Reply to APS Retake Policy change announced

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Reply to "APS Retake Policy change announced"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This policy is such a classic case of having a theoretical plan that goes wrong in the real world.

Of course the kids taking advantage will be the panicked A hunters.  I agree with what a PP said.  In this messed up environment, it is fully accurate that one B will blow your chances at a whole class of colleges.  And they know it.  These are very motivated kids and there are plenty of them.

The kids pulling Cs and Ds and failing and not getting the material who this policy was meant to capture and help.  Are they really more motivated by this policy?  Probably not much.

In my view this was all predictable, but hey they figured it out in the real world I guess.[/quote]

Yes- it was all very foreseeable. But it was a policy created by the admin with teacher input (see above comment). I am shocked that aps made a mid year change that is to the detriment of the students. This will negatively impact the students. I think the lesson that kids are learning here is “adults will leave you high and dry if they get to do less work.” I think there could have been some structural changes that aps could have made that would have reduced teacher workload without changing the policy at the expense of students.

A nearby school district implement a very similar policy a few years ago. It was a complete sh!tshow the first year with a ton of extra work. But teachers worked together in their course content areas. All of the intensified chem teachers made one retake and then they took turns one day a week holding re-takes. So each teacher didn’t have to stay after every week. They only stayed after once or twice a month, and they didn’t have to make their own retakes they worked together. There are so many ways that aps could have made modifications. Of course, aps just listens to the loudest voices. The nearby school district did make changes in the summer for the next year. But no changes were allowed for the students. They had to keep whatever they said on the syllabus. The syllabus is a binding document that really cannot be changed, at least that’s how the nearby school district  views it. I wish aps had the same honor and integrity to their students. [/quote]

Since people don't really know why the policy was changed mid-year, everyone is merely speculating and there is nothing proving that it was merely because teachers were burdened. It's not like APS has responded to teachers' complaints about being overworked and having insufficient time for anything before.

I think what the teachers did in your anecdote above is genius and fabulous. But it doesn't mean that's why APS changed its direction mid-course. It could be because the targeted students weren't the ones being reached and the above-average students were unnecessarily sucking more resources away from them. It could also be because parents complained. Or it could be a combination of factors.  Whatever the reason, I assume (probably naively) that it was significant enough to warrant an immediate change.[/quote]

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