Posted on 09/16/2009 12:28:43 PM PDT by llevrok
Seattle Public Schools may do away with a nearly decade-old requirement that all students earn a C average to graduate.
If the School Board approves recommendations endorsed by Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, as well as most district high-school principals and counselors, a D average will be good enough to earn a high-school diploma. Student athletes would need to pass five of six classes with D grades or better.
District officials understand there are concerns about relaxing standards at a time when everyone from President Obama on down is pushing for higher expectations for U.S. students.
But district officials, who plan to talk about the proposal at a School Board meeting tonight, insist they're not watering down expectations,
"We are, in fact, increasing rigor," said Susan Derse, a principal on special assignment who headed up a staff committee that made the recommendations.
In 2004, a previous attempt to do away with the C average for graduation provoked opposition from the Alliance for Education, the nonprofit that raises money for Seattle schools.
This time around, the alliance's president and chief executive officer, Patrick D'Amelio, says there are many ways to push for rigor, and while his group is watching what district leaders do, he doesn't think the move away from the C average will erode standards.
"That doesn't seem that's the way they're headed," he said.
The requirement that athletes earn a C average has been around since 1984, and is consistent with many districts' policies.
A 2006 survey by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association turned up roughly 150 schools which required a C average for athletes, said Executive Director Mike Colbrese.
The staff committee making the new recommendation, however, said athletes shouldn't be treated any differently from other students.
The School Board is scheduled to vote on the proposals Oct. 7.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
The dumbassing of America.
We mustn't impugn the little darlings self esteem now........
D=dumbass
Guess that stands for passing now.
When aggressive nations conquer us they will think “they are a stupid people, but they feel good about themselves” and use us for slaves.
Rigor what? Rigor mortis?
This is why I homeschool. If we lower the bar anymore, there will be nothing left to achieve; you will have achieved all you need to at birth by avoiding an abortion.
When will people realize, you get what you expect from your children. I set the bar so high, they would kill themselves trying to get over it. If they just could not, I would help them until they could. I lowered the bar only once, and saw the error of my ways when the laziness from that lowering made it harder to get over the next one. I have never made that mistake again. Kids will give you exactly what you expect from them, no more- no less. Expect MUCH...
‘”We are, in fact, increasing rigor,” ‘
Really? Id love to hear the whole spin on this. How is it that you can lower expectations but raise rigor? I think there;s a lapse of logic here.
Just one more example of why we need to get rid of socialized schooling and return to a capitalist schooling system.
http://www.schoolandstate.org/case.htm
As usual, this is entirely for the benefit of the NEA teachers, so that they don’t have to inflate grades from total failure “F” all the way up to a “C”.
An “F” that’s made a “D” is more defensible than an “F” that’s made a “C”.
>> The dumbassing of America.
There are so many government jobs opening up... they NEED a larger pool of dumbasses to fill them.
“a D average will be good enough to earn a high-school diploma. “
That’s still better than your average Congressman.
They’re only emulating the graduation standards for most Florida public schools.
(sarcasm)
This dumbing-down is the intentional objective of the libs (remember, Hitler’s 1st action was to burn all books) and the election of the present lib exec & legislative parts of the US gov’t is the result.
“C, D, F, F, F. Three weeks we’ve been talking about the Platt Amendment. What are you people, on dope?”
Wow tell us again the government doesn’t use our tax dollars to dumb down America’s children.
Future “D”emocrat voters ....
How else can you get those Obama voters into Hahvaad!
I wonder if the graduation certificate comes with a warning to future employers??
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