The Problem with Nicklebee's Dime

Did you know that fifty is the new zero? Grading guidelines in many public school districts have put limits on how low a student’s grade can drop. Most of these schools set the grade restriction at a minimum of 50. However some have set it at an appalling 70. This means that a student would not have to participate, do their homework, or even take a test and they would still manage to pass. How are students demonstrating a satisfactory understanding of a subject if no level of participation ever takes place?

A new bill hopes to reestablish law back into the universe of public schools and I hope it succeeds. A recent Dallas Morning article by Terence Stutz chronicles the bill aiming to remove the grade limits that the districts have established. Authored by Senator Jane Nelson of Flower Mound, SB 2033 states that a district’s grading policy “(1) must require a classroom teacher to assign a grade that reflects the student’s relative mastery of an assignment; and (2) may not require a classroom teacher to assign a minimum grade for an assignment without regard to the student’s quality of work.” I fear that this might make too much sense to pass the senate.

This redefining of the grade systems can be traced back to 2001 with the enactment of “No Child Left Behind”. Mostly meant for primary education, added rules in late 2008 applied harsh mandates to middle and high schools. The additional rules created a situation where federal funding could be reduced based on the amount of dropouts and the percentage of dropout based off of differing demographics. These penalties provide enough incentive for districts to create a grading system that caters to the lowest common denominator so that they have enough motivation to stay in school. A vicious cycle was born where we continually set the bar lower and lower.

My son goes to a school in Elgin and is a straight “A” student. He works hard for his grades by studying all the time. His school district set the minimum grade at 50. Does this diminish his accomplishments? I believe he earned his grade and I’m very proud of him. There’s still that “but” and it’s hanging out there not directed at him, but at the district. It’s troubling that the school district claimed that the most basic act of sitting in your chair constitutes halfway mastery of any class. Let’s hope that Senator Nelson’s bill gets an “A”.