According to information provided to teachers this week for the 2009-2010 school year in Prince George’s County Public School system in Maryland is a new grading scale. This new grading scale requires teachers to give students no less than a 50% on any single assignment. So for example:
- The student who does not turn in his homework receives a 50% for that homework assignment
- The student who bombs a test and gets only 1 out of 50 questions correct receives a 50% for that test grade
- The student who does not participate gets a 50% for a participation grade
What Does this New Grading Scale Mean?
There is little information being provided to teachers or principals regarding the rationale behind this new grading scale. This leaves each individual the task of coming up with an understanding for him or herself. Currently there are two thoughts about it:
- With the lowest grade allowed being a 50%, students have a better chance at pulling up their overall grade for any one class
- With the lowest grade allowed being a 50%, students will not have their spirits crushed at seeing a lower percentage grade on an assignment
Looking at these more carefully it can be seen that the logic is flawed:
1. While yes, it will be easier for students to pull up a failing grade if the lowest grade on record is a 50%, this only serves to help inflate their actual grades. How will the student feel who turns his work in all year feel when the student who sits next to him doesn’t turn in work but makes up the grade in other areas? Grade inflation is a huge issue and parents should not sit back and be silent about this unless they like the idea of their children receiving a grade that they did not actually earn.
2. Self-esteem has always been a huge issue for public schools. Ever wonder why teachers no longer give students an F for failing? An E will help a failing student feel better, right? While teachers need to not cut students down, degrade them in any way or cause them to feel badly about themselves if at all possible, is it really the teacher’s job to lie to students to make them feel better?
What can be done? Nothing, really. Teachers have to abide by the new grading scale and students get to reap the rewards. In the end, though, the students are going to be the ones who are on the losing end as they receive inflated grades and a falsely inflated sense of self-esteem.
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