Give Credit Where Credit is Due « Public Education and PR

Give Credit Where Credit is Due

April 13, 2008 at 9:36 am | In Education, Graduation Rates | 9 Comments
Tags: credit, Education, Graduation Rates, New York City, PR, public relations, public schools, schools

New York City principals are letting students make up classes they failed in efforts to boost graduation rates. The “credit recovery” program gives students a chance to write essays or answer questions for class credit needed to graduate. This excerpt from The New York Times highlights the situation:

Dennis Bunyan showed up for his first-semester senior English class at Wadleigh Secondary School in Harlem so rarely that, as he put it, “I basically didn’t attend.” But despite his sustained absence, Mr. Bunyan got the credit he needed to graduate last June by completing just three essay assignments, which he said took about 10 hours. “I’m grateful for it, but it also just seems kind of, you know, outrageous,” Mr. Bunyan said. “There’s no way three essays can possibly cover a semester of work.”

Officials from the New York City Education Department stated that principals always find ways to help students graduate – whether it is summer school or repeating a class. Although officials reported no abuse of the credit recovery program, they stated that the program is not monitored.

Obviously principals want their schools to be portrayed in a positive light and have high graduation rates; but, I think the idea that students can make up school credit and graduate by responding to prompts such as “Research and list all the global environmental issues that science focuses on; and, what are some ways you, as an individual, can help?” is unbelievable.

I wrote before about discrepancies in reported graduation rates, and, it turns out, the United Federation of Teachers has received numerous complaints about the credit recovery and how it calls graduation stats into question. According to data from New York, the city’s most recent graduation rate data was 50 percent in 2006, which was up from 44 percent in 2004.

Schools need to do what’s best for one of their key publics (students) and not what creates the best image of their school. Perhaps officials from the city’s Education Department need to set forth standards that have to be met to obtain the necessary credit and start tracking the schools’ programs.

While letting more students graduate and being able to boast of higher graduation stats is nice for the students and schools, won’t those students be at a disadvantage later when they haven’t the necessary skills needed to succeed?

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I really enjoyed reading this blog because I feel that it can relate to many students who are in that position pertaining to graduation. Personally, I like how many colleges offer students the chance to catch up and still be able to graduate. I know from experience when it comes to being a little behind, I have taken a summer class and plan to take another during this following summer. I agree when it comes to schools needing to do what is best for its publics. That is a true statement, with the exception of some circumstances, everybody should be able to catch up and graduate successfully.

Comment by Kameron Leister — April 23, 2008 #

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I don’t agree with giving students an opportuntiy to write essays instead of attending class in order to graduate. However, if there are circumstances such as a major illness that prevents a student from attending classes for a long period of time then, yes, they should be given other options to ensure that they graduate. If just any student can miss class knowing that they can write essays instead, more students would be taking advantage of such a system. Why go to school at all??

Comment by Kate Alonzo — April 23, 2008 #

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After reading this article, i have many thoughts going through my mind. I do find it great that schools are helping kids graduate, but the fact that the one highschooler only had to make up three “easy” essays to make up for a whole semester is a bit rediculous. As quoted in the article that schools need to do what’s best for the students rather than what creates the best image for the school; I think that statement pretty much hits the nail on the head. The people running this program are making it so easy on the students that it is pretty much a joke. These kids who are blowing off their school work and not going to class are made to think that it is okay to do what they are doing, because they always have the make up work to fall back on. Graduating highschool is truley not a difficult accomplishment if one puts forth a small amount of effort. Being put through school and being faced with the decision of either applying yourself and passing or failing and having to take another whole year of a course teaches kids about discipline and prepares them for the real world. The lessons that the basis of highschool teaches a student is being taken away by this new easy going program. As I said earlier, it is great that schools are trying to raise the graduation rate, but there must be a more structured way of going about it. If a student cannot even show up for a school day a apply themselves, then it is quite evident that they will not show up for a work day and fulfill their duties. I believe that parents as well as teachers need to come together at these types of schools where the graduation rate is so low and they need to discuss the importance of graduating highschool the right way. Also, the parents must encourage their children to graduate and apply themselves. Parents should set rules and explain to thier kids that they need to do the best that they could or they will suffer repercussions at home and in their leisure time.

Comment by Kristen Campana — April 23, 2008 #

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It’s great schools are giving these students a chance to graduate; and, I’m sure having that diploma will benefit the student in the future. As you mentioned, Kameron, it’s important for schools to keep their publics’ best interest in mind. However, as Kate wrote, if a student knows he or she can just do the make-up work and still graduate, why bother going to school?

As you suggested, Kristen, there should be a more structured program for the make-up work and, I would add, it should be monitored closely. The New York Times article talks about Bunyan’s English teacher boycotting the graduation ceremony because of how strongly she felt the school was doing a disservice by just letting students graduate.

If teachers are boycotting graduation ceremonies and the UFT is investigating the program it appears, to me, that there are some serious flaws and concerns.

Comment by lindsayk — April 24, 2008 #

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In the end, these schools are just hindering their students. Having a high school diploma is going to become insignificant if everyone gets one for doing the smallest amount of work possible. Teachers should clearly explain what is expected of the student, and the student should choose to comply or fail the course. Of course, there are situations that could cause a student to miss class for legitimate reasons. Students should be held accountable for the work they missed, and it should be held to the same standard as all the other classmates. Graduating from high school is a major accomplishment and should be rewarded by graduation, not just given to them. If students do not want to do their work they should not be given the privilege to call themselves a high school graduate.

Comment by Kaily Schmidt — April 24, 2008 #

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I agree, the students involved in the “credit recovery” program are going to be at a huge disadvantage after they graduate because they will not have the skills needed for after high school, especially if they are furthering their education by going to a college or university. If the principal really cares about the students succeeded, then he/she should come up with a better program for helping struggling students graduate. It is not fair to all of the other students who attend class every day and put in all of the hard work and effort in order to graduate, especially since it took the one student, Dennis Bunyan, only 10 hours to complete the recovery program! Ten hours of work does not equal a semesters worth of work! Also, I feel that these students are going to suddenly realize how easy the program is, and how it is basically a joke, and possibly take advantage of it by purposely failing a class just so they could take the easy way out with this program. Hopefuly these students from WSS in Harlem do not start skipping class all together because they know they can make up the whole semester in about ten hours. Although I am happy to see that principals are willing to help out struggling students graduate, I feel that this program is a failure. What if the UFT stops this program? Will the kids who used the program have their diplomas taken away?

Comment by John Trivelli — April 24, 2008 #

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Your blog has definitely opened my eyes to a lot of issues. I never thought that substitute teachers had it that bad. I agree with a lot of your views. But its sad to see people graduating high school knowing that some of them don’t have the skill it takes to go on in life. I hate that the idea of makeup work became so popular. I wish there was something we could do to stop this unfair system and finally concentrate on what these students are in school to do, which is get a cretin level of education and not just a piece of paper they can brag about.

Comment by Karolina Duda — April 24, 2008 #

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After reading your blog and thinking about the differences between high school and college, I suppose the fact that a ten hour essay writing session is not as good as taking the course. But do colleges not offer the same option. If a student chooses to test out of a class they may try to do this, although I haven’t heard of any of my friends attempting to do it. But if the school feels that the three essays demonstrate the material or techniques required to pass the class, who are we to argue? I know for a fact that Kent students may retake freshman and sophomore courses in an attempt to boost GPA, which I must admit is a good idea (I am doing it next semester). So who are we to dispute that fact these high schoolers are attempting to do the same thing. I do feel that it would be a better idea to have the student retake the course than just “test” out, but if administrators feel this is a good thing then it must be in the students’ best interests?

Comment by Josh Troutman — April 24, 2008 #

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As you both stated, Karolina and John, these students are going to be at a disadvantage in the future because they don’t have necessary skills. Yes, having a diploma will probably help them in the future more so than not having one; however, if a student has that diploma but can barely read, write, or do simple math problems are they really going to be that successful? While some of the administrators may think this is a good idea, Josh, what about the teachers who see the difference in work between those in the make-up program and those actually attending class? There are teachers boycotting graduations because of how strongly they feel the school is letting down these students. I feel that there is a difference between testing out of college classes and taking a make-up course in high school – testing out indicates the student has the skills, taking part of a make-up program shows a student needs to re-learn or re-do a course to gain skills; making the program easier does not benefit students.

Comment by lindsayk — April 28, 2008 #

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