Are Students Coddled? Schools Get Rid of 'F's
Some Fear Bad Grades May Encourage Dropouts, but Not Everyone Is Convinced
By EMILY FRIEDMAN
Dec. 5, 2008 —
For more students nationwide, the grading alphabet ends at "D," as school districts eliminate policies that allow children to be given failing marks.
At public schools in Grand Rapids, Mich., high school students will no longer receive "F"s but instead will earn the letter "H" when their work falls woefully short.
Superintendent Bernard Taylor told ABCNews.com that the "H" stands for "held," and is a system designed to give students a second chance on work that was not up to par.
"I never see anyone doing anything but punishing kids," said Taylor. "If the choice is between letting kids fail and giving them another opportunity to succeed, I'm going to err on the side of opportunity."
Students in Taylor's district can choose to retake the course, do extra work online or decide on a different remedial action with their teacher.
But if the work has not been rectified within 12 weeks, Taylor said the student will still receive a failing grade.
At one Boston area middle school, a policy known as "Zeros Aren't Permitted" gives students who do not complete their homework on time an opportunity during school hours to finish so that they do not fail the assignment.
The school principal explained that the policy was implemented in hopes of preventing "students from failing homework assignments and slipping through the cracks of the education system."
But school administrators, child psychologists and even parents disagree over whether the controversial policy in school grading may actually be detrimental to children in the long run.
Are Schools Coddling Children?
Alan Kazdin, a professor of psychology and child psychiatry at Yale University, believes that schools that veer away from giving children the grades they have earned even when it's a zero or an "F" aren't doing anyone any good.
"Children aren't going to gain from ambiguous information regarding their grades," said Kazdin.
"The fact is children are failing yet we don't want to call it that," said Kazdin. "It's this whole notion that everyone's a winner and everyone gets a trophy."
Kazdin argues that children are perceptive enough that they will eventually realize they aren't doing well in school whether teachers give them "F"s or not, and that hiding their true level of achievement will only confuse them further.
"The task is to change the reality, not the labeling of it," he said.
Providing detailed feedback on what children can do to improve their grades is imperative, said Kazdin. While students may feel initially feel demoralized when they receive a failing grade, Kazdin said that by providing them with specific ways to improve their class standing they will eventually benefit from the traditional grading system.
But the director of programs for the National Parent Teacher Association, Sherri Johnson, maintains that as more research emerges about the different ways children learn, the grading system needs to be tweaked accordingly.
"Research shows that children develop and learn at different paces and in different ways," said Johnson.
"Schools have to move toward more of a portfolio process in measuring progress and learning," she said. "A student may get an 'A' but that report card should also show where there are opportunities for improvement."
Johnson said that with the nation's drop out rate hovering around 30 percent, schools should be doing whatever they can to prevent students from getting so discouraged that they give up on their education.
Students and Grades"By the time many students get to high school some have probably experienced so much failure on paper that they ask themselves, 'what's the point?'" said Johnson.
"For kids to see an 'F' on their work is deflating," she said.
But mom Alison Rhodes says that a little disappointment may not be so bad for the generation that has become accustomed to an "everyone is a winner" lifestyle.
"I think we're setting these kids up for failure and unrealistic exercitations because there is a consequence for not trying your best," said Rhodes, who is also known as TV's "Safety Mom." "You can't slack off and still expect to win."
"[A system where] there are no zeros or 'F's is coddling them and sending them the wrong message," she said. "A dose of reality and tough love is what they need."
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13 comments:
I am one of those who use the INC grade until a student has completed the work with a passing grade. I went to this about 10 years ago because it sends an entirely different message than an F. First off, it tells students that I believe they can do it. Second, it reinforces the fact that we are involved in a learning process -- practicing what we are learning -- students can improve -- some just need more time. Third, the message for those who are not even attempting is just that -- not "the teacher didn't explain it" or "I didn't get it" but "I didn't attempt it." This is a great time to spend some time one-on-one discussing positive life choices, something many of our kids need. The expectation is that everyone will attempt and everyone will succeed.
The trade offs for this method are that it requires teacher commitment. Who grades all those retakes and late assignments? I do. I also build in time during the final project for students who have not completed work to have one more go at it -- that means a regular final for them, but that's also a trade-off. It also requires that the teacher spend a lot of time assessing the individual needs of each student. I also have to face a long list of INC grades at certain times of the semester, and it drives me crazy. I am constantly looking over how many assignments are missing for each student -- usually just one or two that are being rewritten -- however, when you have a whole list of INC grades staring you in the face, panic sometimes ensues.
Overall, I like the idea of not letting kids fail. Ken O'Connor has a book called "How to Grade for Learning" that was the text for a class I took a few years ago. There is a difference between handing a student a grade and convincing them to earn it. In the first situation, you are helping them complete a checklist. In the latter, you are helping them develop a life check list -- what life skills do they need, and are we willing to invest in helping them get there?
I was a very frustrated teacher the first 3 years I taught, and I almost left teaching altogether. Then, I had to make a decision -- do I teach XXX subject, or do I teach kids. I teach kids. This method works for teaching kids. It is sometimes a big headache for teaching XXX.
Steinkamp
its a very fine line between giving extra assistance and handing the work over to a kid. We need to determine the level at which these students are trying without being naive. Yes, this is a very good policy for those who really wnt to try. On the other hand, this could be a very easy situation to be manipulated. Can we trust our kids today? My positive attitude wants to hope so...
Where has the intrinsic drive to do well gone?
Motivation is the key. If the student is unmotivated by grades, we need to find a way to engage them. Giving them an "H" won't make them responsible, or anymore ready to complete the assignment they didn't do the first time. Many of our failing students are failing not because because of poor work...but that they haven't turned anything in! Should we give them credit for just sitting in class? No! How do we make kids see how important learning is and be responsible for grabbing knowledge? I do think we need to do everything we can to have the students gain knowledge! -coddle? No! We need to find a way to value the information and make them responsible for their part of the education process. Grades are the closest thing to salaries we have currently!
In my research composition class, I have used a variation of this system for nearly 20 years. However, I don't list the grade as an INC; I actually show the student what his average is with the zero or low score that is currently recorded. However, all students are given about the first 14 weeks of the semester to work individually with me on the material on which they struggled and then have the opportunity to take a new quiz over the material. Students are never given the same quiz; they are given a different quiz over the same material. Any improvement is recorded in place of the previous grade. Students have countless opportunities to improve their scores. Even students who may have scored 99% have countless opportunities to try to score 100%. I have used this system because not all students grasp certain concepts at the same rate. This situation allows students to learn more at their own rate. It has been quite successful for me through the years because the students in this course have a desire to learn and improve.
However, I am currently experiencing the flip side of that coin. My Basic English I teaching partner and I have been using this system all semester. It does help students who have the desire to learn and want to improve. However, what I have discovered is that those students who have no desire to learn or improve are quite content to let the zero or low grade remain. The only way we have been able to get some of these Basic English I students to finish an assignment or improve the score of an assignment is by requiring them to go to the Achievement Center during their study hall and redoing the work. Even then some of them refuse to take advantage of this opportunity.
My colleague and I have also discovered that the paper work is horrendous--and this situation exists even though two of us are in the classroom and we have a very small number of students! If this new system is going to be very effective and used in all classes, class size will need to be reduced dramatically; or the average number of years teachers remain in education will fall far lower than the current 7!
BVH
I'm not sure how I feel about the H grade idea. Students who don't turn in work and ultimately receive "0's" are not engaged students. Giving them additional time is not going to engage them. Somehow we need to make them understand the value of committment to the task at hand and believe there is a reason for doing the homework, project, report, test, quiz, etc. Whatever it is!! I give "0's", but I also give students plenty of time to make-up work without deduction of points. It frustrates me that even then some students will just say give me the "0" as long as I"m still passing. Those that won't pass give a half-hearted attempt and earn limited points. Something needs to be done, but I'm just not sure what that something is.
Has anyone taken a look at the education systems internationally? Do students have the opportunity to turn in work for credit over and over and over again in China, Japan, Germany, etc.? Many may think this is a ridiculous comment, but if we look at the big picture, where do we want our society to be in 5 years?
As teachers, we have several deadlines to meet...progress reports, quarter grades, semester grades, sign off on this form, turn in that form, etc. If we are late with grades, we are immediately called on it. If we do not take attendance correctly, we get an e-mail letting us know that the office had to fix it. Now...what if I decided I wasn't going to enter a grade until the end of the semester. Maybe I was uncomfortable with the software. Maybe I just needed to find my 'motivation.' Would this be acceptable behavior? No. Why are we willing to allow our students to behave this way?
I love to teach Spanish, and I love to work with kids. However, I feel that our students are being sent the wrong message. If you listened to the panel on
21st Century Education, I think that it was clear: we are not preparing them for life beyond high school when we continually take the responsibility off of them and lower our expectations.
Amy Klein
I do not use the INC grading system in my classes - I also input zeros for missing work but allow students to rework any assingment, quiz or test to improve their grade. I hand out several progress reports in addition to the required midterm and quarter grades to my students so they know what their grade is and what they need to do to improve the grade. However, I still have some students who choose not to complete their work or come in for outside help. I think we need to be careful with the held and the credit recovery offered to students - we need to make sure that we are still holding students accountable and we still have high expectations of them. I agree that we need to try and teach responsibility and get students to take some ownership in their grades. However, my question is what about the student who does not show any desire to pass - they do not do any work - they do not come in for outside help - we need to figure something out - but not sure if the held is the answer.
I guess I would say I use a mixture or blend of the two styles that most of us are talking about. I do input low grades, and yes that does include failing grades. Some kids put forth failing efforts and for this reason I believe they should know where they stand. However, I teach mechanics classes and thus have many activities and procedures that I just want all the students to know when they leave here. I don't care if it takes them 1 week to master this technique or if it takes them the whole semester. For this reason, many of the grades I record are ongoing, that is to say I will change the grade as the student improves. We all know that people learn at different speeds. If you don't believe that, you yourself must be a slow learner! (just kidding) In most situations, at least for me, I don't care when or how fast students learn the information I am giving them. I just want them to learn it before they leave my class and move on.
Dale C.
I think a distinction needs to be made between students who are actively choosing not to complete assignments and students who struggle with concepts/skills/etc. In my classes, the students who fail are the students who reject the ideas of using classtime to complete assignment, seeking help outside of class when needed and completing assignments. Like some others above, I enter a zero for an assignment not turned in. I also give out student progress reports about every other week--or at the conclusion of a major assignment. The kids know, at all times, exactly where they sit in the class. I provide numerous opportunities for students to make up work.
While should give students life lessons and teach life skills, sending a message that one can reject the requirements of a specific social setting (school, work, etc) and face minimal consequences is not an effective lesson to teach. I had a college instructor for a journalism class who's mantra was "better never than late." While that is probably a bit specific to journalism and a little harsh, the lesson was clear: in that setting, deadlines were in no way negotiable.
School needs to be an environment for learning content, skills and personal responsibility. It should be safe environment in which one can fail and learn from that failure. I think if we continue to lower standards and coddle young adults, we are doing them a disservice.
chris b
I'm not sure where to go. My students all work at differnent speeds on different activities. I give a weekly grade if they worked on the activites they have been assigned. It's hard to give grades when the students are not doing the same worksheet. I agree that the students need to learn that things are not handed to them outside of school and redos aren't always part of the real world. I also think that we need to look at students as individuals and take that into account as well.
BT
Our challenge as educators is to mold students into good employees. Regardless of the century, is it best for the student not to experience failure until they enter the work force? No matter what work they do, they will have deadlines and responsibilities that, if not met, may put the entire business on hold. Isn’t it better to fail in a safe environment than in a paid job where survival may be put at risk? Maybe students need to fail in school so they can learn from their mistakes and (hopefully) not fail in life. I do know that for some students seeing their own failure motivates them to do better--they benefit from seeing their grade with zeros included. Judt
I believe in the concept of using INC (incompletes) instead of a zero when assessing students completion of objectives. The focus needs to be on objective completion. This allows better communication with students, parents, and others concerning students academic progress, because it is very specific about what the student has demonstrated they know and what they do not know. This approach also helps in aligning grading rubrics more accuratley with what we are doing instructionally. The question that needs to be discussed is how long do you let INC's exist before you do change that as an instructor. I personally do not have an issue with an INC sitting there until complete, I see that approach actually teaching students responsibility by holding them to completing a task. The article discussed the use of H which is a held and that is essentially the same thing as an INC but if that lingo is more meaningful than that may be something to think about as well.
Thanks for all you do Mr. Morton
Morton
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