A school in Virginia has enacted a controversial new grading policy.
West Potomac High School Principal Clifford "Cliff" Hardison was sick of seeing students fail classes so he did something about it. He got rid of the "F" grade entirely. It's impossible to fail a class at his school because his teachers no longer hands out F's...
Students who do not pass their classes will be given an "I" for incomplete and then given an opportunity to learn the material again and pass the class.
According to the Washington Post, "The change in educational philosophy is intended to encourage students to continue working toward mastery of material rather than accepting a failing grade and moving on."
That's not fair to students who do the work on time, and pass the tests the first time around.
Will students learn anything from this? Many parents and teachers say that the school's new policy is just not preparing students for the reality of life. You don't get do-overs in the real world. I mean, if you fail a breathalizer test you don't get to keep blowing until "master it."
However, if you fail your driving test the first time around you are given an opportunity to try again, so why not take that same approach to education?
Either way it's causing a lot of controversy and making national news headlines. Do you think students would learn more from getting and F and having to redo the entire class? Do you think it's a good policy to give students a second chance to learn the material and pass the class? What do you think?
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