Bad report cards could soon be a thing of the past in California as some of the state’s largest school districts are dropping “D” and “F” grades.
On December 13, it was revealed multiple California school boards are eliminating the D and F grades, and instead allowing students to retake exams and assignments.
The change is just one of the many methods woke school districts are adopting in recent months, to help level the playing field. In April 2020, one Ohio high school even binned its valedictorian honor citing mental health concerns.
To be clear, the pandemic has made educational access worse for lower-income students, as many have struggled to stay connected for virtual classes. But the changes being proposed, go beyond that. In fact, one Arizona State University professor went so far as to call the current system “racist”, which obviously stirred up quite a debate.
Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Oakland Unified, Sacramento City Unified, and other California districts have decided to limit the use of “Ds” and phased out “Fs” in grading. High schoolers who fail a test or homework assignment can get a do-over or more time to complete the work.
Students who don’t ever finish the assignments or who fail the final exam would earn an “incomplete,” according to EdSource.
The move is called competency-based learning. Advocates argue that assessment should be based on mastery of learning — what students have learned instead of how they test. Supporters also hope it will help kids re-engage after nearly two years of virtual learning during the pandemic.
Nidya Baez, assistant principal at Fremont High in Oakland Unified, defended the move telling the publication:
“Right now, we have a system where we give a million points for a million pieces of paper that students turn in, without much attention to what they’re actually learning.” She was backed by Devin Vodicka, chief executive of the non-profit Learner-Centered Collaborative who said, “the future is going to require less focus on time and more focus on what we can do and contribute, and the quality of our performance. We need to prepare our students for this.”
However, not everyone is convinced this is actually a great idea. Debora Rinehart, a math and science teacher in Oakland said:
“Not reporting Ds and Fs is the equivalent of lying about a student’s progress.”
Other critics have said it “dumbs down education” and leaves students unequipped to deal with the realities of the world. But those concerns have been brushed aside, with one educator telling The Daily Mail, “No one is saying water downgrades. This is about giving support, not lowering standards.”
Devin Vodicka, former superintendent of Vista Unified in San Diego County and chief executive of the Learner-Centered Collaborative, which is working to shift the educational field to a competency-based learning model, spoke about how traditional grading is biased against minority and low-income students.
“We need a system that gets beyond the institutional model and provides more meaningful feedback for students,” Vodicka (above) said. “The future is going to require less focus on time and more focus on what we can do and contribute, and the quality of our performance. We need to prepare our students for this.”
Watch the video below for more details:
This is the kind of IGNORANCE you get when you let LIBERAL IDIOTS RUIN the Education Syatem.