I tried teaching science and was transferred to a minority school after 3 1/2 yrs at a middle class school and was nearly lynched for applying the same standards. The bar does move and the coaches insisted the athletes pass. Virtually all the administrators were ex-coaches.
Now, practicing a high risk specialty (obstetrics) seems easy compared to teaching public school. I say we should “leave no doctors behind” in med school.
The administration and principal and school board should be ashamed.
Bob S

This is a rough one because, I think, part of the truth stinks.

The truth is that high standards and integrity are good things and that neither should be compromised. That part of the truth is palatable to me.

The other part is that those commitments are dangerous – check one of today’s stories:

http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/05/14/aird

That’s the ’sad but true’ half.

The silver lining is that of all the people I’ve known in person or read about who have maintained high professional standards and suffered for it, not one has failed to land on their feet – and most of the time they wind up in a far better situation.

What should we classroom teachers take as the key learning points?

Thanks for the incredibly thoughtful comment. Schools seem to be increasingly promoting “self-advocacy” and responsibility for students, but they undermine their own efforts by not grading responsibly. It’s a mixed message and it isn’t helping anyone.

I’ve wondered about whether to keep the link to this post in the site’s sidebar. After all, at some point, poor Ms. Kevil probably would want to fade out of the debate. But the sheer number of comments and e-mails I’ve gotten over a year that mention how reading this post – and *especially* the comments – has made them feel better about their teaching is tremendous. Ms. Kevil showed us all that it’s ok to grade appropriately and stand your ground.

Carl Chew, the WASL-weasel, an everyday American hero? No, no. Ms. Kevil? Yep.

We have moved away form a culture of self-responsibility and independence to a culture of blaming teachers and others for our hardships as part of our sue happy lawsuit climate and the I deserve it all attitude. What happened to work ethics? Students who are struggling should study extra or seek help from their teacher and a tutor. The younger the student the more a parent should advocate on their behalf to get them additional support. Not every teacher a student comes across will be able to provide one on one attention in a sea of kids nor is every teacher experienced enough with our high turn over rate.

No Dentist Left Behind is a great analogy to the problems we face with NCLB. It is amazing how educators do things so differently from place to place and how NCLB is interpeted so differently. This is what irks me about education. Nobody seems to agree on best practices, yet other professionals at least reach some sort of consensus. They use research to improve their practice and drop outdated and ineffective practices. But not us. So many of just blindy do what we feel is best.

I teach in California, and although I have had difficult parents who disagreed with grades, and sought out principals to have the grades changed or assignment deadlines extended, I have never been in a climate where I felt I had to have a 100% pass rate. I’ve always documented their progress kept protfolios of work and test.

I’m in my 8th year of teaching elementary school and we’ve always tell it like it is where I worked (3 different districts). You must as students either a)demonstrate almost complete mastery of standards taught at any given subject and grade level and demonstrate some competency of higher skills in the next grade for a rubric score of 4 on the report card also defined as Advanced, b) demonstrate 75% to 95% mastery of standards taught for a rubric score of 3, At Grade Level, c)60% to 74% mastery of standards taught for a rubric score of 2 (Below Grade Level, At Risk of failing and retention, and finally d) 0-59% mastery of standards demonstrated for a rubric score of 1 Far Below Grade Level, Failing, Need s to be retained. On top of that many principals require grades to reflect more than what had been taught up until that grading period, because you must consider grades to be cummulative and include standards not taught yet. So we actually are told to make sure our first period grades are not to high as they should reflect demonstation of their knowledge of all standards that will be taught. If we’ve only taught a 1/3 of the standards by first period then their grade should refelct that.

What if a student does great with number sense first grading period then blows geometry the second grading period. So grades should be lower the first period, to encourage students to work harder and to show growth in accumulating mastery of all standards as the year goes by. The philosophy is echoed by many administrators I’ve worked with over the year. It’s not fun to tell a parent well I thought they were a 4 in math at the beginning of the year but now they are a 2.
Also our grades should not be to far off from what they show they are capable of doing on state test. If Johnny gets a 4 at the end of third grade and then recieves his state, national scores that say he is well below the 70th percentile how does that add up for parents when you say you’re grading by standards mastered, yet the state exam is also based on standards mastered. Is this so different from how thinigs are done at the middle school and high school levels?

It would be impossible to have 100% passing given our system of 1-4. What happened to the bell curve? Since when do all grades only fall on the other side of the hill? Does everyone posess the same abiltiies to climb up a mountain at the same exact speed and skill to all end up on the other side? I have students with I.E.P.’s, major learning disabilities and deficits and still learning English. I push them just as hard if not harder then my proficient students to catch them up. Yet some are reading 2-3 grades behind, and even though they may make a years progress in reading and move up a grade level or two in reading capability, they may still be a grade level behind.

By the end of each school year I am pleased to have 75% or more of my students at grade level or higher. I started out with only 25% somewhat prepared or ready with enough prior skills for the grade I teach. Isn’t that amazing progress? Shouldn’t we reward progress? Marty couldn’t read at all , but now he is reading. Would I be let go if I taught in other states for this number 75%?

I can’t see how educators can bascially lie about a students actual performance in order to make themselves or a school look good. If we have a 100% pass rate are we lowering the bar so they can get there? How will our students compete in a global econonmy when they are all deemed proficient when they are not. Do people actually think employers won’t notice? How absurd. They have already taken notice, hence the highschool exit exam in California orginally an effort by business leaders and colleges to raise the bar and even the playing field. A highschool diploma means nothing if it comes from a district who just passes kids on.

When I first started teaching I almost bought into this infamous line by old, bitter, worn out teachers not receptive to change and new testing accountability pressures, “We shouldn’t have to teach to a test. There are so many things the state tests don’t measure and some many other valuable lessons we want to teach.” So we shoudn’t be have standards is what they were saying? Why can’t I teach the way I’ve always taught? Life is a series of test, and hoop jumping and students should be taught to play the game so they can win!

Unfortunately, it appears that Bear Creek Intermediate is still burdened by Principal Tedna Taylor’s flawed, ineffective leadership. That she’s still involved in public education is a travesty.