(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) In a new twist to the old leftist dictum that all event participants, regardless of merit, deserve a shiny medal, a Minnesota middle school has decided that all students, regardless of actual academic achievement, deserve a passing grade: to fight systemic racism, of course.
Sunrise Park Middle School, in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, announced that it would eliminate the “F” grade, according to the Daily Wire.
“Our whole intent is to ensure that grades focus on the process of learning,” Principal Christina Pierre said. “Therefore, grades will not include behaviors, attitude, tardiness to class, whether the assignment was turned in late or on time. There’s other ways that we can communicate those things to parents.”
Associate Principal Norman Bell added that students would be encouraged to retake tests and quizzes and to revise papers and projects within 10 days of grades getting posted.
A driving factor in the decision appears to be a so-called “equity audit” that showed “grading disparities among students of color,” according to a FoxNews review of the school’s website.
“Grading can be one of the largest areas in which systemic racism and inequities are perpetuated,” according to school officials, “who believe grades should be a measure of what a student knows and has mastered in a given course. Grading should not be a behavior punishment and should not be a measure of how well a student can survive stress at home,” the website states.
Woke World Winners, in other words, where success is guaranteed, effort is optional, and awards noting individual achievement are systemically racist.
The Minnesota middle school isn’t alone in its “F” ban. Clark County (Nevada) School System’s new grading policy replaces the “F” with a “W” to indicate students are “working on standards below grade level.” The new policy also assures that “grades shall not be influenced by behavior or other nonacademic measures (e.g., late or missing assignments, attendance, participation, responsibility).”
Some classroom educators, though, view the new, politically correct standards with skeptical eyes, saying they have the potential to actually harm students.
“This grade change takes behaviors completely out of the question,” teacher Tam Lester said. “And, arguably, at the detriment of the student. What they will need is those learner-ready behaviors, things like focus, things like participation, things like time management. Some of these policies are taking those away.”
School officials, meanwhile, steadfastly claim the new policy doesn’t lower academic standards.
