Grading expectations at DKJA High School have risen over the past several years. Parents and students alike now expect “A” grades and are sorely disappointed when the student earns below an “A.” A good deal of their displeasure is guileless; many of the students truly believe that if they do all their work, they should get an A. (Much of this mindset was formed in the DKJA middle school.) They are often hurt when they do not score in the highest ranges and have difficulty understanding why. They anger easily and usually involve their parents, who also expect their children to receive “A” grades. Many parents immediately exercise their power through emails, phone calls, and conferences. As a result, many of DKJA’s teachers became “worn …show more content…
Slavitch and Zimbardo (2012) assert that adult learners desire to improve their understandings by adjusting their “frames of reference,” including their points of view and habits of mind. In the case of the grade change initiative, the frames of reference were shaped by the parents, students, and administration. The committee entered the situation already having used instrumental learning to arrive at a solution. Their jobs to “reframe” the teachers’ beliefs and practices was able to work through the committee’s use of modified andragogy, allowing the teachers to discover their own truths as educators (Mezirow, 1997). Although entering the situation with an already-decided, seemingly autocratic decision in place, the committee was able to use their passionate transformative skills to win the teachers over to their side. The teachers’ self-discovery then enabled them to believe their decision was a wholly democratic one, which was not quite the case. As cited in Slavitch and Zimbardo (2012), Bass and Riggio’s (2010) explanation of transformational leadership perfectly embdodies DKJA’s grade change initiative: the follows were inspired to be a part of a shared vision, they had to challenge themselves to be problem solvers, and their leaders both challenged and supported them at all times. The teachers’ decision to “put themselves on the line” and “take one for the team” showed their allegiance to the group and their desire to be a part of something authentic, fulfilling, and true to themselves as both humans and
Dr. Tanisha L. Heaston, principal of Treadwell Elementary talks to me about educational change. In my first meeting and interview with her, she displays many if not all the leadership benchmarks of a Change Master and Facilitator. Defined by McEwan (2003), a Change Master is a highly effective principal who is flexible and futuristic. A realistic leader who is able to both motivate and manage change in an organized, positive, and enduring fashion. As a Change Master, she uses a situational approach since every school community requires somewhat different skills. Dr. Heaston respects change resisters, procures resources for her school, and trusts her teams which aligns with ISLLC Standard Six.
In “How Grading Reform Changed Our School,” author Jeffrey A. Erickson discusses about how it is common in high schools to pass each student by their accumulated average of the entire class period. He described many examples to display the way of grading in high schools such as in behaviors, lessons, and tasks. He talks about the changes that were made and were in effect to achieve a grading average that reflects the student 's’ abilities and knowledge .
The aspects of leadership covered are broad, from analyzing the traditional leadership roles, to the tapping of higher levels of human potential. It is written from the standpoint of managers or leaders and covers point by point the author's ideas of how to shift the environment of schools from that of a "factory" to one of a “learning community. Sergiovanni discusses "living school" in leadership rather than just being concerned with the facts and figures involved in "playing school." The viewpoint of the author is being concerned about the leadership processes in schools that are presently accepted as the norm. Sergiovanni would like to see school leadership shift to one that is self-motivated by teachers who want to do a great job, not one where the teachers feel they have to as a result of dependency on "extrinsic" rewards. A school, he says, is a community with a shared sense of values and purpose. He describes a "virtuous school" as one founded on the beliefs that a school must be a community, that this school community includes parents, teachers, students and other community members. He believes that every student can learn, that caring for the whole child is the key to academic success, and that mutual respect and positive expectations are the operating dynamics.
Giving students a grade that they have not earned hinders the youth’s future educational success. A number of schools are no longer giving a grade of zero on assignments, tests, and exams completed by students. While other school districts continue to give students the grade that is adequate for the work they have done or have not completed. Giving students the grade that equals their work is designed to show students where they need to improve. Many school boards want to stop giving out zeros for work that hasn’t been turned in and give a grade that rages around the “D” area keeping children from falling behind in their classes. By allowing student to pass through the school system the educational board is raising their graduation and success
The results of low proficiency test scores that affect student’s academic performance have encouraged political activist and parents to speak out to state legislatures for permission to change their school’s leadership. In California, the “parent trigger” concept has encouraged parents to create a petition that insist on the option of closing a school, firing, reorganizing faculty and/ or
A leader can be described as a person who gives direction, inspiration and cause to a group of people who are striving to achieve a common or similar goal (Eacott, 2011; Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2013). As there are many types of leaders within an early childhood education setting, such as director, room leader and educational leader, it is important to define and dissect what each role requires (Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2013). An educational leader is defined in the National Quality Framework (NQF), where they have support from other documentation and literature to identify what an educational leader is (Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority, 2014). This essay will examine the key factors that influence the education leader with links to the theories of leadership, such as contingency and transformational theories, and what being an educational leader entails.
“In 2007, two federal reports found that performance of U.S. high school students on the reading portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has declined between 1992 and 2005, even though students reported getting higher grades and taking harder classes” (Goodwin, 2011). One might conclude that this fallacy in data identifies a deeper issue in the classroom referred to as grade inflation. According to A Handbook of Education Law Terms, grade inflation is defined as, “the increase in score being awarded, with no increase to the standard being required of the student” (Garner, 1999). Studies suggests in the past rising grades represents an improvement in standards and academic rigor, however in today’s classroom this correlation does not always seem to be true. As trends in education change, so does the position on this topic. Through his writing style, appeal to his audience’s logos, and use of elaboration strategies Bryan Goodwin, author of “Grading Inflation: Killing with Kindness,” presents a strong argument against grade inflation in the classroom.
Grading practices have been a controversial issue for years among educators. Many educators want to know the true functions of grades (Reeves, 2001). Are they in place to communicate a student’s performance in certain areas, including behavior and participation, or should they represent a student’s proficiency in a given subject? (Hanover, 2011) I personally argue it is the latter. When grades are used as a form of punishment, in my opinion, it takes away the right of the student to get an education.
In modern times, it comes as no surprise that there are a plethora of issues and negative occurrences throughout the traditional educational system. Schooling is not a choice, but a mandatory duty that each and every child must fulfill almost daily. Depending on grade level and work load, the average student spends nearly 8 hours per day either learning in school or completing assignments from that day (U.S. Bureau). This indicates that a majority of a secondary education student’s time is consumed by school and school related work. Because this is an obligatory role, it is imperative that these students are not being forced to do such work, but instead are interested and engaged so that they may enjoy this work. Although there is a multitude of reasons that a student may do poorly in school, a substantial cause is the flaws with the grade level system that most schools implicate. The elimination of grade level systems is not entirely unheard of or practiced, but it has not been extricated enough to show the advantages of alternative schooling systems.
Grade retention, better known as “staying back”, “being held back” or “repeating”, has been the topic of much debate within the educational system. The controversy which surrounds this long-standing issue has been reinforced by such topics as the recent endorsement of academic standards. Research indicates that “the rate of retention has increased by approximately 40% in the last 20 years with as many as 15% of all American students held back each year and 30-50% held back at least once before ninth grade” (Dawson, 1998). These discouraging statistics pose copious problems within a school system. The difficulties can be appreciated at the organizational level, as well as inside the classroom and, most troubling, within the individual students. The consequences, both positive and negative, reverberate throughout the school system. Grades retention is an issue which requires a prodigious amount of examination and should be considered carefully and thoroughly.
Leadership issues in schools are sometime complex and do not always present as clear-cut and easy to solve. Take my personal situation that involved a series of complex organizations coming together to solve an issue related to teacher licensure in the state of California. This particular situation involved a host of organizational leaders collaborating to solve a complicated, multi-faceted problem. I will frame my personal leadership dilemma utilizing the UC Berkeley Leadership Rubric read in EDLD 610 as assigned by Dr. Martinez. There are seven elements in the Rubric to include: 1) Presence and Attitude; 2) Identity and Relationship; 3) Equity and Advocacy; 4) Curriculum and Instruction; 5) Organization and Systems; 6) Change and Coherence; 7) Assessment and Accountably. Each element plays an important role in solving my personal leadership dilemma.
Pressures on children in today’s society are a problem that is becoming more evident in academics as parents and teachers put more and more emphasis on these children to outperform their classmates, stress in the child’s life becomes an interfering problem (Anxiety.org, 2011 Weissbourd, 2011,). From preschool children to college adults, pressure to execute academic perfection extends across all areas of curriculum. In our highly competitive, American society, emphasis placed on academic achievement has never been so intense (Anxiety.org, 2011, Beilock, 2011). This need to be the best, fueled by our culture in America, has created a social force affecting education, a force to be reckoned with at that. Too often, parents and teachers sacrifice their chil...
How do we make change happen in education? Considering current framework in light of the ever-changing context of schooling, appear to view classroom-based teachers as having little to no authority, as being incapable of initiating school wide change according to their will. Mostly, teacher has been considered in two roles. The first role of the teacher as a receiver and implementer of the strategies & practices formulated by others, i.e. national policy efforts or principal change initiatives. The second role of the teacher as a leader of official reform initiatives, such as those found in policies created by school district and school level principal. Moreover, both roles of the teacher also place more value on the school’s context rather than on the teacher’s potential to make change independently. Under these prevailing roles of teachers, it is very hard for teachers to initiative for school improvement without the help of traditional school leaders. The time has come to enforce new role of the teachers that is more consistent with the 21st century’s learning framework and can provide better service to the students, where Teachers are more active than recipients and more central to school improvement than taking the lead on implementing externally-driven reforms. Thus, by studying the two dominant roles ...
Change is not always viewed as an opportunity, it is frequently observed by teachers, students, and administrators as a burden rather than an avenue to success (Graff, 2011). There are a vast number of elements that ...
The grade that I think I have earned is a B-. There are many reasons why I think I earned this grade. Most of my grades are A’s or B’s but there are some F’s in there due to my absences. I feel like the A’s and B’s outway the bad grades. During SSR, I did meet most of my goals except for 1 or 2. Which isn’t bad, but not good. The only problem with my SSR grade is that I did not read outside of class. One goal for next semester is to read outside of class.