Imagine this scenario. You have been hired for a new job and you walk into the office on your first day. You’re excited about your work, your new source of income, etc. As you sit down at your desk, you notice something strange. No one has told you what your job entails. So, you go ask a person at a desk next to you.
“What do I need to do in this job.”
You are shocked by the answer. “Nothing.”
“What do you mean, nothing?” you ask.
“I mean nothing,” the person says. “Just show up and sit there.”
“How will I earn my paycheck?”
“Oh, don’t worry. You get 50% of your pay just for being here. You don’t have to do a thing,” they say.
You’re astounded. Fifty percent of your pay just for showing up and sitting at a desk each day. You wonder if you actually have to show up at all.
If you are like most people, you realize that this is all a ridiculous dream. Working people don’t get paid for doing nothing in the real world. Earning a paycheck means showing up, working, and completing certain assignments by a certain due date.
Someone better tell our schools about that. Lately, schools have been implementing new “grading policies” that will not only inflate grades and their validity but will also train a generation of students into the habits of laziness, unproductiveness and procrastination.
If you don’t believe us, ask your child.
A parent came to us a few weeks ago and told us they could NOT believe what was going on at a local high school. Their child, a student, showed them the syllabus for a class. A syllabus is what a teacher gives students so they know how the class will be conducted, what will be taught, and what the rules are for grading in that class.
Here’s the shocker.
Students in the class get an automatic grade of 50% just for being in the class. No work is required, no test scores need to be logged, etc. Just show up and get a 50%. What’s the big deal?
Here’s the big deal. Schools exist to teach students content and skills. But they also are supposed to help young people understand that hard work and diligence are the keys to success. This doesn’t mean teaching them that they get something for nothing. To be fair, a 50% is a failing grade. Educators say that giving students this “halfway” starting point means that they won’t have to fight their way into passing after getting zeroes. They say that they will specify on report cards that a student grade of 50% was given despite a student doing none of the required work. Research is showing, however, that the theory is not working in practice.
The 50% rule is sending a message to students that hard work and responsibility don’t matter, thus creating a generation of lazy, entitled adults. They hope this means fewer students will fail academically and will feel motivated to work to become productive adults.
Despite claims to the contrary, districts and teachers are seeing INCREASED failure rates despite the 50% rule.
When “Equitable Grading” Has Unintended Consequences
Ask employers about the work ethic of recent graduates and they will tell you:
On Point: How motivated are you? New research reveals what disengaged workers cost companies. ,
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The rule can cause resentment between those students who work hard to achieve grades while others get partial credit for doing nothing. Imagine the student who gets a grade of 70% on something they worked hard on while others get only 20 points lower for doing nothing. (When “Equitable Grading” Has Unintended Consequences)
Minimum grading causes grade inflation. When a teacher is forced to give a non-working student a 50%, what will that teacher do with a hardworking student who gets a 70%? More than likely, in order to do what the teacher thinks is fair, he/she will raise the grade for that student to more accurately (in the eyes of the teacher) reflect the difference in effort. Therefore, the grades inflate up the ladder, and a student who might have gotten a “B” now gets an “A.” Some might think this isn’t a problem, but when grades are inaccurately inflated, parents end up with a distorted view of their child’s abilities and work.
We have seen this time after time when state test scores are shared for individual students or even schools and school districts. When the state scores don’t match the classroom grades given, this destroys confidence in schools. For example, a student who gets A’s in math and reading class scores non-proficient on state testing causing his/her parents to wonder how that happens and where the blame lies. Grade inflation also keeps higher education from accurately assessing the abilities of incoming students. (See study below) Think Again: Does ‘equitable’ grading benefit students?
Another problem is the traditional perception of grades reflects that idea that a student who earns a 50% did at least half the work, even if they didn’t do it well. So, a grade of 70% means that a student did 70% of the work at a satisfactory, even if mediocre, level. In reality, if you get a minimum grade of 50% for doing absolutely nothing, a student who got a 70% did only 20% of the work well. The first 50 percent was a “mulligan.”
Another problem is that “equity grading” means excusing late work, incomplete work and cheating with NO grading penalty. This also negatively effects students. Several of the core “equity grading” reforms—including not grading homework, allowing unlimited test retakes or assignment revisions, and prohibiting penalties for late work and cheating—weaken accountability for students. (Meredith Coffey, Ph.D. Adam Tyner, Ph.D.)
If we return to our employment comparison, imagine your boss ignoring the fact that you are not carrying your weight in the office while your colleagues work hard? Imagine a critical report NOT being turned in on time to your employer thus causing harm to the business or organization? What if teachers failed to turn in grades on time at the end of the semester? Not holding students accountable trains them to be unsuccessful adults.
One myth is that “equitable grading” will allow students to achieve higher competency once the shackles of homework, deadlines, and possible failure are removed. Not so. One study in particular, the Pygmalion Effect, showed that higher teacher expectations and standards created higher achievement in students. Research provides statistically significant evidence that students benefit academically from higher teacher performance and grading standards.
Another myth is that current grading practices are biased against minority students and that “equity” grading will give these children a chance. The real bias of equity grading? It assumes that minority students need a boost, a freebie, to achieve. That in itself is racist, especially when we see that minority students can meet traditional grading standards and often thrive and exceed expectations.
Grading standards and student effort
Equity grading policies and lowered expectations decrease student critical thinking and resiliency. Students who are coddled and entitled in schools will end up expecting the same kind of coddling and entitlement as adults. Modern employers cite this fact when they discuss the fact that modern employees are less resilient. They also cite coddling by parents, which is a topic for another day!
Is The New Generation At Work Less Resilient: Or Are You Just Making Things Up?
According to our research, these “equitable” grading practices are being adopted in school systems across the State of Maryland and the country. Coincidentally, the creator of “equity grading practices,” who once was an educator, has a company that sells training in his theories. It’s no surprise that his company is based in California.
Joe Feldman: Driving Equity in Education Through Grading Reform
Anecdotally, teachers tell us that adopting these policies have led to student apathy about work, less participation in class, and disregard for due dates. The split is interesting. The self-motivated kids who always did the work, turned it in on time, etc. are, for the most part, still exhibiting strong work habits and accountability. But, as time goes on, this is a diminishing number of students.
Those who never did things on time or worked hard, still don’t. Except now we have made it easier for them.
Other Sources:
Grading for Equity – Defending Education
Great Expectations: The Impact of Rigorous Grading Practices on Student Achievement
Do high grading standards affect student performance? – ScienceDirect
The Pygmalion Effect In Education: How Teacher Expectations Shape Student Success
Introduction | The Opportunity Myth
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