Any hope Youngkin will bring back 0s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 50 is an F

Yup. But the grade is recoverable. Why put a struggling student into situation from which he cannot recover? Why would they even try if they know there is no hope of passing the class? I think the policy is a good one.

Because when they "graduate", that 50 percent policy instantly converts to 0 percent policy with real life consequences.

These kids aren't stupid. The idea that getting a 50% on a chemistry exam when they actually earned a 30% is somehow going to create adults who can't figure out how to be productive members of society is rather short sighted.

High school isn't "real life". It's a bubble we've artificially created where students learn random things that have no purpose in most of their futures. If you want kids to care and show up and participate fully, then we need to allow them to study things they are interested in instead of forcing every student to take algebra 2, biology, and literature at age 16.

Exactly. Those who fail to see these are detached from reality of schools in this current state of affairs. They are too idealistic, or maybe they've only ever stepped foot inside Oakton and Langley. The majority of students need lifestyle learning like communication, family sciences, and personal finance along with trade skills.

Great the old, there is no reason to educate the lower classes approach.

NP - No, but as an actual person who is in the trenches every day a kid who isn't coming to school and is failing to turn in numerous assignments is going to get zero life benefit from sitting in detention memorizing trig identities. All it is going to teach that kid (wealthy or poor, 1st generation immigrant or long time Fairfax elite) is that school is stupid. "When am I ever going to use this?" shouldn't be a question because we should be teaching relevant material to these kids--and sorry, law of cosines isn't relevant to the majority of kids.

I don't have this issue with my trig kids. My students who don't show up and don't do work are the ones who can't tell me how to split a $22 check for 4 people. My pre-algebra students don't care about school and they have no accountability. They're going to get a D or C and go to algebra next year, even though they don't know basic math.

I wonder how much they "don't care" because they have never cared and that's why they don't know the material versus "don't care" because they missed a key learning point several grades ago and are now hopelessly floundering and lost. Not that I blame you, teacher PP. There needs to be another way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is ridiculous. I think it is ridiculous that parents allow their kids to get away with this crap.

Agree that the parents play a role. I have a number of friends who accept their kids grades, knowing that htey are getting the benefit of this, knowing their kids can submit late assignments for full credit, knowing their kids can do re-takes to increase grades if the initial grade is low enough.

Have some standards for your children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 50 is an F

Yup. But the grade is recoverable. Why put a struggling student into situation from which he cannot recover? Why would they even try if they know there is no hope of passing the class? I think the policy is a good one.

Because when they "graduate", that 50 percent policy instantly converts to 0 percent policy with real life consequences.

These kids aren't stupid. The idea that getting a 50% on a chemistry exam when they actually earned a 30% is somehow going to create adults who can't figure out how to be productive members of society is rather short sighted.

High school isn't "real life". It's a bubble we've artificially created where students learn random things that have no purpose in most of their futures. If you want kids to care and show up and participate fully, then we need to allow them to study things they are interested in instead of forcing every student to take algebra 2, biology, and literature at age 16.

Exactly. Those who fail to see these are detached from reality of schools in this current state of affairs. They are too idealistic, or maybe they've only ever stepped foot inside Oakton and Langley. The majority of students need lifestyle learning like communication, family sciences, and personal finance along with trade skills.

Great the old, there is no reason to educate the lower classes approach.

NP - No, but as an actual person who is in the trenches every day a kid who isn't coming to school and is failing to turn in numerous assignments is going to get zero life benefit from sitting in detention memorizing trig identities. All it is going to teach that kid (wealthy or poor, 1st generation immigrant or long time Fairfax elite) is that school is stupid. "When am I ever going to use this?" shouldn't be a question because we should be teaching relevant material to these kids--and sorry, law of cosines isn't relevant to the majority of kids.

I don't have this issue with my trig kids. My students who don't show up and don't do work are the ones who can't tell me how to split a $22 check for 4 people. My pre-algebra students don't care about school and they have no accountability. They're going to get a D or C and go to algebra next year, even though they don't know basic math.

I wonder how much they "don't care" because they have never cared and that's why they don't know the material versus "don't care" because they missed a key learning point several grades ago and are now hopelessly floundering and lost. Not that I blame you, teacher PP. There needs to be another way.

You really think this started 2 years ago? Yeah, no.

Last year there were Teachers who were saying that it was not surprising how many High School kids who had been C students were failing. Parents were posting that those C/B kids were suddenly failing. Teachers were pointing out that the only reason why the now failing kids were C/B students was because when the kids had to be at school they at least turned something in during class, learned something in class with their half listening, and had to take tests. Last year, without the Teachers there to cajole work out of them in person, those kids didn't do anything and were failing. Many of those same Teachers pointed that the kids who returned to in person school at the end of the year were able to salvage grades because the Teachers could cajole them into doing past work and turn in what was due in the class. The kids who stayed at home did not do the same thing and failed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I absolutely agree with you that those things should exist in public schools. I would be furious if they started being legislated at the state level. I don't want Richmond digging into the operations of our school systems and jurisdictions.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a 50 makes sense. Why are elementary grades only 1-4 (why did they get rid of the five) and yet grades in high should range from 0-100? It never made sense. 50-100 is a reasonable range and it’s even. 50 is F. 60 is D. 70 is D. 80 is B. 90 is A. Except I think actually FCPS starts their D to A at the 4 so there is actually a 14 point spread from F to D.

A 50% makes sense for someone who doesn't turn in any work? My kid doesn't turn in homework and gets a 50%? No, my kid turned in nothing, that is a 0% because they did 0 work. 0-59% is an F. It is a wider grade range but it allows for people to receive what they actually earn. Turn in nothing and earn nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people just want to take away all decision making from locally elected bodies of government?

No, people have just given up on this local school board listening.

How short sighted of you. One day there may be a school board who favors your views and a Governor who does not but sure, let's cut off your nose to spite your face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 50 is an F

Yup. But the grade is recoverable. Why put a struggling student into situation from which he cannot recover? Why would they even try if they know there is no hope of passing the class? I think the policy is a good one.

Their grade would be recoverable if they were making an attempt to do the work. If a kid isn't turning in work, that is on them and their parent.

If there is a reason that the kid isn't turning in their work, physical or mental illness, some type of LD or learning issues then that should be addressed in a 504 plan or an IEP. Otherwise, we are giving kids a false floor and a false sense of confidence and a bogus grade.

Yes because teachers always follow those! Ha!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 50 is an F

Yup. But the grade is recoverable. Why put a struggling student into situation from which he cannot recover? Why would they even try if they know there is no hope of passing the class? I think the policy is a good one.

Because when they "graduate", that 50 percent policy instantly converts to 0 percent policy with real life consequences.

These kids aren't stupid. The idea that getting a 50% on a chemistry exam when they actually earned a 30% is somehow going to create adults who can't figure out how to be productive members of society is rather short sighted.

High school isn't "real life". It's a bubble we've artificially created where students learn random things that have no purpose in most of their futures. If you want kids to care and show up and participate fully, then we need to allow them to study things they are interested in instead of forcing every student to take algebra 2, biology, and literature at age 16.

Yep. By college, they know this doesn't fly. I teach incoming freshman and they adjust fine to the stricter grading policies. You don't have to start as you mean to go. Kids adjust to new standards.

I experienced similar behavior as well as a former TA in grad school. I think older high schoolers in general have a lack of respect for high school and teachers as a whole. In a way, it's as if they see themselves above HS because they don't like being treated like children who have to turn in homework and do busy work. They seem to prefer the college style of having three midterms in a semester and letting those alone determine their outcome. Once they are in that college environment, with a strern professor and a syllabus, I think they adopt a sense of pride that they're serious students now, which in turn helps them transition to being more accountable.

[Anonymous]

Policy is good. It should stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 50 is an F

If I can pick the assignments I don't want to do and know that they will receive a 50%, then I know that if I do certain assignments and earn a higher grade, it is easier for me to get to a 70%, a C- and passing grade. I can choose what I want to do and not do. I don't have to do the assignments I really don't want to do and I can still pass the class.

If not turning in work means a 0 then I cannot pick and choose what I want to do because even a perfect score on half of the work is a 50% and an F.

I taught at the College level. Every semester I had students ask me what they needed to do to earn a C. My class was required for their major or met a Gen Ed requirement but they didn't really want to take it. I always knew those students were going to fail because they were going to try and cherry pick what work they needed to do and that was going to lead to trouble. If I had to give those students 50% on assignments and tests that they did not take, they might have been able to get that C because the amount of work that they needed to do to get the C was significantly lessened.

It is a stupid policy.

But we aren’t discussing college, are we?

No, we are discussing a mindset towards education and life. The same mindset that leads to a kid in college, who is supposed to be motivated to receive an education, is driving kids in high school. Starting every kid at a 50% floor means that kids who are more interested in goofing off and slacking and trying to skate buy a pass. What the heck does that teach them and how is that going to track into their adult life? Are their jobs going to let them continue to pick and choose what they do and still keep their jobs? Are they going to be able to pick and choose what they do if they go to College?

The kids who are getting C's because of this type of a policy are the kids who everyone is pointing to in high school as needing ESSER funds because they did so badly last year. Guess what? These kids were struggling before but that was masked by this policy and the fact that Teachers could force them to turn in something in class so that they were a C student. Not because they were actually a C student but because of policies put in place that inflated their performance.

Why? Because we can't have kids not graduating because it looks bad. We can't have kids in remedial classes because they were failing because that looks bad. Instead we have MS moving to everyone is in Honors! And No one can score less then a 50%. All that tells me is I can't trust the statistics that FCPS puts out because I know Honors has been watered down so more kids can be in it and a lot of those C's are not really earned but given because of a false floor.

Maybe you should move and teach somewhere else. Stop complaining and go take a job in a district where you will be happier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people just want to take away all decision making from locally elected bodies of government?

No, people have just given up on this local school board listening.

How short sighted of you. One day there may be a school board who favors your views and a Governor who does not but sure, let's cut off your nose to spite your face.

This. For every conservative in Fairfax wanting to crush local autonomy, there is a conservative in Grayson County who realizes the next governor may be a democrat and is fine with Fairfax doing whatever it wants as long as Richmond leaves them alone. Virginia may be purple, but there are very few purple counties. In a state like that, local decision making works for the vast majority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is ridiculous. I think it is ridiculous that parents allow their kids to get away with this crap.

Agree that the parents play a role. I have a number of friends who accept their kids grades, knowing that htey are getting the benefit of this, knowing their kids can submit late assignments for full credit, knowing their kids can do re-takes to increase grades if the initial grade is low enough.

Have some standards for your children.

At our MS you can retake any test. You can retake a 98% if you want. Guess who's kid re-takes a majority of her tests? Mine. I have standards and want my kid to get the best grade possible. Don't think taking retakes says otherwise. She's never score less than an 89% on any original test but why settle for a B+ or A- when you can get an A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 50 is an F

Yup. But the grade is recoverable. Why put a struggling student into situation from which he cannot recover? Why would they even try if they know there is no hope of passing the class? I think the policy is a good one.

Because when they "graduate", that 50 percent policy instantly converts to 0 percent policy with real life consequences.

These kids aren't stupid. The idea that getting a 50% on a chemistry exam when they actually earned a 30% is somehow going to create adults who can't figure out how to be productive members of society is rather short sighted.

High school isn't "real life". It's a bubble we've artificially created where students learn random things that have no purpose in most of their futures. If you want kids to care and show up and participate fully, then we need to allow them to study things they are interested in instead of forcing every student to take algebra 2, biology, and literature at age 16.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS high school teacher here. The elimination of 0 grades has killed education. Kids have no consequences because they get 50 no matter what. I have students with 20 absences already, yet they still have a C. Kids are selective when they want to try because they know there is no consequences.

Don't even get me started on the social studies PBA instead of the SOL. What a farse. Kids just sneeze on a piece of paper and they get the verified credit.

I'm hoping Youngkin will get rid of the 50 minimum, SOL for social studies, truancy fines/punishments.

What are the odds any of these ever come back.

Whatever are you going on about? My kid is in HS and there are zeros entered if she misses assignments. It's my clue to get on her to get them done.

What policy, exactly, are you referring to here?

[Anonymous]

Wait until OP hears what happens when you write your name on the SAT. Mind *blown*