FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK:
I'm Failing? But You Never Told Me

Nov. 22, 2002

The end of a marking period is a turbulent time for students and staff. 'Do you round?' 'But can't I have 10 bonus points?' 'But what about that assignment from last month?' The constant battle for points and letters is a classic high school tradition, worsened in recent years due to ever-increasing competition for admission to selective colleges. At the center of this conflict are student's desires to be updated on their grade at all times.

'Why not give us a progress report whenever you have a chance?,' senior Greg Cohen asks. His comment is echoed by many students, who find it difficult to keep appraised of their grade over the course of a marking period. Teachers at Damascus are required to provide students only two grade sheets during a quarter -- one at interim time and one at the end of the marking period.

This policy must be overhauled. One grade sheet, 4 weeks into the quarter, is by no means enough. With seven classes to juggle, students must be aware of their grades at all times. 'I need to know what I'm missing in my classes so I don't fail,' junior Kirsten Levy says.

As the principal stated to students during the first week of school, C's, D's, and E's are not what students should strive to achieve. One of the school's Core Values expresses this expectation loud and clear. 'Everyone can and should strive for improvement,' it states. Everyone recognizes that grades are an important aspect of education and a dominant indicator of student performance, so why are students deprived of consistent updates on their progress (or lack thereof?)

'If I ask my teachers, they'll say 'I can't do it right now,' junior Joe Brosseau says. 'Then my parents get mad when they find out I am failing my classes.' There should never be a day when a student says 'I don't know' when asked what grade they have in a class.

Without a doubt, responsibility is an important element of high school. Perhaps students should bear some of the burden for keeping track of their grades. But this is next to impossible in many classes. 'Teachers don't always give you back papers in a timely manner,' senior Hayley Wittsack points out. Combine this fact with difficult grading systems (10% for homework, 40% for tests, etc) and curved grades, and the result is a mess of numbers that often don't turn out to be the same as the teachers'.

How about a chart of each student's updated grade, printed every Friday? Each student's ID # and their current percentage are the only two absolutely necessary elements. How about five minutes at the end of class every few days for grade updates? If we are going to stress the significance of grades, shouldn't we allow more time to be aware of them?