No One Asked Me But… (June 16, 2021)

By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… The Clark County School District (CCSD) Superintendent has indicated that over 7,000 teacher positions will be vacant at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year. The District has yet to come into compliance with NRS 388G.500-810, the reorganization plan for large school districts, meaning CCSD.

The central administration has been, over the last decades or so, turning teachers into robots by dictating canned curriculum and scripted lessons the teacher must follow. They are now attempting to move deeper into the control of the classroom by dictating a new “no fail” grading system. Apparently, solving the problems inherent with COVID are not enough for the central office of the CCSD.

I am aware that the District has had a district-wide grading policy since 1963. Let me also assure you that as a professional teacher in CCSD from 1967-1984, I never read nor knowingly adhered to that policy. In the “good old days” it was assumed that the teacher was a professional educator who could determine when and if a child had acquired the knowledge appropriate to their age and grade level.

There were no standardized proficiency tests. The parents and District relied on the judgment of the classroom teacher as to whether or not the child had succeeded in gaining the knowledge necessary for them to move to the next level.

While I believe this was a great method for evaluating students, I might be wrong, as those who are now attempting to change the grading policy for the District are those who were taught and evaluated under the teacher controlled evaluation of success.

The nonsense they are now engaged in may well be evidence of the failure of teachers in evaluating the academic achievement of these individuals .

Those in favor of the new grading criteria have stated that grades are not an incentive for achievement. According to these people, grades are merely harbingers of disappointment and discouragement.

Take it from a young man who went to high school to eat lunch and play football, grades were an incentive. I had to maintain a 2.5 to be eligible for athletics and that I did. I watched my more academically motivated friends fight and die for the A.

In 18 years in the classroom as a teacher and 13 years as a school administrator let me assure you that grades are motivators.

All that being said let us take a minute and look at CCSD Regulation 5121:

I. The following grading symbols are to be utilized in elementary schools (grades kindergarten through five) to identify mastery of grade level benchmarks in designated content areas:
A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
F Below 60%
W Working on standards below grade level…

II. The Clark School District reports student achievement for all subjects in secondary schools (grades six through twelve) and computes grade point averages using the following symbols and scale:
A – Excellent 90-100% 4.0
B – Above Average 80-89% 3.0
C – Average – 70-79% 2.0
D – Below Average 60-69% 1.0
F – Failure Below 60% 0
P – Passing (to be used for specific courses designated by the instructional unit)

III. The teacher of record in secondary school will issue quarter grades to students… Quarter grades shall reflect student achievement on assignments and assessments provided by the teacher. Both quarters must be equally weighted. Semester exams shall be comprehensive of the material covered during the semester and may be worth up to, but not exceed, 20% of the student’s semester grade. Final semester grades shall reflect assignments and assessments completed throughout the semester and the final exam grade.

IV. It is expected that all teachers will teach objectives in state standards and district curriculum and that grades will be determined in relationship to those objectives….
V. Challenge to final grades must be initiated within one semester after the issuance of the grade. The student will be responsible for the burden of proof by presenting evidence of course work in question. … after receiving notice from a parent/legal guardian, the principal or designee will review the teacher’s justification for the grade issued. The teacher must be given the opportunity to substantiate the grade that was given. After review of the grade documentation, the principal may determine the grade is accurate or if a mutual agreement is reached that a change is warranted, the principal will approve the grade change.

In the event there is no agreement between the principal and the teacher on the final grade, the parent/legal guardian shall have the right to appeal the grade to the region superintendent or designee…

The principal will provide written rationale, including the teacher’s justification to the region superintendent or designee. The region superintendent or designee,… shall hold a hearing with the parent/legal guardian and student. The region superintendent or designee shall make the decision of the final grade… This determination shall be final.

Under the new policy, student’s grades will not be impacted by late or missing assignments, attendance, or participation. Students cannot receive a grade lower than a 50% on any assessment. This includes assignments the students chooses not to complete and turn in to the teacher. Teachers would be bound to this new grading scale :

Grades 1-12
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = 50-59

Kindergarten Grade Scale
2 = Meets
1 = Approaches

Standards-Based Grade Scale
4 = Exceeds
3 = Meets
2 = Approaches
1 = Emergent
W= working on standards below grade level.

I will not present an evaluation of the two systems. I will merely state that you should conclude for yourself the merits of each, and if indeed there is a need to amend the grading system of CCSD.

I will say, however, that I see in this change the trend in education to move the position of the teacher from a professional to merely a technician who will follow District-scripted content and district-dictated evaluation of the mastering of that content. There will no longer be a need for professional educators in the classroom. A less expensive paraprofessional will be hired to maintain the classroom as canned material is dispensed over a laptop computer.

This solves the District’s teacher shortage.

Thought of the week…“If a seed of a lettuce will not grow, we do not blame the lettuce. Instead, the fault lies with us for not having nourished the seed properly.”
– Buddhist proverb