The Number Crunchers
Bolingbrook, Illinois

School Board Set to Vote On 90/10 Grading Policy

 

  

Will new policy improve district's performance?


September 4, 2011


By Rhonda Reed-Slaughter


On September 22, 2011, the Valley View school board is set to vote on Superintendent, Jim Mitchem's new 90/10 grading policy, which place more emphasis on student test scores, and less on class participation and homework.


Supporters of the new policy praise the idea because it will require students to master the subject in order to pass the test. 


Whereas, critics believe a policy that focus exclusively on test scores, to determine whether a child moves on to the next grade is not real teaching.  Especially if the student gets to take the test more than once, until they pass.

 

We applaud and support Superintendent Mitchem's attempt at creating a curriculum that focus more on a student's true knowledge of the various subjects.  It's a step in the right direction.

 

Nevertheless, I do have some questions about the new policy.

 

  • How can we realistically expect some students to perform well on test if they don't have adequate support at home (i.e. active parental involvement)?  

 

 

  • Can a teacher thoroughly cover a particular subject, if they are pressured to prepare students for rigorous testing?

 

 

  • Once students pass the test, does that mean they truly mastered the subject?

 

  • If students are in school strictly to "pass tests", when do they have time to learn how to "think"?

 

 

 

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Many will argue, the U.S. public educational system is failing to do it's job. 

 

How can the greatest country in the world, with its incredible wealth, fund a substandard public educational system?

 

Maybe we should cut government out of the equation all together.

 

 

Think about it-

 

In Bolingbrook, close to 70% of our property taxes, more than $200 million go to public schools.

 

Most of the $200+ million budget is made up of bloated administrator salaries, and union benefits.

 

Everyone's getting paid, but, are the students really learning?

 

Hopefully, this new 90/10 policy will improve learning and test scores.

 

 

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

In 1983, "the National Commission on Excellence in Education described the United States as a "nation at risk," pointing to what it called "a rising tide of mediocrity [in our schools] that threatens our very future as a nation and as a people."  - The American School:  Why Johnny Can't Think.  By Leonard Peikoff.

 

This statement was made 28 years ago. 

 

What's even more shocking, nothing's changed.

 

 

 

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