{"id":1115,"date":"2012-02-12T11:54:09","date_gmt":"2012-02-12T16:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/02\/media-flap-over-lowndes-grading.html"},"modified":"2012-02-12T11:54:09","modified_gmt":"2012-02-12T16:54:09","slug":"media-flap-over-lowndes-grading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/02\/media-flap-over-lowndes-grading.html","title":{"rendered":"Media flap over Lowndes grading"},"content":{"rendered":"Interesting timing, the Chamber deciding to pay off CUEE’s debts from pushing\nschool consolidation, followed shortly by a media campaign to discredit the\nLowndes School System.\n
\n
17 January 2012:<\/DT>\n
\n\nChamber of Commerce board decides to repay CUEE’s outstanding vendor debts<\/a>\nin exchange for owning CUEE’s education document.\n<\/DD>\n
3 February 2012:<\/DT>\n
\nMaureen Downey blogged for the AJC,\n\nNo zeros in school any longer. But aren\u2019t there well deserved zeros?<\/a>\nDespite admitting that the Lowndes school grading policy is a common practice\nin many systems and is intended to make sure students actually learn,\nshe ends with this spin:\n
\nBut aren’t there well deserved zeros?\n

\nI would argue that middle school teachers have some students who\nsimply don’t do the work. They get it; they just don’t do it. The\nLowndes policy calls for multiple interventions for obdurate\nstudents, but wouldn’t a zero make an important statement?\n

\nHow else do adolescents learn that there are consequences for failure to\ncomply with assignments? In the classroom, it is a zero. In the workplace,\nit is termination.\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/DD>\n

3 February 2012:<\/DT>\n
\nLowndes School System Superintendent Dr. Steve Smith\n\nexplained Lowndes grading policies<\/a>, including this bit:\n
\n\n<\/a>\nThe Lowndes County Schools recently released grading guidelines for\nparents to clarify what has been our current practice on reporting\nof grades and to reaffirm our commitment to mastery learning by all\nstudents. For the past year and a half, our practice in grades 3-8\nhas been….\n<\/blockquote>\nThe point being that this is not a new policy.\n<\/DD>\n<\/DL>\n\n\n
\n
<\/DT>\n
\nThe rest of Dr. Smith’s introductory paragraph:\n
\n…that on nine-week and progress grade reports no grade average will\nbe reported lower than a 60. Students with a failing average for one\ngrade report can still earn a passing score for the year, rather than\nbeing destined for failure by one bad grading period. The guidelines\nfor students in grades 3-8 included some new expectations that students\nmust complete all their work and that teachers will provide additional\nopportunities to master material when students do not succeed the\nfirst time.\n<\/blockquote>\nThat reads to me that the Lowndes school system is going out of its\nway to try to get students to succeed.\n<\/DD>\n
4 February 2012:<\/DT>\n
\nLocal radio personality Scott James\n\ngoes on Fox and Friends to complain about Lowndes grading policy<\/a>\nBrittany D. McClure refered to it in the VDT as\n
\nThe new grading policy….\n<\/blockquote>\nThat’s quite interesting, considering it’s not a new grading policy.\nNo wonder Dr. Smith\n\ncomplained about that reporter’s reporting.<\/a>\n<\/DD>\n
\n7 February 2012:\n<\/DT>\n
\nThe media frenzy spreads, for example here’s\nPatricia Walston in Examiner.com,\n\nNo zeroes for students in Valdosta GA:\n\u201cZero\u201d test grade to be banned in Georgia school<\/a>\nDespite the inflammatory headline, she gets it:\n
\nAtlanta Public Schools were recently disgraced when teachers were caught\nchanging the test scores for hundreds of students. These tests are\nnever fair to the students anyway. These tests are more to test the\nteachers than the children. What the children learn will be apparent\nin many other areas other than an electronic test scoring machine.\n

\nThe new agenda may be just what kids need. If a student makes lower than\n70 on a test out of 100 points, they will be given the chance to retake\nthe test; and redo the assignments until a passing grade is earned.\nThe PTA could become involved in re-testing children; and could be\ndone after school so the students would not miss any teaching time.\nThis should spur them on to do their homework and study.\n

\nAs a former student in the Atlanta City Schools, a mother of three,\ngrandmother of seven, and great-grandmother of five, I am inclined to\nbelieve that this is a move forward in a great direction. I have seen\na lot of bright kids drop out of school because they eventually come\nto think they will never succeed. This carries over into every aspect\nof their lives as adults. Atlanta jails are filled with kids who felt\nthey were unworthy in school.\n<\/blockquote>\nNot to mention it costs taxpayers less to spend a bit more time\neducating instead of locking up the same people later.\n<\/DD>\n

\n12 February 2012:\n<\/DT>\n
\nThe media frenzy spread to Savannah today, where\nGeveryl Robinson wrote for Savannah Now,\n\nSchool policy to reward potential is a total zero,<\/a>\nrepeating Maureen Downey’s meme from the AJC:\n
\nIn the real world, not completing work assignments, not showing up,\nnot caring about tasks that are assigned doesn’t equal success; it\nequals unemployment.\n<\/blockquote>\nNevermind that the point of the policy is to get students to do\nthe work, and to get parents involved if necessary to accomplish that.\n<\/DD>\n<\/DL>\nWhat’s all this got to do with CUEE and the Chamber?\nWell, who can say?\nBut the coincidence of timing sure does look like the beginning\nof a long-term “teach the controversy” campaign to discredit\nDr. Smith in particular and the Lowndes County School System\nin general.\nDr. Smith and Dr. Troy Davis were among the most effective spokespeople\n\nin helping the Valdosta School Board oppose the Chamber and CUEE’s\nschool “unification” or consolidation referendum,<\/a> which\nthe people of Valdosta\n\ndefeated four to one.<\/a>\n

\nThe Chamber obviously hasn’t given up.\nI don’t know whether it’s the Chamber doing this or somebody else,\nbut this looks to me like the beginning of the next attempt at school consolidation.\n

\nMeanwhile, parents and taxpayers who actually care about education can\n\nprovide input for tuning Lowndes school grading policies.<\/a>\nI would suggest first finding out what those polices are from the school system itself,\nrather than depending on the press for that.\n

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