Doing the same amount of work for a better grade

First of all, congratulations. You are reading the 100th post at the House of Hosh. We are guessing that if we would've kept our act together, we would've reached this about July of 2007. But oh well. We are here and happy so many of you could join us for this. It's kind of like the Golden Globes...(cricket chirp, cricket chirp)...

Anyway, this fine article appeared on the local NBC news website: School District Eliminates the Grade of Zero. Now, we all know that I work in an educational setting, so unlike many items that you read on this page, I actually have some background knowledge of this one. When I first read the headline and tease, "Hold students responsible for assignments and keep them from dropping out," I thought this was a great idea. But then I read a little farther:

Dr. Bruckner (CB Public Schools Superintendent) says students should get 50%, which is still an F, for a missed assignment. It's still a failing grade, but an incentive for students to stay in school and complete those assignments.

"What we're trying to do is don't let those zeroes get in the way of helping kids have a chance to learn. What we want teachers to do is not to let kids off the hook by saying you didn't have that in and I’m going to give you a zero, you don't have to do the work because I've already given you a zero."

Let me get this straight: so now, when a student doesn't want to do an assignment, you want them to stay in school, so you are giving them a better grade then before? For the same amount of "work?" You're letting them off the hook by giving them a 50 instead of 0. That's a huge difference. A 50 is more than halfway between a zero and passing. By 10-15 points (depending on what you want to call passing).

Yes, giving them three zeros at the beginning of the semester does put their passing the course in jeopardy. But I have a different idea. Make your curriculum/assignments relevant to students. Honestly, a student isn't going to do something they don't want to. Why isn't that child doing their work? Something at home? Are they in the wrong class for their intelligence? Your job isn't to create a grade for a student, it's to teach them something. Maybe you aren't challenging them? There are so many reasons this could be happening, but giving them a grade for not completing the assignment is not an answer. It is definitely a case-by-case basis as to why a student isn't performing, but handing them a grade for no reason isn't the answer.

There is also a reason that you can only find this story on one station: It's a horrible idea. It's a cop-out for someone who doesn't want to do their job of increasing student achievement.