At West Potomac School in Washington D.C., many students have received grades of "I" for incomplete rather than "F" grades in the most recent report cards. The philosophy is that students would see this as an opportunity to improve their grades and actually learn the material instead of giving up and taking the "F" grade. Of course, if these "I" grades are not improved at all, they will remain "F's" on transcripts. The teachers at West Potomac would have to be more available, even staying over on the weekends so that students can make up any work then.
A much more contentious part of this policy involves teachers allowing absent students to not make up an assignment or test if they believe the students understand the material, involving much subjectivity. And if someone decides to skip class just because, they will most likely be given another chance, which makes it completely unfair for the other student who turned in the work on time.
This topic has been extremely controversial, with some officials backing one side and others backing the other. For those in favor of having temporarily incomplete grades, they argue that it would give students a chance to actually learn what they're supposed to, and that students learning at a slower pace would finally get a chance to catch up. But the negatives seem to outweigh the pros. Without the presence of "F" grades and with the availability of constant make-ups, students will become unconcerned with deadlines, which is completely different from the working world. Realistically, there is not enough money to have teachers stay for extended hours to fulfill these make-ups, at least for public schools. And, there seems to be no real benefit for students who actually turn in work on time in this policy.
Of course, this policy has been applied to only one school, and every school has different demographics. For example, one teacher had a whole half of her english classes have incomplete grades, while the principal counted over 2000 "F" grades out of the 2,200 students.
Monday, November 15, 2010
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8 comments:
While I think this concept of a incomplete grade is a noble idea I also think it is a badly thought up and planned one. I have to agree that an incomplete grade may give some students the opportunity to be able to succeed i also believe that anyone who is getting an F or Incomplete grade is someone who most likely doesn't want, deserve, or need a second chance. I have always found that no matter what level you are at in schooling if you put a reasonable amount of effort into a class no matter how confused and lost you may be you can obtain a D grade. But thats just my view...
I think that changing the "F" to an "I" on a report would not help the problem of students slacking off on their work because both letters would still hold the same meaning to a student. In fact, the
"I" grades might even make students feel they are not as deep in the hole because they could easily make up any assignments later and push it off until it is too late. This policy seems like it would cause more headaches than provide a solution to the problem, especially if work does not need to be made up by the students. I agree that the policy of make-ups would likely lead to less work completed as students come under the perception that if they are sly enough they can get out of that big project or important test.
I agree that the cons outweigh the pros. If this new grading system is implemented,there is a very good possibility that students will take advantage of this. I think just seeing an "F" grade will give students a wake up call to work harder whereas an "I" grade will not be as effective to get students on track. Furthermore, this is unfair to teachers. If students take advantage of this new system, teachers will have to devote more time because they will have to take time to proctor missed exams and to reteach subjects over again to the students who decided not to come to school. This will also create horrible study habits. Colleges will not use this grading system, so to promote procrastination during high school will make it harder for students when they go to college.
I think this system of schooling will hurt rather than the help the students who are under this system. Even in a regular school like Aragon, ditching class is common, and I feel that rules likes these will only lead to more ditching. This school's rules concerning absent students and make-up work are extremely lax and unrealistic. One of the best things we learn in school is the the importance of doing work thoroughly and on time. In today's world, time management is everything and if a student hasn't learned the importance of completing an assignment on time, they will have little success in college and in keeping a job. I especially don't agree with the rule that a teacher can choose to not test an absent student if they feel the student understands the curriculum. I think many of us can say that even when we weren't absent, there have been times when we felt like we understood a subject and then only realized our lack of knowledge after we bombed a test. I believe that "F's" will better push a student to try harder, compared to an "I" which will probably make a student believe that they can continue to put work off keep behaving as they were.
-Sandy Frank
I must agree with Rosslee that this is a very good idea but it has been badly timed and implemented. I actually really like the idea of getting an "I" rather than an "F" on report cards because it does give you the feeling that you can recover your grades in time. But we must remember that the "F" will appear on the final transcript. However, I dislike the extra work it puts on teachers because they're jobs are stressful enough without having to teach some students who didn't even have a valid reason for missing school in the first place.
While the "I" grade is used to lessen the blow, that will actually have a negative impact. I agree with Michelle; failing students need a wake up call and trying to soften the blow isn't a smart idea. Furthermore, majority of the students fail because they lack the proper initiative to perform well in school. Without the desire to pass, students aren't going to use those make-up tests to their advantage, but rather use all those chances as an excuse to sink deeper. All in all, it's just more work for the teachers.
I agree with Ross that the intent of the incomplete grade as "I" is pretty (I'll quote him) "noble" but the outcome creates unprepared kids to go out into the work force. I think that it is actually a wake - up call and reality check to see the F, becuase psychologically it doesn't sit well with anyone no matter how nonchalant they may seem, and it will push them to want to do better. Oparent condiditoning from AP PSychology class stated that reinforcement and punishment is the best procedure to create someone's learning. I is wishy - washy and doesn't really punish someone for not doing well while the F will make people want to do better!
While some may think this is a clever idea on the school's part, I see this as a way of just dealing with the problem later, instead of dealing with it right a way. If this new policy were implemented in other schools throughout the country, I would be curious to see how it turned out. Furthermore, because the "I" is considered a temporary grade until the student feels the need to make it up, the student lose motivation instead of gaining the motivation to make up the grade. I agree, that it doesn't seem fair who decides to randomly skip class while there are other students hard at work in the class. Last, the statistic is really shocking. This is just more proof that this policy decreases a student's motivation.
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