Proposed grading system: only A's, B's, and C's.?

The school board of my county is toying around with the idea of eliminating the A-F scale and creating a scale made of only A's, B's, and C's. Anything below a C you're FORCED to make up as many times until you reach a C grade.





What do you think? Thankfully, if this IS implemented in my school system, I'll be in college.





How do you think this will affect the quality of education?

Proposed grading system: only A's, B's, and C's.?
I'm not sure what the goal or purpose of this change other than to eliminate an unsatisfactory or failing grade. People have the freedom to fail. In many schools, when a student fails a course or gets a D, they have an option to repeat it, and if they earn a higher grade, it replaces the D or F. But some schools limit how many times you can do this...usually 2 or 3 max.





Forcing students to study....hmmmm. not sure what results you really get form that approach. Seems to me time might be better spent in trying to prepare those students for success BEFORE they repeat the course....perhaps review study skills and methods, and learning more how to align their learning styles with study methods and scoping out different teaching/learning styles.





This could turn into a subtle form of grade inflation....GPAs all improve automatically without D and F grades. But does that really demonstrate that learning took place?





It seems some students could be caught in the repeat until a C whirlpool and not make it out....and at that point, some teacher might just pass them through (shades of social promotion!!) and again, the grade inflation monster rears its ugly head.





In most classrooms and schools I have seen, there is a general disconnect between the book learning and the practical world and the students' perception of the usefulness of education. For all the freedom and democracy, US schools seem awash in top down authoritarianism from the State Dept Education to the classroom instructor. Add youthful rebellion to the mix along with the current social disarray, the money machine orientation of schools and colleges and the current economy....I often wonder...what was that funny word you used about education in the last part of your question......"quality?"





check out "The Tyranny of the Diploma" (http://www.forbes.com/forbes/1998/1228/6... and you may be able to answer your question by yourself.





Hope this helps. Best wishes (and good luck in college)!
Reply:In college, to get to the next level in classes in your major or in other classes (like math), you have to get a C or better. However, college instructors don't feel the pressure to push students through the system - more responsibility is placed on the students to succeed.





In Cincinnati, Aiken Elementary has received some attention recently because their ENTIRE STAFF will be eliminated from their jobs - including the principal - none of them will have their jobs next year because of the school's failure to perform on standardized testing. This move is completely unprecedented, and I suspect that many prospective teachers wouldn't even dare go near that school for a job interview for fear of job security.





So, what would happen if grades D and F were eliminated? More students would inevitably be pushed through the system when they lack the knowledge to succeed at the present grade level. Teaching to the test will increase, rather than teaching to really cement the concepts of the subject matter.





I think a big danger would be that teachers would "dummy down" their classes - making them easier so everyone will do better and pass on the first time and not have to repeat the course.





However, I do think that because a C is average, it is not unreasonable to expect a student to repeat a course until a C is reached. But eliminating a grade below a C doesn't make sense. Keeping the current grade scale would make sense.
Reply:Can't really hurt given the way things are going today.





The heavier workload and demanding curriculum of the insanely competitive prep school that I went to really got my son's attention.





There's something to be said for everyone NOT getting the trophy.
Reply:With the title, I was horrified. However, I support the idea of "D" work being unacceptable which would lead to higher standards for graduating to the next grade. However, children that are "D" students that can't or won't improve will be negatively impacted. But then, I believe in high standards and not a free ride. If stricter standards were enforced, we would have a superior education system, albeit at the cost of lower-spectrum students.
Reply:Good. This will let kids know that they actually have to work and cant just blow everything off. But dont just listen to me because I have always been a straight A student so I dont really know what its like. One bad thing about that is that if kids seriously need help and aren't just being lazy they could be negatively impacted.
Reply:When and how are the students going to repeat the material as many times as needed to pass? Summer school is only a few weeks in some states. There are age limits that push teens into the next grade whether they passed or not. People don't want teenagers in schools with 10 year olds.


C will just become the new D. When I taught summer school, I was told not to give any homework and pass any student who showed up and picked up a pencil.

strawberry