A lot of schools are changing their names to be more woke, but there’s more going on inside in the attempt to be “anti-racist,” as butthead professor Ibram X. Kendi calls it. Reason’s Robby Soave reports that the San Diego Unified School District is doing what it can to “confront practices like this that have gone on for years and years” if it is “actually going to be an anti-racist school district.” Confront practices like what? Well, like relying on grades and expecting assignments to be turned in on time.
Abolishing grades in order to be "antiracist," is a bit like no longer collecting data on homelessness in order to be anti-poverty. (Or, to use a timely example, complaining that the problem with more covid testing is you find more covid cases.) https://t.co/fxmd4z4REs
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) October 19, 2020
I'm open to alternative grading systems, but failing to penalize late work and absences does not seem like it would be doing kids any favors in the long run.
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) October 19, 2020
Under the new system, students will not be penalized for failing to complete assignments, and teachers will give them extra opportunities to demonstrate mastery of subjects. The grades they receive upon completion of a course will no longer reflect their average test and assignment scores. “Common grading practices such as averaging a student’s grade over time can disadvantage students who started the year behind grade level and can discredit the progress a student has made, experts have said,” noted The San Diego Union Tribune.
The new approach — which is rather confusingly written — still includes letter grades, but these will reflect student’s “mastery” of the subject rather than their completion of homework, quizzes, and tests. What constitutes mastery is left unexplained. Grades “shall not be influenced by behavior or factors that directly measure students’ knowledge and skills in the content area,” which sounds like a recipe for highly subjective grading. And a great deal of leniency will now be given to students who don’t do the work for a course, including those who don’t show up at all: Attendance can no longer be a factor in grading.
So there will still be letter grades, but they won’t be influenced by factors that directly measure students’ knowledge in the content area.
How in the world is the US supposed to compete when we implement this insanity? It’s like building a skyscraper without using any engineering principles.
— Carl W (@Car_D_W) October 19, 2020
I definitely want to someday be treated by a physician whose work wasn’t graded
— Eric Anderson (@RedEricAnderson) October 19, 2020
Don’t you get it? Not turning in assignments doesn’t mean the student doesn’t have a mastery of the material; they’re just not good at meeting deadlines.
Well, they’re getting rid of SAT/ACT, so how will colleges even make decisions on college applications in 12 years?
— Critically Thinking Human (@TheTruthIsWhere) October 19, 2020
Scottsdale Unified tried this several years ago. “Let kids take the tests as many times as they want to until they get the grade they want.” Nightmare for teachers. Can you imagine having to teach 30 kids and administer tests from weeks, if not months, ago over and over?
— Pam Kirby ?? #LatinosForTrump Parler @PamKirby (@PamKirby) October 19, 2020
Old news. Been doing this in Idaho for a while now.
— Susan Crockett (@SusanCrockett) October 19, 2020
this is awesome news except for students who are smart, or work hard, or both
— jeffrey (@Superbowl40fixd) October 19, 2020
When you're losing, change the rules or just give up.
— admhassenfeffer (@admhassenfeffer) October 19, 2020
I stopped reading when I saw that students need to show "mastery", because that's a racist term.
— Broadened Standards (@BroadenedStand1) October 19, 2020
Good point — Realtors won’t even mention master bedrooms anymore.
So lower the bar to “just don’t fail”. That should give kids something fulfilling to strive for and achieve. Well done, San Diego.
— Scott (@savedbygrace005) October 19, 2020
What could go wrong? Smh. Kinda like participation trophies. God forbid kids actually have to work hard and study.
— CARDINAL 4EVER (@GregSmart1966) October 19, 2020
“Things like turning work in on time and classroom behavior will now instead count towards a student's citizenship grade, not their academic grade.”
Excuse me what the fuck
— Jimmy (@RealNameIsJimmy) October 19, 2020
This will be good for private schools that will focus on achievement and accountability. People will pay for it, thereby turning out better prepared students. This will naturally further drive “inequality,” which will require electing more Libs to “fix” the “structural racism.”
— Veritas Largo (@LargoVeritas) October 19, 2020
Where are the parent’s voices in this decision?
— Rick Wassmuth (@RickWassmuth) October 19, 2020
We can’t hear them over the teachers’ unions.
Related:
Drag Queen Story Hour moves to public schools to teach first graders about gender fluidity and family structures https://t.co/I4v8uFTYwB
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 28, 2020
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