized daycare than educational facility these days.

 

[PottedMeat]

WTF???

?Homework grades should be given only when the grades will "raise a student's average, not lower it."

This is total bullshit.

?Teachers must accept overdue assignments, and their principal will decide whether students are to be penalized for missing deadlines.

Thats teacher's discretion.

?Students who flunk tests can retake the exam and keep the higher grade.

So is that.

?Teachers cannot give a zero on an assignment unless they call parents and make "efforts to assist students in completing the work."

And so is that.

Most of those items are up to the teachers to decide - why the hell are they made into policy?

 

[StageLeft]

?Homework grades should be given only when the grades will "raise a student's average, not lower it."

HAHA, so after your first 100% paper you essentially cannot be graded anymore because it would never raise your grade.

Anyway, these kids will get their just deserve when their university doesn't tolerate this or their employer doesn't.

Take a look at half our managers. Most of them are morons anyway and get where they're at by kissing some major ass and playing the "game". Come to think of it, half the people I work with 4 years in college are morons.

Yep, but if you accept this behaivor from the get go, I bet they'd be even worse!

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: Regs
Is this really anything new about kids missing deadlines?

Take a look at half our managers. Most of them are morons anyway and get where they're at by kissing some major ass and playing the "game". Come to think of it, half the people I work with 4 years in college are morons.

But who is truly the moron? The person who is smart but refuses to play the game or the person who is average, plays the game, and gets promoted?

 

[halik]

Gee I wonder what will happen if you set up a system where studentss bad grades will, in turn, reduce the school's funding. No one saw this coming? It's the most logical response to those incentives.

 

[sdifox]

what the hell...