Color-coded student IDs and separate lunch lines ignited controversy in Orange County.
Why?
When you place reasonable people in unreasonable circumstances, they sometimes behave unreasonably. In this case, California schools are being closed, teachers are being fired, and principals are being transferred or terminated on the basis of state test scores. The real problem is that California refuses to hold students accountable for test results. These tests don't matter for the students. So, some students simply "Christmas Tree" http://bit.ly/a7Ujmb
tests, and thus, the careers of professional educators and the reputation of the school and its surrounding community rests on the good will of their students.
Holding students accountable by making the tests barriers to graduation works. I know. I worked in a state (VA) prior to the graduation requirement and after it took effect. Our local incentives coupled with caring, dedicated teachers worked, but the "barrier" requirement strongly supported our efforts.
Mel Riddile, The Principal Difference
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The Story
by Liz Dwyer
Background: "With higher stakes associated with standardized tests than ever before, rewards like a pizza party or an extra school dance are fairly common for students who perform well. But two high schools in Orange County, California have ignited controversy for a rewards program that treated low performers like second-class citizens.
The two schools' questionable motivational tactics involved issuing color-coded student identification cards based on performance on state tests. High-performing students received black cards, the ones in the middle got gold ones, and the lowest-scoring group got white IDs. The schools then awarded discounts and perks around campus to the students with the black and gold cards.
According to The Orange County Register, black cardholders got into home athletic events for free and received "discounts to school dances and at local businesses." Students with gold card were offered more limited discounts. As for white cardholders, they were forced to pay full price for everything and had to stand in a separate, slower lunch line in the cafeteria."
The Commentary
Teachers find themselves in a tough position, because they're held accountable for student performance on state tests, ranked as either good or bad based on their students' scores.
But shaming kids for not scoring well on one high-stakes test isn't the best way to promote learning. Incentive programs like this may convince a handful of students to improve their performance, but they do much more to hurt students who aren't already high scorers.
It must be pretty terrible to go to school knowing you're visually labeled as one of the dumb kids because of the color of your ID, even if you tried your best on the test and otherwise get good grades.
It's worthwhile to reward kids for improving their performance, but there has to be a more positive, less humiliating way to do it.
For more on this, click on the headline above.
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