Republican-backed for-profit school caught deleting bad student grades

[kpete]

A for-profit school that was hyped by Republican lawmakers as a solution to Tennessee’s education problems recently admitted deleting bad grades to “more accurately recognize students’ current progress.”

A December email obtained by WTVF showed that Tennessee Virtual Academy’s vice principal instructed middle school teachers to delete “failing grades” from October and September.

“After … looking at so many failing grades, we need to make some changes before the holidays,” the email says, adding that each teacher needed to “take out the October and September progress [reports]; delete it so that all that is showing is November progress.”


“If you have given an assignment and most of your students failed that assignment, then you need to take that grade out.”


http://www.newschannel5.com/story/21129693/email-directs-teachers-to-delete-bad-grade
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/12/republican-backed-for-profit-school-caught-deleting-bad-student-grades/

[Brickbat]

1. Gosh, why didn't public-school teachers think of that?

[Peregrine]

2. They just did it wrong

Instead of telling teachers to delete grades, tell them they must hold 3 conferences with each failing child's parent, complete a improvement plan for each failing student, weekly meet with each student (while keeping your class on schedule) to go over their performance on the plan, and meet with the principal to explain why the each student is failing. That is how public schools reduce failing grades, teachers just won't fail anybody.