Eminence eliminated D's, now targets C's
EMINENCE, Ky. -- Four years ago, administrators, faculty and parents in this small, independent school district decided that a D just wasn't good enough to pass -- so they got rid of the grade.
"Getting a D is like doing the bare minimum," said Carter Martin, a middle and high school business teacher. "Life isn't like that."
It worked so well that now the district in Henry County is talking about doing away with C's too.
If the school board agrees next month, the district's roughly 300 middle and high school students will have to get at least a B to pass a class by 2009-10 -- scoring no lower than 80 percent.
As the neighboring Oldham County Public School system debates whether to adopt its own no-D grading policy for its eight middle and high schools, Eminence staff members say their success has them ready to take the next leap.
Since eliminating D's, the district says it has seen its failure rate drop, and its standardized test scores have risen 13 points in middle school and 10 points in high school.
"We raised their standards, and they met them," said Steve Frommeyer, principal of Eminence's middle and high schools.
Even students who initially worried about the no-D policy say they are now believers.
"I thought everyone would fail," said Ethan Keiser, a 16-year-old junior. "But we were actually pushed a lot harder, and students really kicked in gear. It got a lot more people focused."
Not everyone is sold, however.
Nationally, at least two school systems -- one in Maryland and another in Florida -- abandoned the policy because too many students were failing.
It also has had its share of critics in Oldham County after two high schools there decided two years ago to abolish D's. Since then, the failure rate has more than doubled at North Oldham High and increased 2 percentage points at Oldham County High.
Some parents say the policy has damaged their children's grade-point averages and unfairly forced students off athletic teams.
"There are kids with learning disabilities that are falling through the cracks," said David Miller, who pulled his son out of North Oldham High School after he failed several classes under the policy. "This policy seems to be a way to push them through the cracks more quickly."
Eminence officials say that districts considering a grading overhaul should phase it in one grade at a time.
The district learned that the hard way after it eliminated D's for all middle schoolers in 2002. The failure rate jumped from 5 percent to 18 percent, with many students being held back that year.
"We made a mistake in hindsight," Frommeyer said. "It was frustrating for everyone."
Frommeyer said the new grading scale would eliminate the C grade gradually.
Second chances availableEminence officials say one of the keys to making the grading work is ensuring that students get a second chance to succeed.
"You just don't raise the standards and say, 'Good luck, kids,' " Frommeyer said. "You have to have a lot of other standards in place."
Using federal Title I money for low-income students, the school instituted intervention programs to help students meet the new standards, including after-school tutoring, year-round schedules and intensive teacher training.
During two-week breaks, students can come to school to make up missed work and failed tests.
School officials also created committees for at-risk students that meet monthly. Comprised of social workers, a guidance counselor, truant officer, teachers and administrators, the committee decides on special services for students and ways to help them avoid failing.
There is also a special committee that evaluates students with learning disabilities and those who speak English as a second language. If committee members feel a student sincerely tried his hardest in a class, they will pass the student.
Strict standardsTo guard against grade inflation, Eminence requires teachers to use strict criteria, with administrators doing random checks.
And it aligns its grading scale with Kentucky's Commonwealth Accountability Testing System to ensure that students are testing at the same level as the grades they receive.
"We need to be talking the same language all the time," Frommeyer said.
Given the district's success with the no-D policy, teachers and students say they are confident that eliminating C's will work.
"Students rise to your level of expectation as long as they know they can do it and they're willing to work hard," said Lynn Wilson, a middle school science teacher.
Senior Victoria Thoren agreed, saying students ultimately will benefit.
"It's not really a huge drastic change from what we have," said the 19-year-old who plans to attend Kentucky State University next year. "It makes us work a lot harder, and it gets us ready for college."
Reporter Daarel Burnette II can be reached at (502) 582-4241.
No comments:
Post a Comment