Chicago Public High School teachers felt pressure to change grades

[Kendrick]

BY ROSALIND ROSSI AND ART GOLAB Staff Reporters

Nearly a third of Chicago public high school teachers say they were pressured to change grades this past school year.

One in five report they actually raised a grade under such prodding.

Portage Park teacher Jeronna Hopkins said teachers were told repeatedly not to give less than a C to special ed students. She believes it was an attempt to avoid giving kids more special ed help.


And dozens of teachers -- elementary and high school alike -- say they believe someone changed their grades last year without their approval.

Those are the results of an unprecedented survey of more than 1,200 Chicago Teachers Union members conducted by the CTU and the Chicago Sun-Times in June and July.

"That's all this district cares about -- how many kids are failing. Not how many kids are learning,'' said Kayser, who taught math at Fenger Achievement Academy last year.

Kayser said she was urged to assign make-up work, offer extra credit and stop giving zeros for missed assignments -- even for students who blew off most work or skipped tests.


"You can't completely be honest in grading students, otherwise the failure rate would be off the chart.''

In high schools, one F can stop a student from graduating and thereby affect a school's graduation rate -- one measure that can trigger district or federal sanctions.

And the pressure is nothing new in high schools, the survey found. More than half of high school teachers said at some point in their careers, they faced pressure to change grades for the better.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/1741991,CST-NWS-grades30.article

 

[skyvolt2000]

Gee where have I heard this story before?? Oh yeah in Dallas.:shame:

This is nothing new. It won't stop until enough uneducated and unprepared kids are working and screwing things up for companies.

Now where is the state in all of this. I'm sure some of those kids getting free grades are the ones not attending school. Wouldn't a red flag be raised seeing a kid miss 100 days of school and pass all their classes?

Because the state does look over grades and deny credit for high school kids. So those guys are just as bad as those bullying teachers to pass kids that have no business passing.

TEA told us it was illegal to give a kid a 50 as a gread when in reality they should ahve got a zero. Give the kid whatever they earned.

Folks should be upset about this because as we are learning now-if these kids don't know the stuff-it shows up in state test scores.

 

[Kendrick]

Gee where have I heard this story before?? Oh yeah in Dallas.:shame:

This is nothing new. It won't stop until enough uneducated and unprepared kids are working and screwing things up for companies.

Now where is the state in all of this. I'm sure some of those kids getting free grades are the ones not attending school. Wouldn't a red flag be raised seeing a kid miss 100 days of school and pass all their classes?

Because the state does look over grades and deny credit for high school kids. So those guys are just as bad as those bullying teachers to pass kids that have no business passing.

TEA told us it was illegal to give a kid a 50 as a gread when in reality they should ahve got a zero. Give the kid whatever they earned.

Folks should be upset about this because as we are learning now-if these kids don't know the stuff-it shows up in state test scores.

The teachers say if they don't continue the practice, the school districts won't receive funding.

This whole story was written on the heels of the Derrick Rose SAT/grade changing scandal. It is believed that Rose needed three attempts to get a high enough score on the SAT to enroll in Memphis. Not to mention the student that took the SAT the third time for Rose is now in jail for armed robbery. :shame:

There was also a report that a school administrator changed Rose's grades to help him graduate high school.

 

[skyvolt2000]

The teachers say if they don't continue the practice, the school districts won't receive funding.

That is not true. School districts get funding based on how many students they have not their grades. It'a ll about attendance not grades.

There is no law FORCING kids to learn. A child can sit in class and do no work-the laws require them to be in school only.

The state tests are being enforced on the mindset that kids want to learn and we know that mess isn't true.

That's why we have so many overage kids in our schools. There's no real reason to want to learn and most schools seem to not mind overage kids in their schools.

 

[CEE DOG]

Special Ed students fall under some wierd laws. Regular ed teachers have to be careful when dealing with special ed students. That no child left behind thing is a mug. Teachers can be sued if not careful. Bush and the repubs knew what they were doing. Knowledgeable special ed teachers have to be in place.

 

[southsuburbs]

That is not true. School districts get funding based on how many students they have not their grades. It'a ll about attendance not grades.

There is no law FORCING kids to learn. A child can sit in class and do no work-the laws require them to be in school only.

The state tests are being enforced on the mindset that kids want to learn and we know that mess isn't true.

That's why we have so many overage kids in our schools. There's no real reason to want to learn and most schools seem to not mind overage kids in their schools.

Yep, and most of the funding depends on attendance of the FIRST day (or either the first week) that's why there's always a push for kids to be at school on the first day. Daley coming up with all the tricks/gimmicks to make sure these lazy azz parents get their kids to school the first day, ie Dad's walk your child to school, etc.

Can a student sue a school/school district for not teaching properly but constantly passing? I would think for a child that's getting a C or higher, and being moved to a higher grade...to never realize he/she is not really learning anything...until they get out of "that environment" and realize they are not anywhere they think they are...someone should be held accountable. Can you really blame the child if the teacher/school is constantly passing him/her?

 

[jag4life]

Yep, and most of the funding depends on attendance of the FIRST day (or either the first week) that's why there's always a push for kids to be at school on the first day. Daley coming up with all the tricks/gimmicks to make sure these lazy azz parents get their kids to school the first day, ie Dad's walk your child to school, etc.

Can a student sue a school/school district for not teaching properly but constantly passing? I would think for a child that's getting a C or higher, and being moved to a higher grade...to never realize he/she is not really learning anything...until they get out of "that environment" and realize they are not anywhere they think they are...someone should be held accountable. Can you really blame the child if the teacher/school is constantly passing him/her?

The student first has to NOT pass in order for a teacher to promote him undeservingly. So I place most of the blame on the student.

 

[skyvolt2000]

Yep, and most of the funding depends on attendance of the FIRST day (or either the first week) that's why there's always a push for kids to be at school on the first day. Daley coming up with all the tricks/gimmicks to make sure these lazy azz parents get their kids to school the first day, ie Dad's walk your child to school, etc.

In reality (depending on your school district) the date where funding for the school district is determine in either the 3-5 week of school. For Texas it's September 28th. Once that date passes, is when some schools start chasing off those kids with fake addresses. They got the money and now want the kid gone.

This mainly happens with those border schools and school districts. Like I said in another post you have plenty of DISD kids "attending" schools in Cedar Hill, Plano and other places yet have a legit Dallas address.

So a kid can sit at home and do nothing before someone comes banging on the door asking them to head for school.

Special Ed students fall under some wierd laws. Regular ed teachers have to be careful when dealing with special ed students.

With them you are not suppose to flunk them however what can you do if they never attend school? Or won't work. No Child LEft Behind was the WORST thing for them. Instead of many of them being in self contained classes many are in normal classes and holding up the class because you have to teach them based on their IEP & BIP.

Now you a lot of them falling behind because that individual learning they got in the past is gone. Especailly our black kids. And most of the ones I have seen CLOWN TOO DANG MUCH!

Can a student sue a school/school district for not teaching properly but constantly passing?

I will say NO. Not all teaching happens in the classroom. A student tries to sue-I would want to know the following-

1) How much outside tutoring have you done?
2) How much outside studying have you done?
3) Did you ask for help?
4) When given the chance to leave a bad school did you go or stay? You can change schools based on academics (at least in DISD) Sadly for our black schools leaving one bad one for another isn't good
5) Did you let the teacher TEACH in class? Or were you clowinng in class preventing it?

Most of those parents will not fuss about being passed up until high school when you can't do it anymore. Even if you give grades to kids-they have bad attendance or school hop it won't matter.

I mean I always wonder how a kid can be 18 in the 9th grade and momma doesn't seem to have an issue with it. You know the dumb schools won't care since that means more money for them even at the cost of smart kids running to magnet & white schools.

Before anyone starts axing teachers-they need to look at the kids and school enviroment. Look at South Oak Cliff & Darrell Arthur- The ones that refused to change his grades got AXED and someone else changed them.

Yet the guilty party is still at the school. Where is the outrage?

I think the only time a parent will have a legit right to sue after learning of teachers giving grades is if it costs them a scholarship to college. Your child earned those grades and lost out to someone who didn't.