School selling test points rampant stupidity abounds

[Harmonious Discord]

How do you earn money for the school budget? Sell test points. (http://www.newsobserver.com/news/education/story/185460.html) A group of parents came up with idea. The school endorsed the idea. The principle doesn't see the problem with the idea.

This makes me think that whole school system needs intense government scrutiny and a new principle.

[otternell]

that is hideous - that principal should be sacked and the parents should be smacked.

[Fetchund]

Holy.....

[Gary "Wombat" Robson]

I am aghast.

I'm also amused that the next thread in my forum list is "Absurd things you've seen lately."

If a student says, "Hey teacher. I'll give you $20 to turn my F into a D," that's worthy of expulsion. But when the administration offers it, it's just peachy keen.

I find the concept utterly reprehensible.

[Anne Neville]

They need a new principal. One with some principles this time, please.

[billfish678]

Maybe the SDMB could take this idea and run with it.

You have to pay a dollar every time you wanna use a forbidden word on/against another poster, with maybe a 20 word maximum per month per user.

This place would be rolling in dough in no time.

[Freudian Slit]

They need a new principal. One with some principles this time, please.

Mr. Belding's looking better and better every day.

[Ferret Herder]

An ethicist at Clemson University hopes Rosewood reconsiders its fundraising strategy.
Interesting quote - I would hope that universities start notifying that school district that anyone from that middle school applying to their institutions would in the future be flagged as possibly engaging in academic misconduct. The prospect of students not being accepted to their colleges of choice would at least get the parents up in arms against this.

[Anne Neville]

Interesting quote - I would hope that universities start notifying that school district that anyone from that middle school applying to their institutions would in the future be flagged as possibly engaging in academic misconduct. The prospect of students not being accepted to their colleges of choice would at least get the parents up in arms against this.

Do colleges actually look at middle school academic records? I thought that they don't.

[enipla]

Great. Extortion at the middle school level. I have emailed the guidance counselor at the school asking her about this policy.

I would email the principal, but her email does not seem to be available.

[billfish678]

An ethicist at Clemson University hopes Rosewood reconsiders its fundraising strategy.


Now there is a professional who knows how to set firm boundaries. Hope they don't have any kids of their own.

[Ferret Herder]

Do colleges actually look at middle school academic records? I thought that they don't.
No idea - if they don't, they could simply threaten to extend their disapproval to anyone coming out of that school district.

[norinew]

Wow. I can just imagine the school's next fundraiser: teachers pony up $40.00 to have sex with any consenting student who happens to be over the "age of consent". :rolleyes:

[Mindfield]

Whether or not middle school records would effect college prospects, those who would benefit from this absurd concept the most are those who probably wouldn't otherwise get good enough grades to qualify for college anyway. This buying of grades idiocy is only going to reinforce A) that they can just buy their way out of a problem, B) that grades don't matter, because C) education is unimportant.

I really don't understand how there can be so many levels of stupid here. Parents -- who ostensibly should be concerned about their children's future(s) -- coming up with the idea is stupid. The school, and the principal -- who should be concerned solely with academic success and preparing their students for higher education and the real world -- endorsing this idea and seeing no problem with it is weapons-grade stupid.

Fail the whole lot of 'em. Parents too.

[norinew]

Whether or not middle school records would effect college prospects, those who would benefit from this absurd concept the most are those who probably wouldn't otherwise get good enough grades to qualify for college anyway. This buying of grades idiocy is only going to reinforce A) that they can just buy their way out of a problem, B) that grades don't matter, because C) education is unimportant.

I really don't understand how there can be so many levels of stupid here. Parents -- who ostensibly should be concerned about their children's future(s) -- coming up with the idea is stupid. The school, and the principal -- who should be concerned solely with academic success and preparing their students for higher education and the real world -- endorsing this idea and seeing no problem with it is weapons-grade stupid.

Fail the whole lot of 'em. Parents too.
Now, see, this could be the beginning of a great fundraiser! Pretend your school offers this 'feature' (it's sure as hell not a 'bug'! ;) ), then when Timmy's folks come in with the $$ to buy their son's grade from a D to a B, the principal gladly takes the money, hands them a receipt, and says "Congratulations! You have just proved that you are all morons! Timmy's grade now drops from a D to an F! Thank you for your contribution, and have a good day!"

Hey, it's not that different from what happened in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with the make-believe villain trying to bribe kids into giving him their Everlasting Gobstoppers! :p

[Magiver]

Maybe they should offer each teacher/administrator a chance to pay $5,000 to be overlooked during the investigation.

[Mindfield]

Now, see, this could be the beginning of a great fundraiser! Pretend your school offers this 'feature' (it's sure as hell not a 'bug'! ;) ), then when Timmy's folks come in with the $$ to buy their son's grade from a D to a B, the principal gladly takes the money, hands them a receipt, and says "Congratulations! You have just proved that you are all morons! Timmy's grade now drops from a D to an F! Thank you for your contribution, and have a good day!"

Hey, it's not that different from what happened in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with the make-believe villain trying to bribe kids into giving him their Everlasting Gobstoppers! :p

In that case, the principal should say, "You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!"

In fact, I say that should be the test they administer. The child is to go home and tell his or her parent(s) that they can pay to improve his or her grades. If the parents do so, the child gets an F.

They should also bring back the dunce cap. And make the parents wear them.

[Malleus, Incus, Stapes!]

Please, please let this be one of those "moral outrage" hoaxes.

[ftg]

For one thing, the school should lose its accreditation. And that in turn could affect subsequent school admissions. E.g., the whole district loses accreditation and then high school grads can't get into a real college.

[Anne Neville]

Please, please let this be one of those "moral outrage" hoaxes.

Looks like it is, now at least.

The linked article in the OP now reads "District nixes cash-for-grades fundraiser":

Wayne County school administrators stopped the fundraiser, issuing a statement this morning.

"Yesterday afternoon, the district administration met with [Rosewood Middle School principal] Mrs. Shepherd and directed the the following actions be taken: (1) the fundraiser will be immediately stopped; (2) no extra grade credit will be issued that may have resulted from donations; and (3) beginning Novermber 12, all donations will be returned."

[Anne Neville]

The paper also printed the following price list:

Rosewood Middle School price list

A $20 donation buys 10-point credits to be used on two tests of the student's choice.

A $30 donation buys the test points and admission to a 5th-period dance.

A $60 donation buys students test points, the dance invitation, and a "special 30-minute lunch period with pizza, drink and the choice to invite one friend to join them."

Photo ops with Rosewood principal Susie Shepherd, the vice principal, and a home room teacher go for $75. The photos will be posted on a school bulletin board and on the school's Web site.

[silenus]

What a bunch of no-imagination over-reactors you all are. The simple solution that solves the "problem" is to make every test worth 1000 points or more.

[statsman1982]

The paper also printed the following price list:

Photo ops with the principal(s) and a teacher? Unless the attractiveness of middle school teachers has radically improved since my time, I can't imagine anyone putting up $75 for that. And having that picture posted where everyone can see? Ugh, the ribbing I would've gotten...

On the important issue of selling grades, I find it ethically reprehensible. As a part-time college instructor (and, if all goes well, future professor), I have enough trouble with students asking me for extra credit for free. :rolleyes: If I even mentioned taking money for grades in my class, I would be out on my ass PDQ, and ABD.

[billfish678]

I wonder what you had to pay to get transferred to another school/district?

[Harmonious Discord]

I see no new developments. Anybody that sees something new should link to it.

[Anne Neville]

If I even mentioned taking money for grades in my class, I would be out on my ass PDQ, and ABD.

What if you offered an A in the class if a student gives you $1 the first day of class, $2 the next day, $4 the next, and so on and so forth for the rest of the semester?

[Jeep's Phoenix]

I attended public middle/high school in Duplin County, just south of lovely Wayne County. Our school (and the others in our county) were far more focused on sports than academics; some teachers would cheerfully admit to teaching a class such as advanced math at a lower level just so the lowest-performing kids could pass. I can remember one math teacher filling the board with various information prior to a test, such as formulas for locating the sine and cosine of a triangle...she said we wouldn't need to know that stuff anyway. :rolleyes: Heck, there weren't very many kids from my class who attended college.

I guess I'm not really surprised to learn that other schools in the area have a similar disregard for academics.

[Sanity Challenged]

Well, there are worse ways (http://cbs13.com/local/dead.fly.dare.2.1287937.html) to earn your good test grades.

[lieu]

An administrator at a school here was arrested and recently jailed for doing this exact thing. No word yet on whether they allowed her to purchase months off the length of her sentence.

[T. Slothrop]

Originally posted by Anne Neville:

"They need a new principal. One with some principles this time, please."

Very politely done. Bravo.

Jon

[TBG]

This is a slippery slope. How long before they go from "pay us and we raise your grades" to "pay us or we lower your grades"?:eek:

[suranyi]

If you click on the same link, the story now says that the program has been nixed by the school district.