I read an article recently in which a teacher said he would no longer give failing grades during the pandemic.
I get where he’s coming from, I really do.
It’s a tough time for many students.
But removing the bare minimum standard is a mistake that does a disservice to the very students he’s trying to help.
Here’s why:
It sends a terrible message.
Removing the possibility of failure sends the message to students that they’re incapable of overcoming difficulties. They’re not good enough or tough enough or resourceful enough to find a way.
“You can’t do it,” we tell them, and thus need someone to wave a magic wand and fix it for them.
It’s a terrible message that can stick so firmly in the brain that it passes down from generation to generation, making victims of smart, capable people.
It shows a lack of faith.
Ensuring everyone a passing grade proves to them that you don’t believe in them. You don’t think they can do it and therefore must give them a free pass.
Otherwise, why else would you do it?
It’s a condescending, elitist, and profoundly disrespectful act. It assumes that because some people are disadvantaged, or born with less than you, it precludes them from competing in the race.
It’s done for the teacher.
Teachers who lower standards to “help” students tend to shout it from the mountaintops. They like to be quoted in articles and have their colleagues applaud their compassion and enlightenment.
But deep down it’s done for them.
It’s done for pats on the back at wine and faux fois gras dinner parties, for their Twitter followers, for their high and mighty feelgoodery.
It’s unfair.
For the tough-minded students who would rather crawl through broken glass than get a handout, pulling students who put in no effort up to their level is a slap in the face.
It’s demoralizing and makes maintaining their motivation to overcome their own circumstances that much harder.
Furthermore, many of these same students also have the highest hurdles to climb. They’re the ones who keep their horrendous home lives a secret, who get it done in spite of.
Who grow up to change the world.
It causes students to check out.
Given the chance, many students in want of nothing, who have few obstacles to overcome to complete their work, will check out along with (just about) everyone else.
And why wouldn’t they?
It’s human nature, especially for young people. School credit? For free? Where do I sign up?
It’s a lie.
One thing we’ve learned here at SCM over the decades of testing classroom management and academic success strategies is that manipulation, trickery, or dishonesty in any form is destined to fail.
It may not be immediate, but being anything other than a straight-shooter always results in hurting students. Giving a C when a student has earned an F is a bald-faced lie.
It’s a lie from the fiery pit of Gehenna.
It’s life.
We don’t learn life lessons that springboard to success and deep fulfillment from success. We don’t learn them from handouts or false praise or sixth-place soccer trophies.
We learn them from failure. We learn them from tough lessons and defeats, from mistakes and hardship.
When you give unearned grades you deny your students the opportunity to learn and grow. You deny them the chance to become more resilient and to discover that they’re capable of so much more than you or anyone else ever thought.
True Compassion
So, what if a student loses access to the internet?
What happens if their laptop goes on the fritz? What happens if they become homeless and hungry and are in the midst of finding stability?
You help them! You work with them. You walk alongside them. You provide hope, confidence, and good instruction.
You tell your class every day that if they need you to help clear a way for them to do their work, you will do it. If they have valid reason why their assignments will be late, then you’ll work out a schedule together.
You move mountains to make sure they get an equal chance to do their work.
Equality doesn’t mean removing standards. That’s inequality, and it leads to horrible outcomes. Equality in education means giving every student the opportunity to do challenging work.
Yes, some students have a higher mountain to climb. Some have stressors in their life you have no idea about. But to deny them the chance to even try, in a misguided attempt to help, shows a lack of wisdom, understanding of the issue, and true compassion.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
The path to success is forged with discipline, resiliency, and determination, despite a thousand obstacles. It’s forged with the support of leaders in their life who believe in them.
Who push, prod, love, encourage, inspire, motivate, and refuse to give them any reason to throw in the towel.
If you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.
Your privilege is showing. Giving Fs during a pandemic goes to those who can’t afford laptops or internet and also those who have different factors at home. Some of those students would not get Fs if they were in school. Giving an F during a pandemic further divides and widens the achievement gap of students who cannot help their circumstances. No one is saying give grades out, but also, you cannot just fail kids during something none of us had to sit through. Where’s the compassion?
I understand where you are coming from, but ours is a district that provides a Chromebook for every student. Our students do not have a reason not to be focusing on online lessons. We are struggling a bit due to lack of or spotty internet connections, but our teachers are aware of such issues and are evaluating them on a case by case basis.
But, to your point, even I would not equate a lack of resources to an F grade in the class. This article is suited to situations like ours rather than yours.
“Our students do not have a reason not to be focusing on online lessons.“. You know that every household is not going through any struggles? How do you know that?
Struggle is a part of everyday life. If there were no struggle, there would be no growth, achievement or success.
Agree. Every student in our high poverty district is one-on-one and internet has been provided by either the district’s expense or directly from the state. We provide SEL and a minimal task list for students. We are even providing face-to-face small groups with no more than 5 bodies per room for students at high risk for failure. Students with IEPs are also face-to-face in those small groups with their accredited teacher. We have done everything possible to fill in as many gaps as we can. Yes, it’s a struggle for all of us but we all put on our big kid pants to give them what they need WITH compassion and to help them reach out to see what they are capable of.
Right on!
I think you misinterpreted the post. The whole final third is about compassion and working with students who want to succeed despite their challenges. I think the point Mr. Linsin is trying to make is that students cannot be allowed to “coast” with the knowledge that they won’t fail. There are students at my (virtual) school who are actively choosing not to show up for class or just open up the video chat and then get up to go to another room. They’re not doing any of their homework. They have nothing to demonstrate that they’re learning. Should they still pass?
I agree with you Ryan. Although our students all have different issues to overcome. We cannot allow them to think is okay not to do anything about their struggles. This does not mean we don’t walk beside them and work out alternate assignments, it does not mean that we aren’t compassionate or understanding. It does mean that we believe that they can and will meet the standard.
If the spring shut down showed us anything it was that when given a chance only a few students will take the opportunity to show up and learn from their teachers. Because many students knew they didn’t have to show up and they would still pass, they chose to not show up, which meant they didn’t learn lessons of perseverance, commitment, follow-through, etc. These are so much more important than the content. These lessons they carry with them for the rest of their lives. The schools that did not have a standard for their students in the spring also led those students to believe that this Fall they didn’t have to show up and they could still pass.
I do realize that we need to understand that the equity gap is indeed growing but that doesn’t mean we lower our standards. It does mean that we need to re-imagine what the “F” looks like, what school looks like.
He clearly said that you help those who need it. That IS compassion.
“No one is saying give grades out…”
Isn’t this what you’re doing though when you say that it doesn’t matter if a student does the work? I can say this for a fact that not believing in your students is what widens the achievement gap more than anything else you can do as an educator.
@Dominique: In my area, students are being given free use of Chromebooks and FREE Internet so that they can do their work. I believe your accusations of “privilege” are unfounded. I think Michal is correct. When students enter the real world of work, they must have the skills to press forward and solve problems. Otherwise, they won’t last long. Life is really hard, and no one gets a free pass.
When we went to online learning last spring when things were pretty random, , I provided several pathways for students to do the work. Students could do the work with NO Internet, if they chose.
You certainly do not care about the long-term flourishing of your students as human beings. Life will always have challenges and you cannot constantly fall back on excuses. The best gifts we can give our students are resilience and perseverance. Effort doesn’t cost a penny. Teachers are going out of their way to support students in every way possible. The students must bring their best effort to the table as well.
1. You’re racism is showing.
2. Technology isn’t the only option during a pandemic.
3. Refusing to give an F when the student deserves it is a copout for teachers. It makes ya feel magnanimous or something I guess. Your “compassion” is compelling, but it’s likewise useless. If anything; if you’re dangerous.
4. Go back through Michaels article and read it again, slowly. (Actually don’t bother. You’re mindset is not going to improve.)
Did you read the article? He said help them! I assume comprehension is a topic you choose to skip while giving out your free passes Dominique.
Also the article stated that the teacher would work with students in those situations, not just excuse them teaching them that there are only succeed or be given a hand out options. They still work, they succeed under adversity. What a life affirming accomplishment.
I don’t think you read the whole article, Dominique.
“You help them! You work with them. You walk alongside them. You provide hope, confidence, and good instruction.” He goes on to further explain what true compassion in teaching looks like and its outcome.
I’m guilty of being too generous at times and rationalizing my choices so this struck a nerve with me too. But Michael is right. It doesn’t help them to just give it away, no matter what their reasons are. It sends the wrong message. We are their teachers and it’s better to help them work for it. They will learn and grow in the process.
I think someone states it below, but to reiterate the point: the casualty of passing someone who didn’t learn anything is…that he or she didn’t learn anything. Being swept to the next grade when you didn’t learn anything in the previous grade will leave you way farther behind than if you have to retake the entire grade, and then move on. Refusing to let students fail, as Michael points out in the article is “lying,” and that lie is going to fast-track the achievement gap for every student (disadvantaged or not) that didn’t learn anything during this pandemic.
Compassion will not help the student be successful. As an example, how will a student perform more complex tasks if they haven’t achieved a working understanding of the fundamentals? The answer is simply they will not be successful. Simply passing students along a conveyor belt of failure is the least compassionate thing to do. I’m a retired teacher and can say from experience that requiring functional knowledge of material is preparation for success.
I can understand your argument very well. For, I’m very close to that mode right now.
However, that still doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give F’s during a pandemic.
Your argument is another argument, getting those without resources the resources they need. As well as, at least with my institution, a community college, if the students don’t have the resources, they shouldn’t be taking some classes.
Now, don’t get me wrong. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look to try to get them the resources. For, I believe we should. However, I will never say we should go to the point that we have to do the legwork for them, we have to take the resources to them, put the resources in front of them, turn the resources on, show them 1-on-1 how to use the resources, etc. The students are still going to have to step up.
For example, I never knew our institution had a student laptop loaner program. That would have helped a lot of kids in a pandemic or not. As soon as I heard of it, I’ve been announcing it to all of my students, that they need to get to the computer department on campus and get one of these things. If they don’t, that’s not my problem, my fault.
That’s something that I’ve been seeing. A lot of the government programs that can assist people, easily, right now, no one really knows about them. The people with the programs need to do a much better job getting that notice out. I work for public education, and I am still learning of programs myself that can assist my students.
Amen! Thank you, Mike, for telling the truth!
I was told by administration to pass the student because there was a lot of paperwork THEY had to do if I failed them.
I also had pressure from the parents, the SERT, the guidance teacher to give a student a higher grade because they had a hard time at home, despite the fact the student wasn’t completing assignments or on time for online classes.
I love this! We do need to show our students that in the face of adversity we must push on and find a way to continue to learn. We don’t just give up and close up shop just because we have obstacles.
We are mostly face to face, but I do have several online. Many of my students this year came to me way below reading level (More than usual), and I wanted to see where each student was exactly. I could not work one on one with them with only a 47 minute class period, so I have a weekly assignment requiring students to submit a video of themselves reading from their book of choice. I began with only requiring them to read one page, and now the assignment is 5 minutes. Those reading over 10 minutes receive bonus points. Initially I had so many that either flat out didn’t do it or kept saying they didn’t know how to submit it to Google Classroom. I only have maybe 5 that do not have a phone or access to internet. I allow those students to come in early before school to use the chrome books to complete the reading. Several record themselves at home and then use the school’s WiFi to submit it the next day.
I do constantly monitor my students’ averages to see if they are a true reflection of who they are as a student. I do not waiver on the requirement, but I do help them to be able to complete the recordings. Now I have very few who are not turning in the recordings. They now know I am serious and that being able to read is a necessity for success. They love going to the library and choosing new books, and then telling me about their favorites. I make sure to comment on each recording so they know I am listening. (Plus, I have added a few of their favorites to my own reading list!) I have also noticed more expression in their reading! (I read aloud each day from our current whole class novel as they follow along, and am hoping to do lit circles in the spring semester.) I am so happy that this weekly assignment is creating stronger readers and building up their confidence with each positive comment I post!
Laura, I SO love your commitment to reading! These are wonderful ideas! What grade level do you teach?
I teach 6th grade. My main focus this year is promoting a love of reading and building confidence!
Kudos to you! Reading truly is the gift that will last a lifetime.
Yeah, I definately agree with you. I really enjoy watching my students reading!
Thank you for being the voice of reason in a world gone mad! Keep doing what you’re doing!
Removing deadlines, allowing multiple retakes, giving points for missing assignments, not failing students who are failing…..WHAT ARE THEY THINKING??!! “No child left behind” has become “No child expected to learn” But our graduation rates sure look good on paper.
Thank you Michael Linsin for your voice of reason and confirmation that actual student learning should always be our focus, not the APPEARANCE of student learning.
We are setting a whole generation up for failure when they reach adulthood!
When my district first eliminated due dates &late penalties, this was my argument!
It’s a hard call. There are students who have functional zoom learning spaces provided by their parents. There are others, even younger elementary students, who are trying to zoom while keeping younger siblings quiet and occupied while parents are working or unavailable, and many other interfering life circumstances we may never guess. I definitely think this is a time to learn resiliency. I also believe there is a point for those who have overwhelming life circumstances, few resources, and little parental support, when failing grades could contribute to hopelessness.
I enjoy reading your articles and I have applied much of your advice to my own tool box. I have made so many mistakes during distance learning from assigning the wrong benchmark to setting due dates incorrectly, and the list goes on. My minimum grade for my 8th grade students is a D because I fear that students’ mistrust in the school system will increase if I am unfair to them during this time. I know the pandemic is only temporary, but I agree that refusing to fail the students is for me. However, I am not getting any pats on the back for my theory. Mostly jaw drops and head shaking when I ask that colleagues to not fail the students right now. Distance learning feels like a pilot program right now. I have Fisher and Frey’s “Distance Learning Playbook” and started the year off strong until one of my students attempted suicide. It kept me up at night thinking about how distance learning impacts students. I decided that I would focus on social emotional lessons from Habits of Mind. But still I have made many mistakes and I am not failing students since I would give myself an F as a teacher this year. I appreciate how your articles help me reflect on my teaching and share a perspective I may have not considered.
I just spent time with my admin and teachers who are struggling with this concept. Admin wants the lowest grade to be a 55% -F in grade-book, some teachers think that’s too generous. I’m torn. We’re in a Middle School -lots of challenges for our kids besides grades, many have working parents who are overwhelmed. As am I. A little grace for each other may be more important than a measuring stick.
These are not normal circumstances as we all know. A D- is warranted for those who make an attempt, not a free hand out. We cannot work with them to support them fully for circumstances beyond control. An F in one course multiplies and it makes it seem like an battle outside their control- which in some cases it may be. In junior high especially, we are just one of many things vying for their attention and they do not all have the executive functioning or support to keep them on track on their own. I want to keep them in the game so they don’t give up. Set the bar to pass low and at the same time, set the bar for challenge and achievement high.
I appreciate that you want to show caring, but I honestly don’t see how you can achieve such an impossible contradiction: “Set the bar to pass low and at the same time, set the bar for challenge and achievement high.” One precludes the other.
In my experience as a teacher and according to research, students rise to meet the challenge of passing high if you set your expectations high and don’t let them get away with less. They might resist at first, but they do come around. The reverse is also true: set low expectations, and most students do shoddy work. As Michael says, it’s human nature. This should be quite obvious.
Life at any time can be full of circumstances beyond our control, and I didn’t need them as excuses as a student myself to do less. But I did need and receive understanding, support, and flexibility from some instructors, all of which Michael says to provide.
I agree, Bambi, and here’s why: I, too, have a student that self-harmed, and she returned to Zoom sessions only to be later admitted to a hospital bed. In twenty plus years of teaching middle school have I ever seen this scenario for any of my students. When colleagues, who are giving more failing grades than ever before, hear of my student’s life being threatened they say, “Of course, give her a pass!” She has friends who know of her predicament, doesn’t she? What must they be going through? Give them a pass, too? Many students are fearful, or shy, about seeking help, so I’m giving everyone a pass. My district’s mantra from day one has been to extend grace. How are we to interpret that? Does grace extend to accepting make-up work from week one of the semester, and we’re now on week 18? I have over 4,000 assignments to consider these past 18 weeks; and, yes, I am being elitist in extending myself grace in giving D- grades for nothing. Would I rather review 4,000 students’ tasks repeatedly to check if anyone turned in late work today, again tomorrow, and, essentially, every day, or shall I give myself grace on that one? I have seen students’ email boxes with thousands of messages with dozens of new messages daily. They’ve not been trained in handling the deluge of daily emails; is that even a standard? Speaking of elitism, when government extends passes or no repercussions on illegal border crossings, destruction of businesses and memorials, and no-bail release of criminals, is that fair? California teachers’ union encourages this kind of elitism as evidenced by throwing their support behind every left-leaning candidate or proposition, so spare me your crocodile tears for my compassion during this pandemic.
This is helpful for me, as we come up on end of semester grades. I’ve been conflicted about it. But I’ve also had the thought that is we can all learn to be successful in learning during a pandemic, imagine what we can do when we are able to return to more normalized patterns?! It could be amazing, and like you said, show kids just what they are capable of. (And sorry for ending that sentence with a preposition…)
Thank you Michael. The voices of reason in education are few and far between these days!
I have often done this exercise. Before marking work, students complete a self-assessment, and assign themselves a grade. Invariably, most of my students are tougher on themselves than I am. They recognize their needs and admit if they just couldn’t be bothered. It is condescending to think students will appreciate a “no fail” system. This is not to say that we shouldn’t make allowances (such as flexible deadlines) and have supports to help kids. I have taught many kids from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and when there were factors holding them back from academic success, they were well aware of them – they had a lot of “street smarts”. They didn’t want hand-outs, and that’s what “no fail” is. Like Michael said, eliminating failure sends a message that you don’t believe in your students. A lie is a lie is a lie.
I’ve been a virtual music teacher since last March, with 6 different buildings, 25 classrooms and just short of 600 students. Mr. Linsin, you hit the nail on the head. Thanks for saying it truthfully, transparently and professionally!
I understand both sides. This is a tough time for students and educators. My school is bending over backwards for students to have the same access to learning, yet they are still failing to do the work. The work that is submitted is mediocre at best. I am taking over a middle school class next week, and I don’t know how in the world to get these students motivated. I thought about lowering my standards, but I am no longer sure about that after reading this article.
I know Mr. Linsin doesn’t respond in the comments section anymore, but if anyone else has ideas I would love to hear them.
I have observed that when I’ve relaxed my standards a bit during this period of distance learning, the participation of students fell off. You really can’t set the pace at the slowest runner, (to use a metaphor from running). Decide, from experience how much work is reasonable, (for me, that is about 20 minutes a day or less) make your expectations absolutely clear, and stick to your regimen. Students who are doing the work really appreciate being able to learn during the pandemic. I provide some “go beyond” activities/videos for students if they want. But don’t relax your standards. You will do a disservice to your students who are working, and those that aren’t won’t be helped by it either.
I like the idea of “go beyond” activities. I know that some students do want to learn.
Finding a good balance is going to be very hard this year.
*sigh*
I can only speak to my school district, my high school, my classroom. We are a poor, semi-rural district. However, we have not had to teach online, per se. Students can choose an all online option, which our district has contracted out to an established online public school (they’ve been doing it for 20 years and know what they’re doing).
We started out the year in a hybrid model. Students came either M/Th or T/F. Classroom time was for heavy content delivery and on the three days they didn’t come to school, students were expected to do a lot of homework.
Our district provided every student a Chromebook and paid for internet connection for families who couldn’t afford it. Fortunately, we had invested heavily in teaching/learning digital technology and resources. By the time our students reach high school, they are very familiar with Google Classroom and its suite of apps.
I can’t say this was an ideal model for teaching and learning, but it’s what the district chose to do, so I went with it. I tried to make the at-home work as interesting as possible. Luckily, there are a plethora of history buffs in the world and they love to make short, interesting YouTube videos and write fascinating articles. I never gave straight Q&A worksheets.
We are now on a M-Th schedule, which I like much better, and so do the students. We have a mask mandate and hopefully Covid rates will remain low and we can keep this schedule.
I did not give a break on grades. I was in my classroom every day from 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM. On Wednesdays I was there all day without students. They could email me any time, call me before or after school, or drop by. I also answered email on Saturday afternoon. Many students took advantage of these opportunities to reach out to me. Many did not.
I did make one major concession. I allowed students to turn in homework late for partial credit. Several students took last minute advantage of this and significantly brought their quarter grade up and avoided failing. Some did not.
This quarter, being here four days a week, I have reverted to my previous policy and have not seen any lingering effects from my temporary leniency. I am always willing to make exceptions when circumstances warrant it.
So long story short, I flunked about the same number of students that I always do. I went to great lengths to help students who asked for help. So my feeling, in my particular situation, was that students were given an extraordinary level of support (including counseling and psychology services) and those who chose to not turn in any work chose to fail the class.
I can’t speak to districts that were all online and/or that do not give all the students adequate resources and support because I have not been in those situations.
I’ve been teaching middle school English (6,7 & 8) since day one of the school year. I’ve been very intentional about using routines for learning abs allowing for plenty of time to get those routines securely in place. My district has ensured that everyone in our small, rural, diverse school community has a Chromebook and an Internet connection in their homes. I slowly increased the rigor, ensuring that my students were with me. I laid it on a little too thick, pulled back after reflecting carefully. I think we’ve finally found the sweet spot. I’ve been checking in with my students, one-on-one. For those who have had poor grades, the resounding reason that these students have shared with me is laziness. I was almost relieved to hear this. I was so worried that they were getting Fs and Ds because I wasn’t attentive enough to their needs abs this situation. After reading this article abs getting student feedback, I feel confident that I’m on the right track. My compassion comes in the form of being thoughtful – reflecting carefully on my expectations and adjusting if it’s called for. It also comes from listening. Hearing my kids say they were being lazy was important to me. It’s one of the dangers of learning at home…not getting dressed or getting out of bed. My job is to take notice and pay attention to how they are all managing with that struggle, not to feed the problem by lowering standards.
I love this article! So timely.
And my favorite response here is Laura’s.
I love how you are so positive and how you have a teacher’s heart.
You are amazing. Keep up the good work.
Where there’s a will,there’s a way.
I needed this today.lol.
School has been a total challenge this year, captain obvious.
But I still love our kiddos and what we do.
When our students feel our teacher love for them, they go to the ends of the Earth to please us and without awareness, learn! Don’t get much better than that!
We should keep students accountable and we should also teach the standards. If some students or many are facing financial or emotional difficulties we help them and we give them more time to turn in their work. I find very disrespectful that some students do not answer back to teachers with the pretext, in many cases, that the microphone is not working. I strongly believe that the students who deliberately are using this pandemic situation to not do their work are setting a very bad example for the 2/3 of the students in my case who are submitting their work and trying hard.
We have not been in school since March. We were told to review… and not to fail anyone. We went back to school, in September 100% online. My kids do have hot spots, and ipads.
I did not fail anyone, but I gave a lot of incompletes. When asked, I said I did not have any evidence.
Without a doubt every school is different. What works in one place, may not work for someone else.
What is truly false is the ideas that this is quality education for 100% of the kids. And more and more kids are not doing it.
Mrs K
I have to agree with Michael, because we are teaching more than our content. We are teaching how to plan and prepare for success in a world that does not give handouts. I teach 6th grade math, and helping the kids transition from elementary takes most of the first semester. Learning how to meet work standards, time deadlines, and become self confident enables kids to go farther in school and in life.
I agree with Mrs. Monica Knuppe. I have issued a lot of “incompletes” (i.e. “show me the evidence”).
Along those lines, I have not used F grades yet this year, only extremely low Ds, but I may after this pilot-like first semester is over, and all of us – students, instructors, admin and families — are a little better at this remote/distance learning thing.
(By the way, I know we do it, but I hate using the word “give” with grades. I prefer using words like “credit,” “earn” or “pay,” as grades are the students’ responsibility, not mine. I’m not Santa Claus with a sack full of grades to “give” them.)
Preach it, Michael!
I had to deal with an even worse situation since pre-COVID (I teach in an area with a mix of highly-advantaged and highly-disadvantaged schools, both types of which I’ve taught in), where unfortunately elementary teachers were only allowed to fail students for one year in total, and that only with the consent of their parents. So students (and their parents) knew that no matter whether they got an F or not, they were still passing to the next grade level. For many this was highly demotivating to work hard, as I saw myself and as other teachers told me.
Some students still wanted to achieve high grades for various personal future goals, but others either had no vision for the future or didn’t believe that grades (and therefore showing evidence of solid learning and effort) mattered for their personal goals, so they just didn’t care.
I had to continually explain the “why” of learning and show from real-life examples how it applied to their personal situations to get some of them interested at all, which took up far too much teaching time.
Imagine trying to motivate students when the stakes are not only low but also practically non-existent till they get to high school entrance time, when grades do finally count towards where some are accepted, which also automatically determines what career paths are available to them–some are routed to vocational programs with no other choice, regardless of what they want, and catching up in basic skills is extremely difficult at that point.
We can only try to warn them of what lies ahead and how life works, and find creative ways to explain these truths, while remaining supportive and flexible when needed, as Michael says.
FOR STUDENTS FARTHEST FROM EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE, MOST OF WHAT YOU’RE GRADING THEM ON RIGHT NOW IS UNRELATED TO SUBJECT CONTENT.
Michael, your materials were transformational for me in how I organize my classroom and my lessons. I’ve referenced your work a number of times when staff in buildings have made decisions about policies and student management. But you’re out of touch on this one.
The challenge is since we’ve gone to at-home learning, you’re not grading students solely on their math facts and problem solving if you’re a math teacher, nor just on reading and writing skills if you teach language arts. You’re grading them on their ability to sit and focus on a computer screen; their ability to use a computer and navigate websites and learning management systems; and their ability to concentrate and get work done in a daycare where there are dozens of students around them making noise. Some parents won’t ensure that their children have a place to do school work, and they might not even allow their children to get online for school if they have their own meetings or something else going on in their home.
You might be able to expect high school students to overcome these challenges and do at least the bare minimum work to pass. But you can’t expect, for example, a 9 year old child to.
When kids were coming to school in-person, we provided them a safe place to be; 6 hours of dedicated, supervised time to work and to enjoy the company of friends; paper handouts to write on; and whiteboards and chalkboards with lists of schedules and assignments. We trained them how to do school, so that they could concentrate on learning our subject content and completing their work.
Now, all of a sudden, we’re communicating with students online, they’re supposed to provide their own space to work, sit staring at verbose teachers all day long online, and then still be responsible for finding time on their own to get their work done. On a computer.
That probably works for children who’ve grown up with computers in their home and who have tech-savvy, English-speaking parents who know how to be supportive of their children’s learning. It might even work for students who’ve had computers in their classrooms and are accustomed to doing independent work on them.
But I can tell you that more than half of my own students didn’t have computers at home before the pandemic. It was October before all of them did. We didn’t have computers in the classroom when we attended in person. Just a teacher computer. And no online assignments. Everything we taught them and promised we would provide them to support their learning has been taken away.
For these children, the majority of what they’re learning is not subject content, but rather Windows 10, Microsoft Word, Outlook, Office365, our district learning management websites, other learning websites that we use, and even how to turn on a computer and connect to the internet. Of course, that’s not to mention time management, self-advocacy, and emotional wellness. One might argue that these are things we should have been teaching before. I would agree with this. However, if we weren’t, it’s unfair to say we’re giving them an F in a particular subject, when that subject content isn’t really what we’re grading them on.
Ask yourself if the students who are potentially receiving Fs were also earning failing grades before the pandemic closure. If not, then you’re not grading fairly, and you’re not doing the students any service by failing them. And I would emphasize that you ARE failing them. Can you provide an individualized learning plan? A grade of an incomplete? An alternate format or timeline for instruction or assignment completion? A referral to appropriate social resources?
I don’t disagree, high standards for ALL is a must, but who chooses those levels during a pandemic when one size does not fit all?
We also can’t forget that grading is a flawed system…even Einstein was a lackluster student…a prime example that grades and test don’t “prove” our genius. I think we often grade (and especially in remote learning) students on their…
Parents (support)
Access (tech)
Skills (retention of knowledge)
Mental health (resiliency)
We often pretend that grades reflect the teachers ability, content, hard work, and compliance. It’s much more complex and in desperate need of a paradigm shift.
Dee, you stated it very succinctly. A lot of what teachers are grading on is not the subject content, it’s on aspects of technology and home environment over which students have no control. You can’t expect to grade students on calculus when you haven’t taught them arithmetic and algebra. And you cant’t expect to grade them on at-home learning when there is inadequate scaffolding and supports for technology integration and social emotional independence.
Where Michael Linsin’s post said that a teacher avoiding handing failing grades was merely stroking their own ego, that “deep down it’s done for them. It’s done for pats on the back,” I see it as quite the opposite. Handing out Fs is not for the benefit of student, it’s done because the teacher feels their own time has been fruitless. Giving a student an F might even provide the teacher with some satisfaction in seeing a child get their just deserts.
I gave Fs to two of my first graders this past grading period. They earned those Fs because they didn’t do ANY of the work. No attempts to do the work despite me reaching out to help and creating a hyperdoc for easy access to the various links. I utilized my instructional associate times (4 days per week) for THOSE students who were not getting work done and didn’t show up. I do understand that, at this age, the parents do play a larger role as well. In my report card comments, I stated that the poor grades were due to incomplete work. This way future teachers understand why these students may not have the skills needed. It isn’t because they didn’t understand the work; it is because they didn’t attempt to do the work. Had I given them a better grade, I would be stating that the student achieved those skills or completed work. I’d be lying.
I totally agree that we would do a disservice to our students by handing out a better grade when no demonstration of the skill was provided.
It’s a tough world when we expect a small child to do busy work on a computer and analyze hyperdocs. (I don’t even know what that is.) I think if my own children were younger than nine, I’d withdraw them from school until we go back to in-person learning. Children are preprogrammed to learn through play and interaction. The status quo isn’t working for them.
Spot. On!
I make it very clear to students that I don’t ‘give’ grades I simply report what they EARN! I don’t remove barriers for student but teach them how to get thru them. It is unfortunate that our students so heavily define themselves by letter grades because grades certainly do NOT define abilities or measure attainment. I work very hard to allow the opportunities for students’ success-if they need more time, they get it, if they need extra help, they get it-but failure is ALWAYS an option. It’s an option in life, their choices and my class but it will be something they choose, I don’t take it off the table and don’t think that anyone else should either. My thoughts. My opinion.
This is well-stated, and I think it’s a great philosophy for working with older kids, but not with younger children. Your wording has a sense of support and flexibility built into it, and THAT’s exactly what kids need.
I have families who are having to choose which student in their family gets access to their limited wifi. I have families that are former teachers who have told their students to ignore grades because of the havoc it is wreaking on their lives.
I come from a poor family, and I mean poor, with little to no support. I am the rarity. Neither my brother nor my sister ever even graduated from high school. My grandparents had over 20 grandchildren. I am the only one that graduated from high school, let alone college.
Children are at the mercy of their circumstances with very little life experience to draw from and very little prefrontal cortex to work with. They and their families are experiencing high levels of stress. This reduces everyone’s access to higher level thinking.
It is the personal connection that matters the most here, not the content, not the grade, not the standards. What Michael’s saying might be true for a percentage of our students, especially those who are older or in AP classes. For my 6th graders though, I’ve stopped grading any assignment that isn’t done in class. I’m going with Maslow before Bloom.
In the grand scheme of life a grade doesn’t really matter, as long as it is passing. However, to a student who has gone through this pandemic, a failing grade could completely derail them. I refuse to be a party to that. I prefer to grant grace.
Agree.
Also, I don’t think a lot of people on this thread understand what fairness really is.
The laziness that some folks here have cited? Ok. But where does that come from? Perhaps from depression from the social isolation? Diagnoses of depression have skyrocketed in recent months and the same with suicidal ideation. There are much bigger things that our students are dealing with than for teachers to keep arguing about grades. We need to keep our students alive, first and foremost. If I were a student today and I heard a bunch of grown teachers tell me that this is the real world and that I need to “buck up,” I would instantly know that you just don’t get it. Adults are not the only holders of knowledge about the “real world.” Maybe some folks on this thread don’t realize just how close to self-harm many of our students are at this point of the pandemic. How could they? Students don’t rush up to their teachers and start talking about all this stuff. And yet, it’s happening. Student lives are more at risk right now than they have been for quite awhile. If choosing a policy that doesn’t give Fs saves some lives, I’m all for it.
Adapting a system to be more fair…to take into account that there are so many factors impacting our students beyond what any individual can conjure up in their minds…is absolutely necessary for the development of our kids. We don’t want to just PREPARE our students for a so-called “real world.” Ridiculous. We want to teach them to make the real world into a more fair world. And in order for us to do that, they need to see models of fairness. That way, when they don’t see it in the “real world,” they will actually demand it instead of succumbing to that very unhelpful and unproductive saying, “Life isn’t fair.” Choosing, deliberately, to give grades that have a high potential of de-railing a student, in order to prepare them for “the real world,” is a cop out. Some people on this thread believe the students will flop when they leave school. True, they might flop around for a bit, but you’re not trusting them to take these lessons of fairness and use them to mold the communities and the societies they live in…to make the world better. Instead, you’re saying, “the world is this way, and you’d better get used to it.” I hope people ask themselves if that’s why they chose to work with students, to maintain the status quo.
I am not one to comment on something like this…ever. But after reading your article and seeing the response you have received in the comments, I wanted to extend my support. I absolutely, 100 percent agree with EVERYTHING you said! I found myself thinking, “Thank God, someone sees it the way I do”! It is out of compassion that I give F’s. I am an 8th grade teacher and I often believe that I am the last chance these kids have to turn things around. It is out of compassion that I give the F, because for me, I cannot with a clear conscience pass a student on that is not ready for the next level. How can a teacher, look in the mirror and say they did the best they could for their students, if they passed the students on without them being ready? Doing so, gives a false sense of accomplishment and explains why 15 year olds feel that they should be considered for management at their job without any prior experience. Teachers who don’t hold students to a standard of excellence, create a generation of mediocrity.
I think there really needs to be a re-thinking of fundamental teaching and grading methods once offsite, online learning is involved. This learning method, made possible by new technology, is a completely new phenomenon in society with a major shift, and I think there needs to be caution in simply transferring mindsets and methods from traditional classroom learning without fundamentally re-examining the entire concept. (Gradually, of course, because these things need to be grown into, and are too complicated to be resolved quickly.)
Having one common environment overseen by the teacher, like a traditional classroom, means the teacher can fairly teach a single common lesson to multiple students, and also fairly apply a single common grading system to all students for evaluation. This approach is the whole benefit of the school and its classrooms, and probably developed along with them. In-home learning, or private tutoring learning, as has happened in human history, doesn’t have these characteristics – it’s a personalized experience.
Online classes introduces a brand new dynamic, in which students have a common teacher experience, but from uniquely difference environments. It’s a hybrid of in-home learning and school learning. So, there has to be personalized aspects to both teaching and grading in order to be fair. I don’t know what those changes should ultimately be, discussion is needed. But I don’t think that applying the traditional mindset of one common lesson and one common grading system for the class makes sense in online learning. Which lends to the whole tension around grade like F.
I agree with you. You have given me much to think about.