Just wait....

This is only the beginning of a logistical nightmare for the city related to these projects. Some kids have to pass upwards of 28 projects-7 for each test failed based on how far from the pass number they are.

I know for the first set of government projects submitted, the pass rate was 0%. Every single project was rejected. To add to the confusion, the government projects change in January so the final submission date for the fall projects is sometime this month. After the January date has passed, you can only turn in fall projects if they are being turned in for re-submission based on a earlier failing score.

In addition to that headache, the state is not releasing the grading rubric or sample examples of passed acceptable projects as guides for teachers and students. Also, they are only letting seniors work on projects now, so juniors who made need remediation or time to get ahead on projects are being told they cannot do them now.

All that said, we need to work impossibly hard to get these students to graduate on time. We CANNOT and MUST NOT exempt out students from taking the HSA. It is absolutely imperative, as Dr. Alonso stated at the State Board meeting when they were voting on the solvency of the HSA, that we hold our students to a constant academic standard. Our students need to pass this test and be judged by their scores. We cannot run from this standard when/if they fail in large numbers. If that is the case, we are only perpetuating the belief that our children are academically inferior to their peers across the state.

As usual the zone.neighborhood high schools have to carry this task. They have the reality of bridge projects on a huge scale with the same funding as City and Poly. Layer in on and expect us to do more. The paperwork is only the tip of the iceburg.

I hate to be fatalistic, but with many of these students, the solution is to create a simple form-- then when they fail to show up, fail to meet deadlines, document it just like you do in a gradebook when they fail to attend school, fail to complete homework, fail to make up missed work, fail to take tests. Same thing right? This is always the most discouraging thing: I hate it when kids fail, but I refuse to translate it to me failing; I try so hard with the majority of students who will let me help them, and in spite of trying to have a positive attitude and believe that all kids can succeed, sometimes I have to face the fact that some kids just are not going to do what they need to do to be successful. At the high school level, it is hard to make up for 15 years of social problems, poor parenting, lack of adults caring, poor schools at the elementary or middle levels, etc.

It motivates me and discourages me.

The funny thing is that HIGH SCHOOLS catch the heat for everything! Middle school test scores are miserable at best, so students come to high school WAY below the level they should be. Yet now, WE are supposed to meet them where they are and get them all the skills they need for high school. Why are high schools held accountable for the failures of an entire system?

Frustrated,

I taught at the elementary level and we worked hard to prepare our students for middle school and beyond, only to have our students go onto to middle school to tell us that middle school did not challenge them and was teaching them skills that they have learned over and over again. Sadly we would send our students into the wasteland of middle school and hope that they would come out the other side ready for high school.

Dear Frustrated,

High schools are held accountable because elementary and middle schools are too busy building self-esteem to teach the basics or course content. We need to get out of the mindset that says we have to make all children feel good about themselves all the time and the way to do that is to give them rewards for mediocre product. Bull!