As if it were not bad enough with schools implementing “safe spaces” and CRT, a Virginia school district is going a step further to ruin their schools. They are making it so students don’t have any sort of deadlines and can retake things endlessly. Teachers in the district are more than a little upset about it.
“The preliminary proposal calls for
- No late penalties for homework – because the proposal says it leads to inaccurate grades as it reflects on student’s behavior and not student achievement
- No extra credit – as the proposal says extra credit leads to biased grades and penalizes students with fewer resources
- Unlimited redoes and retakes on assignment
- No grading for homework as the proposal says mistakes are vital to learning and students are less likely to take risks when they fear they will be graded down for making a mistakes
The goal of the proposal is to implement more equitable grading practices.”
“There’s no labeling of students or ranking of students,” said Dr. Erin Russo, the Principal of Discovery Elementary, during a meeting discussing the proposal. “It’s the ownership of what do I need to work on and where am I?”
“Teachers from Wakefield High School sent a letter to the Arlington County Superintendent that said the proposal is anything but equitable and would impact the neediest of students as they prepare for the future.
Dear Arlington School Board members and Dr. Duran:
As educators with decades of experience in APS, we are extremely concerned with several changes proposed in the new grading and homework policy. We believe that these changes will impact student learning and socio-emotional development and growth in a negative way. The changes, if implemented, will also result in the decline of high expectations and rigor in the classroom across all APS high schools. We agree that homework, summer assignments, summative as well as formative assessments need to be meaningful, engaging, and be clearly communicated/explained to students and their families; however, if proposed changes are implemented, the accountability “piece” of the learning process will exist in theory only.
In addition to learning how to construct an effective argument in writing, solve math equations, or properly conduct science experiments, as students matriculate through high school, they also learn how to develop organizational, time, and stress management skills and grow as responsible, civically engaged, and considerate young adults. To achieve these ends, students should be held accountable for completing their work in a timely manner and meeting deadlines that were reasonably established by their teachers. We pride ourselves on providing useful constructive criticism for our students, analyzing and reflecting on major content and skill-based assignments, and providing them with exemplary work from their classmates. We do not see how this practice can continue if the “timeliness of the completion” is not considered in the submission and grading process.”
Many subjects require building a foundation before you move on to learn more, but under this proposal, students could take as long as they want to learn something, making it impossible to learn everything they need to. This proposal is not going to do anything except drive teachers nuts and prevent students from learning how to manage their time. It by no means readies the students for the world.
