Katy ISD just did it. I'm serving notice. I don't want to see anymore about my jokes on the joke thread. Thoughts?


https://www.houstonchronicle.com/ne...tes-D-grades-changes-how-it-14409304.php

There’s a California college that doesn’t give letter grades at all. Just “Pass” or “Fail”.

Anyway, back to Katy ISD....you don’t want those poor little stressed children to suffer do you? Still, the only kids benefitting from the new grading are the stupid ones, and if they are indeed stupid, how much stress could they be under any way?

Hmmm, is “stupid” a word that the PC police allow? I bet it isn’t allowed in California.

It I were to magically wake up and be 22 again. I would put all my kids through private school.

I would say NO instead of I Do.

The continuing dumbing down of America....

mid 20s for me ...

So what? I don't recall Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD recording D's when I was there 23+ yrs ago. As long as they are still willing to give out F's I'm fine with it. When they eliminate the F's, then we have a problem.

They've almost already eliminated the F. I chit you not, last spring they made my wife let a student take a test in April that had been administered in January and recomputed the student's 4th six week's grade. Nothing is ever 'late' anymore, minimum grade is a 50 even if they don't turn it in, etc. It's all a big effing joke.

Lets all be very honest here, all these changes are not made with the kids in mind. These changes are made to make teachers jobs easier. They can dress it up and say kids looked tired or kids don't need to turn stuff in or whatever, but the bottom line is the teachers don't want to fail kids and have them repeat, so they figure out ways to pass them through the system easier.

Best line out there about teachers, said by the teachers union president, "I will start worrying about the kids when the kids pay union dues"

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good teachers out there, BUT, any changes made like the ones above are simply to make teachers lives easier.

You are so very very wrong.

I sure you have a teacher as a spouse or child, but what about those changes is better for the kids and worse for the teachers? Passing kids along, changing the grading scale, making Mondays later arrival, how is any of that about the kids and not simply an effort to make teachers lives easier? please explain...

Maybe the administrators' lives, but not the teachers'. When I was in school, if you didn't turn anything in on time, you didn't turn it in at all. No teacher ever stayed late in order for a kid to make up a test or some homework-now they do it all the time. In fact, my wife's previous school policy was at least 30 minutes three days a week, plus a lunch or two, for kids to come in and make up work. Teachers have no problems failing kids; they may not WANT them to fail, but failing them isn't a problem. It's a problem for admins because lil Johnny tends to washout if he keeps failing, leading to fewer butts in seats and less revenue. It also leads to fewer headaches for admins not having to listen to griping parents. But it does nothing for teachers.

All of that keeps the kids on the "payroll", the state pays the district based on average daily attendance. The higher that attendance figure is the more money the district gets. There is no benefit there for the teacher. Late start on Mondays mean more kids will show up. Passing the POS kid to the next grade, it it keeps them in school, more state dollars for the district. No benefit for the teacher, but it does make the district look better if they can keep the POS students in school, drop out figures for the districts are a black mark against the district.

The problem, those students cost the teachers extra time, but not in educating the lazy ones, but babysitting them. Again not a benefit for the teacher, Makes the admin look better and gives adin more money to spend. To be fair, not really all an admin problem, this crap all comes down in mandates from the state legislature and TEA.

Then we need to add in the lazy parents, they are a big part of the problem, and they benefit having the district babysit their "little darlings", but in turn blame the district because "little dalring" can't read or write, but they never made their "little darling" do his homework. They just dropped him off at the "babysitter" every day.

50 years ago, some of today's students would be drop outs by the 10th grade. Or in the juvenile justice system. But today, even in the juvenile justice system they are part of the district's data. Keeping them on the "payroll" for state dollars is more important.

Again the teachers didn't write these mandates nor do they administer them. All the teacher can do is try to educate the ones that want to learn and babysit those that just show up.

OK, I will admit, saying it benefits the teachers probably wasn't the best phrase, but it benefits the schools. I guess I lumped all the teachers and administrators into the same lump and shouldn't have. Apologize for that.

But to be fair, these changes are not for the kids, they are to make the life of the schools easier. Yes, teachers get the lion share lump of extra work due to these changes, but the fact is these changes help not one student.

I have had my kids in private school for the most part of their educational lives, and the difference between their educational lives and their public school cousins is stark. Same area, same demographics, totally different systems. I have two nieces who would have failed out in my era of high school. My kids couldn't believe they got chances to take tests over and 50% if they turned in a paper late with simply their name on it.

That is caused by the state mandated "payroll" based system. Keep them in school and get the state's "payroll" check. This part of he system sucks, but it only applies to a very small portion of the public school student population.

The students and the teachers also deal with a curriculum that is a lot more advanced today than when I went.

Yes sir. I am constantly amazed at all that high schoolers are required to learn today. Most stuff that is being taught and students are required to know in 9th grade Algebra and Biology classes, I didn't see until I got to college.

I don't see what all the fuss is about. This particular school district had "Ds" as 70-74, which is a C or C- at every school I have ever attended (elementary, junior high, high school, undergrad, and graduate school) or that my children have attended. In college you can get a D if you make a 60-69, but in most public and private schools, anything in the 70s is a C and anything below that is a big fat F.

In Europe, when your final grade is a C minus, including University, you simply have to do your year over.
If you flunk again, you will be gently asked to seek a different school.

Every class, there are about 5-10% who have to do their year over. Its pretty terrifying for a kid, losing all their friends and be viewed as a “loser” by the remainder of your friends. So there is a whole lot more pressure on them.
Majority of the schools force you to wear a uniform, which I am in favor for. Its saves the parents money, and adds discipline to them lil kiddos.

Here, the system will let you have extra credits, do-overs, multiple choice test, or whatever is easiest on them kiddos to make sure they “pass” to the next grade so ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS are content. The way that some kids treat their teachers is mind boggling, but thats a different topic. I went to the Jesuits, you treated the teacher wrong, you get hit with the ruler and sit on your kneecaps for a few hours. Here it would be an automatic lawsuit pizzing the stakeholders off.

To me, it has little to do with raising kids, thats a private education at home through parents.
I work for the community college in my last 10 years, and seen enough to make my own comparison between US and European model. there are some things I like about the US model, and some I like about the European model. Some US schools are so bad though, I would my kids to private school if I had that choice.

When I was in HS and college grades generally went like this:
100-92 A
91-85 B
84-75 C
75-65 D

I was thrilled if I had a class in college that was 100-90 A, 89-80 B

Those classes were few and far in between.

In led school, grades went honors, high pass and pass. Grade break down was essentially what my HS grades were with 100-92 honors, 91-85 high pass, and 85-75 pass. Couldn’t fail a class and move on. A fail meant that class was taken again the following year. Not easy to make up classes in med school.

I don’t see any reason not to pass students on to the next grade. If they don’t want to learn why keep them in school. I don’t want my tax dollars wasted any more than they already are.

In Graham Tx where I live most parents hold they’re kids back in kindergarten so they’ll be better athletes. My oldest makes all A’s and is a head taller than everyone in his grade including all of the held back athletes whose parents want to live through them on Friday night. My youngest is average size and makes A’s and B’s. He has an April birthday and my wife talked about holding him back. No way in hell I want a 19 year old man still living in my house going to high school. When I graduated high school I moved out that week, I plan on my boys doing the same.

The kids that don’t learn or can’t learn need to stay in school until they’re old enough to drop out and learn a trade or stay in to get the diploma and deal with life as it comes.

We home school. We don't do Ds either.

How much of the blame should be placed on the teacher for a student failing? Should teachers be paid on the overall success in the classroom?