This is why open enrollment and 50% minimum grades need to stop

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50% is an F. An F is an F. Is an F.

you want to demand some kind of Super F?

No it isn’t. A 50% inflates the students GPA. If a student doesn’t show up to class and does absolutely nothing the entire year that student deserves a zero.

Agreed. As it is, the student could rip the test in half in front of the teacher and throw it in the trash and would still get a 50.

That would be a disciplinary matter, and should be addressed as such. Having a minimum score of 50 is just math, no different than how each section of the SAT has a minimum score of 200. Not every scale has to go to zero to be useful.

Except it wouldn't be a disciplinary matter. Maybe, MAYBE a dean would talk the kid about his/her "feelings" and ask them not to do it again, but that's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/69e8a356-393a-11ee-be2e-0cc7309dc5b8?shareToken=3a5551270297afd4971127896429e48f

Colleges in the UK are experiencing record drop-out rates ending up in students saddled with debt and no degree due to lax grading policies.

We have the same thing here in districts that adhere to open enrollment policies and 50% minimum grades.

Open enrollment is purportedly designed to prevent teacher bias from shutting out students from courses, but in fact ensures that students who aren't ready for the course will sign up for it anyway, resulting in pressure on teachers to lower standards and/or inflate grades while the student learns little or nothing. If you're worried about teacher bias , give all students automatically graded competency exams that they have to score specific grades on to enroll in specific classes.

It doesn't help disadvantaged students in the long run to just give them a pass. Everyone has to show competency at some point down the line. It's also deeply prejudicial to cast a shadow on the achievement of bright, hardworking students from disadvantaged backgrounds who absolutely belong in those courses and legitimately earned their grade to lump them in with privileged but not too bright nor studious kids who also milk these policies.

50% minima also outrageously inflate averages and mask lack of mastery.

These policies are bad for the country on so many levels.

Not to bring people off their talking points, but what exactly is "open enrollment?" I'm assuming it refers to practices that allows students to enroll in advanced courses in MS/HS without meeting the prerequisites for them, or perhaps by not even having formal prerequisites?

To what degree is this being practiced? (From personal experience up to MS in VA I have to say I haven't seen it: access to advanced Math and English, for instance, is strictly gatekept, much to the detriment of many DCUM posters who believe their child was misplaced. Is this something that starts in HS? Which courses are open enrollment in that they don't require prerequisites? Do they allows kid who haven't taken Algebra I to take Calculus? Or can someone take French AP without having taken French I through IV?)

Please explain what the actual problem is for those not familiar with it.

My experience is FCPS middle school math. Anyone who passes math 7 seems to skip prealgebra and enroll in algebra, whether they passed with an A and a 570 or a C and a 401. I have classes full of 8th grade algebra students who can’t solve a 2 step equation every year.

Meanwhile admin says, “Isn’t open enrollment great? It allows kids to challenge themselves!”

Exactly. In LCPS we have this problem even in 7th grade Algebra 1, which is more common here. Parents just want their kid in the "highest math" regardless of whether or not their kid can handle it. I'm also shocked how many of them don't think down the path that now their child will need to take a math class beyond Calc1 in 12th grade. I hope you teach and grade to the curriculum PP and don't slow down/water down the class for the kids who shouldn't be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50% is an F. An F is an F. Is an F.

you want to demand some kind of Super F?

No it isn’t. A 50% inflates the students GPA. If a student doesn’t show up to class and does absolutely nothing the entire year that student deserves a zero.

Agreed. As it is, the student could rip the test in half in front of the teacher and throw it in the trash and would still get a 50.

Why is that a problem? 50 still fails. Did you ever decide how hard you needed to work on an assignment based on how heavily it was weighted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/69e8a356-393a-11ee-be2e-0cc7309dc5b8?shareToken=3a5551270297afd4971127896429e48f

Colleges in the UK are experiencing record drop-out rates ending up in students saddled with debt and no degree due to lax grading policies.

We have the same thing here in districts that adhere to open enrollment policies and 50% minimum grades.

Open enrollment is purportedly designed to prevent teacher bias from shutting out students from courses, but in fact ensures that students who aren't ready for the course will sign up for it anyway, resulting in pressure on teachers to lower standards and/or inflate grades while the student learns little or nothing. If you're worried about teacher bias , give all students automatically graded competency exams that they have to score specific grades on to enroll in specific classes.

It doesn't help disadvantaged students in the long run to just give them a pass. Everyone has to show competency at some point down the line. It's also deeply prejudicial to cast a shadow on the achievement of bright, hardworking students from disadvantaged backgrounds who absolutely belong in those courses and legitimately earned their grade to lump them in with privileged but not too bright nor studious kids who also milk these policies.

50% minima also outrageously inflate averages and mask lack of mastery.

These policies are bad for the country on so many levels.

Not to bring people off their talking points, but what exactly is "open enrollment?" I'm assuming it refers to practices that allows students to enroll in advanced courses in MS/HS without meeting the prerequisites for them, or perhaps by not even having formal prerequisites?

To what degree is this being practiced? (From personal experience up to MS in VA I have to say I haven't seen it: access to advanced Math and English, for instance, is strictly gatekept, much to the detriment of many DCUM posters who believe their child was misplaced. Is this something that starts in HS? Which courses are open enrollment in that they don't require prerequisites? Do they allows kid who haven't taken Algebra I to take Calculus? Or can someone take French AP without having taken French I through IV?)

Please explain what the actual problem is for those not familiar with it.

My experience is FCPS middle school math. Anyone who passes math 7 seems to skip prealgebra and enroll in algebra, whether they passed with an A and a 570 or a C and a 401. I have classes full of 8th grade algebra students who can’t solve a 2 step equation every year.

Meanwhile admin says, “Isn’t open enrollment great? It allows kids to challenge themselves!”

Exactly. In LCPS we have this problem even in 7th grade Algebra 1, which is more common here. Parents just want their kid in the "highest math" regardless of whether or not their kid can handle it. I'm also shocked how many of them don't think down the path that now their child will need to take a math class beyond Calc1 in 12th grade. I hope you teach and grade to the curriculum PP and don't slow down/water down the class for the kids who shouldn't be there.

This is what happens when top colleges care more about what class you’re registered for as a senior than your SAT math score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50% is an F. An F is an F. Is an F.

you want to demand some kind of Super F?

No it isn’t. A 50% inflates the students GPA. If a student doesn’t show up to class and does absolutely nothing the entire year that student deserves a zero.

Agreed. As it is, the student could rip the test in half in front of the teacher and throw it in the trash and would still get a 50.

Why is that a problem? 50 still fails. Did you ever decide how hard you needed to work on an assignment based on how heavily it was weighted?

It's a problem because some students actually try and barely score that. They learn they shouldn't do anything and basically get the same grade. School isn't just about learning content. It's more about learning skills and schools shouldn't be in the business of rewards kids for doing nothing.

My neighbor teaches and she said every year she has to pass students who don't show up and then hand in 1-3 assignments at the end of the semester. She said she couldn't pick those students out of a lineup because they've never attended class. Since attendance isn't part of the grade, they are free to skip classes for the entire semester if they want (and they do). They hand in a few pretty crappy assignments and get a C or D. Meanwhile, some students show up and try their best and end up with the same grade. Why are we giving anyone a passing grade who doesn't attend class? What are they learning? They are learning that they can go through life not showing up. Sadly, real life will teach them the opposite. Schools should be more about teaching content. They should be equally about teaching life skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/69e8a356-393a-11ee-be2e-0cc7309dc5b8?shareToken=3a5551270297afd4971127896429e48f

Colleges in the UK are experiencing record drop-out rates ending up in students saddled with debt and no degree due to lax grading policies.

We have the same thing here in districts that adhere to open enrollment policies and 50% minimum grades.

Open enrollment is purportedly designed to prevent teacher bias from shutting out students from courses, but in fact ensures that students who aren't ready for the course will sign up for it anyway, resulting in pressure on teachers to lower standards and/or inflate grades while the student learns little or nothing. If you're worried about teacher bias , give all students automatically graded competency exams that they have to score specific grades on to enroll in specific classes.

It doesn't help disadvantaged students in the long run to just give them a pass. Everyone has to show competency at some point down the line. It's also deeply prejudicial to cast a shadow on the achievement of bright, hardworking students from disadvantaged backgrounds who absolutely belong in those courses and legitimately earned their grade to lump them in with privileged but not too bright nor studious kids who also milk these policies.

50% minima also outrageously inflate averages and mask lack of mastery.

These policies are bad for the country on so many levels.

Not to bring people off their talking points, but what exactly is "open enrollment?" I'm assuming it refers to practices that allows students to enroll in advanced courses in MS/HS without meeting the prerequisites for them, or perhaps by not even having formal prerequisites?

To what degree is this being practiced? (From personal experience up to MS in VA I have to say I haven't seen it: access to advanced Math and English, for instance, is strictly gatekept, much to the detriment of many DCUM posters who believe their child was misplaced. Is this something that starts in HS? Which courses are open enrollment in that they don't require prerequisites? Do they allows kid who haven't taken Algebra I to take Calculus? Or can someone take French AP without having taken French I through IV?)

Please explain what the actual problem is for those not familiar with it.

My experience is FCPS middle school math. Anyone who passes math 7 seems to skip prealgebra and enroll in algebra, whether they passed with an A and a 570 or a C and a 401. I have classes full of 8th grade algebra students who can’t solve a 2 step equation every year.

Meanwhile admin says, “Isn’t open enrollment great? It allows kids to challenge themselves!”

Exactly. In LCPS we have this problem even in 7th grade Algebra 1, which is more common here. Parents just want their kid in the "highest math" regardless of whether or not their kid can handle it. I'm also shocked how many of them don't think down the path that now their child will need to take a math class beyond Calc1 in 12th grade. I hope you teach and grade to the curriculum PP and don't slow down/water down the class for the kids who shouldn't be there.

This is what happens when top colleges care more about what class you’re registered for as a senior than your SAT math score.

Your SAT math score has always just tested up to geometry--it's just not that meaningful anymore for selective colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/69e8a356-393a-11ee-be2e-0cc7309dc5b8?shareToken=3a5551270297afd4971127896429e48f

Colleges in the UK are experiencing record drop-out rates ending up in students saddled with debt and no degree due to lax grading policies.

We have the same thing here in districts that adhere to open enrollment policies and 50% minimum grades.

Open enrollment is purportedly designed to prevent teacher bias from shutting out students from courses, but in fact ensures that students who aren't ready for the course will sign up for it anyway, resulting in pressure on teachers to lower standards and/or inflate grades while the student learns little or nothing. If you're worried about teacher bias , give all students automatically graded competency exams that they have to score specific grades on to enroll in specific classes.

It doesn't help disadvantaged students in the long run to just give them a pass. Everyone has to show competency at some point down the line. It's also deeply prejudicial to cast a shadow on the achievement of bright, hardworking students from disadvantaged backgrounds who absolutely belong in those courses and legitimately earned their grade to lump them in with privileged but not too bright nor studious kids who also milk these policies.

50% minima also outrageously inflate averages and mask lack of mastery.

These policies are bad for the country on so many levels.

Not to bring people off their talking points, but what exactly is "open enrollment?" I'm assuming it refers to practices that allows students to enroll in advanced courses in MS/HS without meeting the prerequisites for them, or perhaps by not even having formal prerequisites?

To what degree is this being practiced? (From personal experience up to MS in VA I have to say I haven't seen it: access to advanced Math and English, for instance, is strictly gatekept, much to the detriment of many DCUM posters who believe their child was misplaced. Is this something that starts in HS? Which courses are open enrollment in that they don't require prerequisites? Do they allows kid who haven't taken Algebra I to take Calculus? Or can someone take French AP without having taken French I through IV?)

Please explain what the actual problem is for those not familiar with it.

My experience is FCPS middle school math. Anyone who passes math 7 seems to skip prealgebra and enroll in algebra, whether they passed with an A and a 570 or a C and a 401. I have classes full of 8th grade algebra students who can’t solve a 2 step equation every year.

Meanwhile admin says, “Isn’t open enrollment great? It allows kids to challenge themselves!”

Exactly. In LCPS we have this problem even in 7th grade Algebra 1, which is more common here. Parents just want their kid in the "highest math" regardless of whether or not their kid can handle it. I'm also shocked how many of them don't think down the path that now their child will need to take a math class beyond Calc1 in 12th grade. I hope you teach and grade to the curriculum PP and don't slow down/water down the class for the kids who shouldn't be there.

This is what happens when top colleges care more about what class you’re registered for as a senior than your SAT math score.

Your SAT math score has always just tested up to geometry--it's just not that meaningful anymore for selective colleges.

Yes, but now with test optional you don’t even need to learn SAT math. You just need the correct course names on your transcript. Which is why DCUMs support “equity” policies like open enrollment and 50% minimums. We all need to get our kids into a course called “Algebra I” in 8th, and we need the kids to pass. Elite colleges demand that. But so long as the kids don’t try to major in STEM, no one at the elite college will ever check if the kids actually learned any math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/69e8a356-393a-11ee-be2e-0cc7309dc5b8?shareToken=3a5551270297afd4971127896429e48f

Colleges in the UK are experiencing record drop-out rates ending up in students saddled with debt and no degree due to lax grading policies.

We have the same thing here in districts that adhere to open enrollment policies and 50% minimum grades.

Open enrollment is purportedly designed to prevent teacher bias from shutting out students from courses, but in fact ensures that students who aren't ready for the course will sign up for it anyway, resulting in pressure on teachers to lower standards and/or inflate grades while the student learns little or nothing. If you're worried about teacher bias , give all students automatically graded competency exams that they have to score specific grades on to enroll in specific classes.

It doesn't help disadvantaged students in the long run to just give them a pass. Everyone has to show competency at some point down the line. It's also deeply prejudicial to cast a shadow on the achievement of bright, hardworking students from disadvantaged backgrounds who absolutely belong in those courses and legitimately earned their grade to lump them in with privileged but not too bright nor studious kids who also milk these policies.

50% minima also outrageously inflate averages and mask lack of mastery.

These policies are bad for the country on so many levels.

Not to bring people off their talking points, but what exactly is "open enrollment?" I'm assuming it refers to practices that allows students to enroll in advanced courses in MS/HS without meeting the prerequisites for them, or perhaps by not even having formal prerequisites?

To what degree is this being practiced? (From personal experience up to MS in VA I have to say I haven't seen it: access to advanced Math and English, for instance, is strictly gatekept, much to the detriment of many DCUM posters who believe their child was misplaced. Is this something that starts in HS? Which courses are open enrollment in that they don't require prerequisites? Do they allows kid who haven't taken Algebra I to take Calculus? Or can someone take French AP without having taken French I through IV?)

Please explain what the actual problem is for those not familiar with it.

My experience is FCPS middle school math. Anyone who passes math 7 seems to skip prealgebra and enroll in algebra, whether they passed with an A and a 570 or a C and a 401. I have classes full of 8th grade algebra students who can’t solve a 2 step equation every year.

Meanwhile admin says, “Isn’t open enrollment great? It allows kids to challenge themselves!”

Exactly. In LCPS we have this problem even in 7th grade Algebra 1, which is more common here. Parents just want their kid in the "highest math" regardless of whether or not their kid can handle it. I'm also shocked how many of them don't think down the path that now their child will need to take a math class beyond Calc1 in 12th grade. I hope you teach and grade to the curriculum PP and don't slow down/water down the class for the kids who shouldn't be there.

This is what happens when top colleges care more about what class you’re registered for as a senior than your SAT math score.

Your SAT math score has always just tested up to geometry--it's just not that meaningful anymore for selective colleges.

If you don’t think too SAT scores still help get into to colleges, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. TO is for low scores, not high ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50% is an F. An F is an F. Is an F.

you want to demand some kind of Super F?

No it isn’t. A 50% inflates the students GPA. If a student doesn’t show up to class and does absolutely nothing the entire year that student deserves a zero.

Agreed. As it is, the student could rip the test in half in front of the teacher and throw it in the trash and would still get a 50.

Why is that a problem? 50 still fails. Did you ever decide how hard you needed to work on an assignment based on how heavily it was weighted?

It's a problem because some students actually try and barely score that. They learn they shouldn't do anything and basically get the same grade. School isn't just about learning content. It's more about learning skills and schools shouldn't be in the business of rewards kids for doing nothing.

My neighbor teaches and she said every year she has to pass students who don't show up and then hand in 1-3 assignments at the end of the semester. She said she couldn't pick those students out of a lineup because they've never attended class. Since attendance isn't part of the grade, they are free to skip classes for the entire semester if they want (and they do). They hand in a few pretty crappy assignments and get a C or D. Meanwhile, some students show up and try their best and end up with the same grade. Why are we giving anyone a passing grade who doesn't attend class? What are they learning? They are learning that they can go through life not showing up. Sadly, real life will teach them the opposite. Schools should be more about teaching content. They should be equally about teaching life skills.

Is this actually true though? Don't teachers just recalibrate and make it so the scale is just compressed? If 50 is equal to no work, some work even if very misguided is 65, crappy work is 75, etc. This is the basis of grade inflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/69e8a356-393a-11ee-be2e-0cc7309dc5b8?shareToken=3a5551270297afd4971127896429e48f

Colleges in the UK are experiencing record drop-out rates ending up in students saddled with debt and no degree due to lax grading policies.

We have the same thing here in districts that adhere to open enrollment policies and 50% minimum grades.

Open enrollment is purportedly designed to prevent teacher bias from shutting out students from courses, but in fact ensures that students who aren't ready for the course will sign up for it anyway, resulting in pressure on teachers to lower standards and/or inflate grades while the student learns little or nothing. If you're worried about teacher bias , give all students automatically graded competency exams that they have to score specific grades on to enroll in specific classes.

It doesn't help disadvantaged students in the long run to just give them a pass. Everyone has to show competency at some point down the line. It's also deeply prejudicial to cast a shadow on the achievement of bright, hardworking students from disadvantaged backgrounds who absolutely belong in those courses and legitimately earned their grade to lump them in with privileged but not too bright nor studious kids who also milk these policies.

50% minima also outrageously inflate averages and mask lack of mastery.

These policies are bad for the country on so many levels.

Not to bring people off their talking points, but what exactly is "open enrollment?" I'm assuming it refers to practices that allows students to enroll in advanced courses in MS/HS without meeting the prerequisites for them, or perhaps by not even having formal prerequisites?

To what degree is this being practiced? (From personal experience up to MS in VA I have to say I haven't seen it: access to advanced Math and English, for instance, is strictly gatekept, much to the detriment of many DCUM posters who believe their child was misplaced. Is this something that starts in HS? Which courses are open enrollment in that they don't require prerequisites? Do they allows kid who haven't taken Algebra I to take Calculus? Or can someone take French AP without having taken French I through IV?)

Please explain what the actual problem is for those not familiar with it.

My experience is FCPS middle school math. Anyone who passes math 7 seems to skip prealgebra and enroll in algebra, whether they passed with an A and a 570 or a C and a 401. I have classes full of 8th grade algebra students who can’t solve a 2 step equation every year.

Meanwhile admin says, “Isn’t open enrollment great? It allows kids to challenge themselves!”

Exactly. In LCPS we have this problem even in 7th grade Algebra 1, which is more common here. Parents just want their kid in the "highest math" regardless of whether or not their kid can handle it. I'm also shocked how many of them don't think down the path that now their child will need to take a math class beyond Calc1 in 12th grade. I hope you teach and grade to the curriculum PP and don't slow down/water down the class for the kids who shouldn't be there.

This is what happens when top colleges care more about what class you’re registered for as a senior than your SAT math score.

Your SAT math score has always just tested up to geometry--it's just not that meaningful anymore for selective colleges.

Yes, but now with test optional you don’t even need to learn SAT math. You just need the correct course names on your transcript. Which is why DCUMs support “equity” policies like open enrollment and 50% minimums. We all need to get our kids into a course called “Algebra I” in 8th, and we need the kids to pass. Elite colleges demand that. But so long as the kids don’t try to major in STEM, no one at the elite college will ever check if the kids actually learned any math.

Elite colleges demand that you take AP or IB calculus and get As in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50% is an F. An F is an F. Is an F.

you want to demand some kind of Super F?

No it isn’t. A 50% inflates the students GPA. If a student doesn’t show up to class and does absolutely nothing the entire year that student deserves a zero.

Agreed. As it is, the student could rip the test in half in front of the teacher and throw it in the trash and would still get a 50.

Why is that a problem? 50 still fails. Did you ever decide how hard you needed to work on an assignment based on how heavily it was weighted?

It's a problem because some students actually try and barely score that. They learn they shouldn't do anything and basically get the same grade. School isn't just about learning content. It's more about learning skills and schools shouldn't be in the business of rewards kids for doing nothing.

My neighbor teaches and she said every year she has to pass students who don't show up and then hand in 1-3 assignments at the end of the semester. She said she couldn't pick those students out of a lineup because they've never attended class. Since attendance isn't part of the grade, they are free to skip classes for the entire semester if they want (and they do). They hand in a few pretty crappy assignments and get a C or D. Meanwhile, some students show up and try their best and end up with the same grade. Why are we giving anyone a passing grade who doesn't attend class? What are they learning? They are learning that they can go through life not showing up. Sadly, real life will teach them the opposite. Schools should be more about teaching content. They should be equally about teaching life skills.

Is this actually true though? Don't teachers just recalibrate and make it so the scale is just compressed? If 50 is equal to no work, some work even if very misguided is 65, crappy work is 75, etc. This is the basis of grade inflation.

No, teachers don't do that. The 50-instead-of-0 is grade inflation in that kids don't fail classes when they should - but this doesn't help struggling students who are trying but are in the wrong class or otherwise legitimately getting grades of 60 or 70. It teaches them to stop trying at all because why should they? It also teaches good students to stop trying because why should they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My public school kids work hard, don't drop out and deserve their diploma. They took/will take multiple APs and avoid "on-level" classes which are remedial these days. One is in college.

You've got to know how to work the system, whatever system it is. I'm European and studied in the UK and France. Over there too, you need to work their system! It's never a full meritocracy, people. Obviously we want to push for as much transparency as possible, but "fairness" is a complex subject. When you try to be fair to some people, you end up being less fair to others.

So I can't get too excited about this, OP. Just deal with your own kids.

How would your kids experience been different if you hadn't worked the system? Any advice for those who don't know how?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50% is an F. An F is an F. Is an F.

you want to demand some kind of Super F?

No it isn’t. A 50% inflates the students GPA. If a student doesn’t show up to class and does absolutely nothing the entire year that student deserves a zero.

Agreed. As it is, the student could rip the test in half in front of the teacher and throw it in the trash and would still get a 50.

That would be a disciplinary matter, and should be addressed as such. Having a minimum score of 50 is just math, no different than how each section of the SAT has a minimum score of 200. Not every scale has to go to zero to be useful.

The SAT has a much higher ceiling than school assignments and tests. Consequently, an A means less and less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50% is an F. An F is an F. Is an F.

you want to demand some kind of Super F?

No it isn’t. A 50% inflates the students GPA. If a student doesn’t show up to class and does absolutely nothing the entire year that student deserves a zero.

Agreed. As it is, the student could rip the test in half in front of the teacher and throw it in the trash and would still get a 50.

Why is that a problem? 50 still fails. Did you ever decide how hard you needed to work on an assignment based on how heavily it was weighted?

Yes? Did you take an easy major in college or something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/69e8a356-393a-11ee-be2e-0cc7309dc5b8?shareToken=3a5551270297afd4971127896429e48f

Colleges in the UK are experiencing record drop-out rates ending up in students saddled with debt and no degree due to lax grading policies.

We have the same thing here in districts that adhere to open enrollment policies and 50% minimum grades.

Open enrollment is purportedly designed to prevent teacher bias from shutting out students from courses, but in fact ensures that students who aren't ready for the course will sign up for it anyway, resulting in pressure on teachers to lower standards and/or inflate grades while the student learns little or nothing. If you're worried about teacher bias , give all students automatically graded competency exams that they have to score specific grades on to enroll in specific classes.

It doesn't help disadvantaged students in the long run to just give them a pass. Everyone has to show competency at some point down the line. It's also deeply prejudicial to cast a shadow on the achievement of bright, hardworking students from disadvantaged backgrounds who absolutely belong in those courses and legitimately earned their grade to lump them in with privileged but not too bright nor studious kids who also milk these policies.

50% minima also outrageously inflate averages and mask lack of mastery.

These policies are bad for the country on so many levels.

Not to bring people off their talking points, but what exactly is "open enrollment?" I'm assuming it refers to practices that allows students to enroll in advanced courses in MS/HS without meeting the prerequisites for them, or perhaps by not even having formal prerequisites?

To what degree is this being practiced? (From personal experience up to MS in VA I have to say I haven't seen it: access to advanced Math and English, for instance, is strictly gatekept, much to the detriment of many DCUM posters who believe their child was misplaced. Is this something that starts in HS? Which courses are open enrollment in that they don't require prerequisites? Do they allows kid who haven't taken Algebra I to take Calculus? Or can someone take French AP without having taken French I through IV?)

Please explain what the actual problem is for those not familiar with it.

My experience is FCPS middle school math. Anyone who passes math 7 seems to skip prealgebra and enroll in algebra, whether they passed with an A and a 570 or a C and a 401. I have classes full of 8th grade algebra students who can’t solve a 2 step equation every year.

Meanwhile admin says, “Isn’t open enrollment great? It allows kids to challenge themselves!”

Exactly. In LCPS we have this problem even in 7th grade Algebra 1, which is more common here. Parents just want their kid in the "highest math" regardless of whether or not their kid can handle it. I'm also shocked how many of them don't think down the path that now their child will need to take a math class beyond Calc1 in 12th grade. I hope you teach and grade to the curriculum PP and don't slow down/water down the class for the kids who shouldn't be there.

This is what happens when top colleges care more about what class you’re registered for as a senior than your SAT math score.

Your SAT math score has always just tested up to geometry--it's just not that meaningful anymore for selective colleges.

It teaches algebra 2 concepts like logarithms, complex numbers, and trig. There are honors algebra 1 courses that cover these, but generally they're algebra 2 topics