Teacherease.com– where students can see their real grades. But there
seems to be some inconsistency. Teacherease said Student A had a grade
of 12, but when report card day came, they had a grade of 55. Why? It’s
simple math.
Teachers experience problems at the end of the marking period with the
new grading policy. Teachers cannot give students the grade truly
deserved if the grade is below a 55 and any grade below a 90 must be
given in increments of 5. The passing grade is 65.
If a student’s grade is a 9, for example, then the teacher must give the student a 55.
A
grade of 45 is an indication that the child has no seat time and is
therefore ineligible for P.M. school or summer school, according to
Principal Miriam Nightengale. Administration, however, must approve a
grade of 45. Mia Bradford , one of the school’s guidance counselors,
said that the administration, regardless, checks all grades to make sure
that teachers aren’t giving grades unfairly.
“To me, about five teachers have complained,” said Bradford who is in charge of the school’s programming system.
This grading policy was installed by the NYC Department of Education the first marking period of the second semester in 2011.
Students are graded on two different measures. One measure is called
“seat time” which measures the amount of time the student is physically
present in class.
Teachers like Ms. Pak, a Global History teacher, feel this policy is
unfair because students who do some of their work end up receiving the
same grade as other students who barely come to school.
“It’s a double edged sword because to some it encourages and to others
it makes them confident they can pass even with not enough work,” said
Ms. Pak.
Ms. Pak points out that it seems unfair that grades below a 55 must get bumped up to a 55.
“So
if a student gets a grade of 20, their grade must be bumped up to a
55--that’s a 35 point jump. Should other students get that same 35 point
jump, too?” said Pak.
Ms.
Nightengale, however, feels that the new grading policy is fair and
provides balance for students. Nightengale feels that students are
originally given “65 ways to fail and 45 ways to pass,” since 65 is the
passing grade. The new grading policy, according to Nightengale,
provides students with a balance so that there is “less space to fall.”
In other words, a minimum grade of 55 prevents students’ averages from
being weighed down by one class or semester.
“An
average is supposed to give an overall picture of a students
performance. An average can’t give a false picture of a student.”
Bradford feels that the grading policy is unfair because it gives students false hopes.
“It’s
false hope because students think they really got a 55 and that they
are near passing, but they’re really not,” said Ms. Bradford.
If students received the grades they truly deserved, then grade-point-averages would drop severely.
“GPAs
would be horrible and people would have 20% GPAs. Maybe it would give
students a reality check,” said Ms. Bradford, who doesn’t sympathize
with students who don’t do their work.
Ms. Bradford “has no sympathy.” She personally feels that teachers should be able to give students their raw scores.
The
grading policy is unfair to students who legitimately get a 55 because
those students get the same grade as students who almost never do their
work or almost never come to school. The person who legitimately gets a
55 could get the same grade if they only come to school for a few days.
“If you get a zero, oh well,” said Ms. Bradford.
In her opinion, people don’t get the same chances when they are adults.
People are not given the same chance to “pass” when they get older.
“If I don’t come to work, I’ll get fired,” said Ms. Bradford.
Ms. Conwell, one of the assistant principals of the school, feels that the grading policy is made to allow consistency.
If a students get a grade of 12, for example, and this grade is
factored into their average, they may not be able to pass the semester.
Nightengale feels that math calculations should not be taken as a reflection of a student’s capacity.
“The grading policy allows kids to rebound and overcome issues they had
to face before,” said Conwell, “Either way, a 55 is a 55–a failing
grade is a failing grade.”
Even
certain students don’t feel that the new grading policy is fair. The
students whose grades have been moved up to a 55 probably have no
problem with this policy. But other students feel that students who do
some work should not get the same grade as those who do almost no work.
“I don’t think it’s fair because if you didn’t do work all year then
you shouldn’t get that grade,” said Julia Parris, a sophomore of LACJ,
“It’s unfair to those who work as opposed to those who don’t work.”