Testimony Before the OCPS School Board, November 11, 2014
Wendy L. Doromal
I am against inflating student grades. Grades should be determined by student achievement per state statute. They should not be determined by district policy.
Since last year OCPS has enforced a grading policy in violation of our contract, which allows for teachers to have autonomy and discretion regarding student grades. In November 2013 the district sent out a policy memo stating, “All grades lower than a 50% should be corrected to at least a 50%. New OCPS procedures, in regards to proportional grading is now updated in Progress Book and SMS. Students will not be given marking period grades of less than 50%.”
When inputting grades, teachers who put in a grade below a 50% receive a pop-up message instructing them to select an “ok” button that bumps the grade up to a 50%. Teachers are forced to commit academic fraud and sacrifice their professional integrity. They are putting their teacher licenses at risk when they follow this policy.
The policy also conflicts with several Florida State Statutes, including Section 1003.437, which states that for middle and high schools “Grade ‘F’ equals a zero percent through 59 percent.”
A 2009 memo from Dr. Frances Haithcock Chancellor of Public Schools to all District Superintendents stated, “Several instances have been brought to our attention that schools or districts are utilizing a grading scale at the middle school, high school or district level that does not comply with the grading scales specified in Florida Statute. The majority of concerns reported to us are regarding the use of a scale for Grade F that does not include zero to 59 percent. Please make every effort to ensure that your middle schools and high schools are utilizing the scale specified.”
According to Florida Statute and the DOE memo, the district violated the law when it changed the grading policy. The district also forced teachers to violate the law by having them inflate grades. No teacher should be put in that position.
Inflated grades do not represent an accurate record of a student’s knowledge in the subject area. When a zero percent is replaced with a 50 percent the students’ overall grade can be raised significantly. For instance, if a student has grades of 100 percent and zero percent his average grade would be a 50%. When the zero percent is changed to a 50% the grade becomes a 75% going up two letter grades.
If grades represent the level of a student’s understanding then is it fair to inflate a student’s grade and then send him or her on to the higher -level class? Aren’t we setting these students up for failure? Say a student receives a 70% in Algebra I, but without the grade being bumped up he would have received a 58% as his final grade. Will this student succeed in Algebra II? The student who has not mastered the prerequisite course is highly unlikely to do well in the higher-level course.
Parents should be concerned. Parents who see a 50% on their child’s report card might take steps to increase their child’s skills and level of understanding by arranging tutoring or taking other corrective steps. However, alarms may not go off if their child is given the inflated grade of 75%. The student still has not mastered the work and may require extra help, but the grade indicates otherwise.
With an inflationary grading system the top 10% gets crowded and the truly outstanding students get lost in the crowd. Are we helping students by inflating grades or harming them? I say we are harming them by conditioning them to think that they can skate by with little effort and receive a higher grade than they actually earned.
There is also an ethical question. How are we preparing our students to succeed in college, career and life when we hand them a score that is higher than they have earned? Are we denying them of opportunities to learn, to revise, to try harder or to develop a strong work ethic? Lowering expectations decreases effort. This system teaches students they can pass without working hard. That is not the lesson that I want to teach my students.
Related newspaper articles:
- Inquisitr, News Worth Sharing, Florida School District planning to restrict low grading to make failing students fell better: motivational or not? November 14, 2014
- Politifact Florida: Jeb Bush Says Orange County schools make it impossible for students to receive below a 50, November 20, 2014
- CBS News, Tampa, FL: Florida School District Won't Give Grades Below a 50, November 12, 2014
- Tampa Bay News: Orange County Schools Make 50 the New Zero, Bush Says, November 23, 2014
- Orlando Sentinel: Orange Schools Won't Let Grades Slip Below a 50, November 12, 2014
If OCPS teachers stop coming to work, will we still receive 50% of our paycheck? Just curious...
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