Worried about the future....

[smkiya]

I saw on the news last night that the Souderton, PA school district is discussing whether to get rid of class rankings.

My dd's school, and I'm sure many others, have eliminated competition for gym, everybody wins!

I'm also nervous about the increase in parents demanding that because their child is "special" everybody else be made to accommodate them. (By "special" I DON'T mean medical/psychological problem). If you don't you get sued.

Forget disciplining Johnny if he misbehaves in class.

The phrase, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.", has taken on a whole new meaning! "If your opinion doesn't match mine, SHUT UP, you're wrong!"

Am I wrong, or is this becoming a trend?

 

[Wall-E1]

It can get ridiculous at times.

A few years ago, our city's soccer league stopped keeping score for games. It made the whole season soooo boring. It was almost like sitting through extended practices for an entire season. Even the kids didn't have the focus during games that they ordinarily would. Each team played in one playoff game and then everybody got the same exact trophy. My son has been on championship teams and last place teams in various sports throughout the years. I think he learned something from both. I felt that he learned nothing from that ridiculous non-competetive season.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Our HS got rid of class rankings this yr.

However it is all a crock anyway because you are still ranked, just not publically.

The HS has to keep account of where you sit in the percentage of graduating. This is necessary for scholarships, grants, honors college, etc....

As far as the other stuff, that has been going on for awhile. I want to know who in the hell is making these decisions and who is going to change them back.

 

[Golf4food]

I want to know who in the hell is making these decisions and who is going to change them back.

Morons, and people with common sense - respectively.

 

[golfgal]

Someone will ALWAYS be better then you, learn it young and remember that and life will be so much easier .

I know a lot of schools have gone away from class ranks because they are sick and tired of parents whining that their snowflake should be higher. They still rank, they just don't let anyone know that rank .

 

[Mommee]

DD(8) was SO disappointed to find out that "trying out" for the 3rd grade musical meant raising your hand if you were interested, and having your name put into a hat. She's a very talented singer, but will be in the background with the masses while someone that may or may not be able to sing gets a big part.

 

[daughtersrus]

I saw on the news last night that the Souderton, PA school district is discussing whether to get rid of class rankings.

I can understand the ranking in the grand scheme of things. Rankings just like GPA come into play when it comes to college. A student from a small school ranking #20 may not be the same as a student coming from a large school ranking #20. Some schools only require a year or two of math, science, social studies... and others require 3 or 4 years.

Same with GPA. We have schools in our area that still use the 90-100=A scale but in our district 92-100 is an A and I'm sure other districts are more demanding.

Test scores are considered on college apps/scholarships but so are class ranking and GPAs.

Someone will ALWAYS be better then you, learn it young and remember that and life will be so much easier .

I know a lot of schools have gone away from class ranks because they are sick and tired of parents whining that their snowflake should be higher. They still rank, they just don't let anyone know that rank .

We have this here. For whatever reason, they have decided that band is weighted more than other electives. So if you have a student that gets straight A's in ever subject at the highest level (here it's AP), but does not play an instrument, it's unlikely that they will even be in the top 25 of the class because there are band students also getting straight A's in AP classes but all of the electives that they take are band so they're weighted higher.

 

[FireDancer]

I hate the "everybody wins and nobody loses" culture that some places are creating and this is just an extension of that. Some people win, some lose. At some point the winners will lose and the losers will win.

I find not keeping score in sports and not keeping score in life (which includes grades) to be equally bad.

 

[Kim♥DISNEY]

I totally agree with you posting and was shocked when I learned that some High Schools don't rank students.

I'm worried about our future. We have children who never experience disappointment. They never learn to deal with "not getting their way". These are the same children who are going to have issues as they become adults and will not know how to function on their own.

The opening line of a book I love says, "Life is difficult." We need to teach our children that ... and the fact that you feel more empowered when you can overcome difficulties.

And schools get put in the middle of all of this. They are expected to have everyone achieving with parents screaming that they don't cater to their children. Sometimes you can't have it both ways!

Okay ... sorry to rant. But yes, I agree.

 

[Kae]

My Nephew teaches at a HS where you can not fail anyone. Explain that to me?

Kae

 

[Magpie]

I like the way our class rankings work. It's semi-anonymous. Each student picks a nickname and then all the grades go up, ranked by the student nicknames. Now if a student wants to share their nickname with close friends or even the whole class that's up to them.

But this way, students can look and see right away how they're doing compared to everyone else, without the humiliation of everyone knowing.

It was a great wake-up call for my 9th grade daughter to see that she was the ONLY person who'd managed to get a zero on an assignment because she hadn't turned it in. She had to listen to people wondering who was the student who had blown off the assignment, especially after the kid who sick said, "It wasn't me!". And, even better, the teacher put a little sad face next to the zero!

She's been turning in all her work since then.

 

[golfgal]

I can understand the ranking in the grand scheme of things. Rankings just like GPA come into play when it comes to college. A student from a small school ranking #20 may not be the same as a student coming from a large school ranking #20. Some schools only require a year or two of math, science, social studies... and others require 3 or 4 years.

Same with GPA. We have schools in our area that still use the 90-100=A scale but in our district 92-100 is an A and I'm sure other districts are more demanding.

Test scores are considered on college apps/scholarships but so are class ranking and GPAs.





We have this here. For whatever reason, they have decided that band is weighted more than other electives. So if you have a student that gets straight A's in ever subject at the highest level (here it's AP), but does not play an instrument, it's unlikely that they will even be in the top 25 of the class because there are band students also getting straight A's in AP classes but all of the electives that they take are band so they're weighted higher.

Colleges know this and when the school sends transcripts they send this information along. A lot of classes at our high school the bottom of a A is a 94, so a 93 would be a B+ but that is explained in the school profile information sent to the colleges.

I like how our school does the rankings-they have an overall rank and an honors rank. There is a formula they use to weight honors/AP/CIS classes with your grades in that class and formulates an honors rank-which is what is actually sent to the colleges because it gives a more accurate portrayal of where you really fall. They still use a 4.0 scale. If you take no honors or better classes you can't finish in the top of the class.

 

[kamik86]

gym classes haven't been keeping score for years... I hated that from elementary school on they didn't... until we got to high school at which point the teachers really couldn't stop us from keeping score on our own. Oh and I was one of the worst kids at sports and still wanted a score kept.

For acedemics i definitely think students should be ranked, and that how the ranking is calculated be public knowledge so that students know and can explain to a college if theres is worse because the school ranks band higher etc. My school the only difference were honors classes were weighted higher then normals but we had very few elective courses.

 

[golfgal]

I like the way our class rankings work. It's semi-anonymous. Each student picks a nickname and then all the grades go up, ranked by the student nicknames. Now if a student wants to share their nickname with close friends or even the whole class that's up to them.

But this way, students can look and see right away how they're doing compared to everyone else, without the humiliation of everyone knowing.

It was a great wake-up call for my 9th grade daughter to see that she was the ONLY person who'd managed to get a zero on an assignment because she hadn't turned it in. And, even better, the teacher put a little sad face next to the zero!

Our school doesn't post class rank anywhere except on the student's report cards so unless a child shares that with someone, no one else knows. The kids all have a pretty good idea who the top kids are but until they actually name the top 10 at the end of the year, no one knows for sure. After the top 10, they don't list anyone or class ranks. They don't publicly post scores for tests or assignments either.

 

[kamik86]

Thinking about it now when I graduated from HS (2004) scholarships and college apps generally had a place for your gpa then the councelor had to check what scale was used (I think 4.0, 5.0, 100 pt were options I don't remember what else if anything) and if the GPA was weighted.

I'm sure some schools get even more of a profile. I know my college actually ranked schools. If the last 3 students that came from your HS failied out freshman year you would have less of a chance of getting in to the school then someone with the same GPA from a school where the last few people did well.

 

[Magpie]

My Nephew teaches at a HS where you can not fail anyone. Explain that to me?

Kae

Our school district has a policy of non-failure. What it means is that students who get a low grade should be offered a chance to try again and bring up their grade. Rewrites and retests are allowed. And in cases of chronic failure, students will be diverted into special programs. The goal is not to assign grades and move on, the goal is to actually teach the children the subject matter.

But, if a student is not in danger of failing, it's up to the teacher to decide whether or not she's going to allow a second chance.

So, my daughter did get a zero on an assignment because she didn't turn it in. She's got an A average otherwise, so she gets no breaks.

Meanwhile, my son did get a second rewrite on his English assignment which he tried to blow off and not hand in. He would have happily taken a zero if it meant he didn't have to do the work. Writing is an issue for him, and his teacher feels that it's better for him to finish the assignment and experience success, than to punish/reward him with a zero. No matter how long it takes, she's determined that he's going to learn how to write. Mind you, she doesn't give out grades for no work! He had to actually write the paper, with me standing over him, and then when she gave him a C minus, he had to RE-write it. He probably did more work in the end, than he would have if he'd just written it the first time.

 

[mamacatnv]

I personally think we are doing our kids and society a huge disservice. We are dumbing down our kids.
We are teaching them that to excel is wrong, to be better and want more is wrong, to be smarter and work harder is wrong.
We are telling them that they are all the same. They are not all the same and should not be treated like they are.
They should be encouraged to reach the highest goals they can even if they are the only one at the top.
They need to learn to lose and to be disappointed.
They need to know the world does not stop to accomodate them, they must figure out where they fit and learn to go after what they want.
Bottom line, we are all different and not all are top dogs, we need to realize it, accept it, learn to live with it and get over it.

 

[smkiya]

Our school district has a policy of non-failure. What it means is that students who get a low grade should be offered a chance to try again and bring up their grade. Rewrites and retests are allowed. And in cases of chronic failure, students will be diverted into special programs. The goal is not to assign grades and move on, the goal is to actually teach the children the subject matter.

But, if a student is not in danger of failing, it's up to the teacher to decide whether or not she's going to allow a second chance.

So, my daughter did get a zero on an assignment because she didn't turn it in. She's got an A average otherwise, so she gets no breaks.

Meanwhile, my son did get a second rewrite on his English assignment which he tried to blow off and not hand in. He would have happily taken a zero if it meant he didn't have to do the work. Writing is an issue for him, and his teacher feels that it's better for him to finish the assignment and experience success, than to punish/reward him with a zero. No matter how long it takes, she's determined that he's going to learn how to write. Mind you, she doesn't give out grades for no work! He had to actually write the paper, with me standing over him, and then when she gave him a C minus, he had to RE-write it. He probably did more work in the end, than he would have if he'd just written it the first time.

That's kind of what I mean though. Is this a beneficial lesson for someone?

If I wanted to go to a party on Saturday, but had a paper to hand in on Monday, why miss the party if I could just make-up the assignment later? I'm going to go to the party, take the initial 0, and then write the paper next week 'when I feel like it' and get an A.

If my boss gave me a deadline, and I didn't meet that deadline because I just didn't feel like doing it, should I be reprimanded?

Success is handing in the work on time. Time management, self-discipline and other traits are learned this way. Remediation if I didn't do well on the assignment is different.

 

[MerMom60_94]

Has anybody here ever read Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegutt Jr? It's like that is the direction society is headed in. I included a link for anyone who wants to read this short story.

http://www.nationalreview.com/nroriginals/?q=MDllNmVmNGU1NDVjY2IzODBlMjYzNDljZTMzNzFlZjc=#more

 

[mumom95]

I saw on the news last night that the Souderton, PA school district is discussing whether to get rid of class rankings.

My dd's school, and I'm sure many others, have eliminated competition for gym, everybody wins!

I'm also nervous about the increase in parents demanding that because their child is "special" everybody else be made to accommodate them. (By "special" I DON'T mean medical/psychological problem). If you don't you get sued.

Forget disciplining Johnny if he misbehaves in class.

The phrase, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.", has taken on a whole new meaning! "If your opinion doesn't match mine, SHUT UP, you're wrong!"

Am I wrong, or is this becoming a trend?

You're not wrong. It's sad.