I just went back and reread an article about a new student grading policy entitled “Grand Rapids high school students cannot get failing grade under new policy. ” This was dated December 3, 2008. High School teachers in Grand Rapids, Michigan wanted to come up with a way to get students to pass their courses. Almost half of the high school students in Grand Rapids were failing their classes.
Failing students will receive an H instead of an E or F. The H means the grade is “held” while the student completes the course work. The rationale behind this new concept is that you are allowed to take your drivers test or lawyers take the bar exam an unlimited amount of time. Only in schools do most students only get one opportunity to earn a grade.
Is this a good idea or is it another fad? I think it is both good and a fad. If a student wants to learn and wants to work on his assignments until it is acceptable he should be allowed to do so. However, many classes are crowded with too many students. Teachers will find that they have too many students to closely supervise and keep track of these late assignments. This grading format will work if class sizes are kept small. I think that teachers will get burned out after a few years and return to their previous grading policy. What do you think?
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I guess I would need more info on how the system works, but my gut reaction is that this is a logistical nightmare. A few questions that quickly come to mind:
ReplyDelete1) Do the students have to attend classes until they earn a passing grade?
2) How many classes can the student be working on at one time?
3) If the students are not required to attend class, and can have an unlimited number of classes at a time, then are they actually trying to pass?
4) How do they decide who graduates when?