This is a classic example of a school trying to please everyone, and completely devaluing grades in the process:
Two months off and good grades to boot.That's the bottom line for students in the Crosby-Ironton School District, where classes were interrupted for nearly two months this semester during an ugly 39-day teachers' strike.
Superintendent Linda Lawrie, carrying out her school board's wishes to make the final weeks of the school year run smoothly, told teachers in a memo this month that she "will assume that all students will receive" A's or B's this semester.
By giving everyone the high grades, Superintendent Lawrie has ensured that the grades will be pretty much meaningless. She cites a pretty inflammatory rationale for this decision, too.
The superintendent said she also was concerned that some teachers might penalize students whose parents opposed the union's position on the issues that led to the strike. She said that before the strike, some teachers did just that, giving some students grades lower than what they deserved. She wouldn't say how widespread that was or identify individual cases, but said "We had a lot of parents complain about that."
Not surprisingly, teachers and their representatives hotly deny this.
(Via Devoted Reader Erin.)
Posted by kswygert at April 25, 2005 10:28 AM