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Virginia teachers push back against school board’s radical proposal for ‘equitable grading practices’

December 30, 2021 | | Print Article

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Virginia teachers pushed back against a public school district’s proposal for radical changes in order to promote “woke” ideology which continues to undercut traditional educational methods with leftist politics being dominant in classrooms and on school boards.

In the proposal by the Arlington School Board, late penalties on homework will be eliminated, there will be no more extra credit work, unlimited redoes will be allowed on assignments and there will be no grades given for homework.

Late penalties on homework lead to “inaccurate grades as it reflects on student’s behavior and not student achievement,” extra credit is biased and “penalizes students with fewer resources,” and homework grades are to be banned on the basis that “students are less likely to take risks when they fear they will be graded down for making mistakes,” according to a report by Washington D.C. ABC affiliate WJLA.

“There’s no labeling of students or ranking of students,” Discovery Elementary Principal Dr. Erin Russo was quoted as saying at a meeting about the proposal. “It’s the ownership of what do I need to work on and where am I?”

The changes are being justified as being necessary for “more equitable grading practices” but teachers at Wakefield High School disagree and sent a letter expressing their opposition to the new rules, a copy of which was published by WJLA.

The teachers wrote to the board:

“As educators with decades of experience in APS, we are extremely concerned with several changes proposed in the new grading and homework policy,” the letter said. “We believe that these changes will impact student learning and socio-emotional development and growth in a negative way. The changes, if implemented, will also result in the decline of high expectations and rigor in the classroom across all APS high schools.”

 

The letter also states: “In addition to learning how to construct an effective argument in writing, solve math equations, or properly conduct science experiments, as students matriculate through high school, they also learn how to develop organizational, time and stress management skills and grow as responsible, civically engaged, and considerate young adults. To achieve these ends, students should be held accountable for completing their work in a timely manner and meeting deadlines that were reasonably established by their teachers.”

Twitter users reacted to the revamping of the traditional process and the ongoing dumbing down of the younger generation by the zealots who are in control of many of the nation’s public school systems:

The Wakefield HS teachers summed up best in the conclusion to their letter.

“If the discussed changes are implemented, instead of holding students to high academic and personal standards, we are providing them with a variety of excuses and/or enabling them to ‘game the system,’ prompting them to expect the least of themselves in terms of effort, results, and responsibility,” they wrote. “At Wakefield, in particular, we believe these proposed changes fly directly in the face of the very pillars upon which our Mission Statement sits.”

With Virginia already being a hotbed of parental pushback against leftist indoctrination, the idea that students who are better prepared and more highly motivated will be held back to level the playing field against their peers will likely only fuel efforts to purge the radicals from school boards.

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Chris Donaldson
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