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Re: [Phys-l] Cramster et al.



As a high-school (and sometime college) teacher, I feel the need to comment and inquire:

? Elimination of homework grades in response to cheating is not an option at my high school, as I suspect is true at most others. Students, parents, and administrators apply constant pressure to inflate grades; "test anxiety" is just one of the reasons given for allowing students to pad their averages with other assignments. I am not claiming that "test anxiety" does not exist, nor am I disparaging the value of graded practice--I cannot test every important concept, and many applications of the principles under discussion are best addressed as a combination of individual practice and group discussion. As many (including Dr. Edmiston, to whose message I am responding) have indicated, the teacher/professor is expected to find ways to allow students to pass the course that do not demand effort on the part of the learner. The tenets of the current "hot" program--Response to Intervention--hold that the teacher is responsible for implementing systems to ensure student success. Administrators already indicate that failure is due to insufficient opportunities, no matter how many opportunities are provided.

? When practice assignments are not factored into a student's average at the college/university level, what level of competence must a student demonstrate on scored assignments (exams) in order to receive a passing grade? If the grade distribution is based on "curved" (bell-shaped or otherwise) exam scores, what is the incentive to complete assignments when few others are doing so? And if a score of 40% (to invent a figure) is worthy of a passing grade, either the exam is unrealistically difficult or we are rewarding efforts that fall far short of mediocrity.