Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/11437
college or life. Several professors at Sierra College, a community college in Rocklin, were un- aware of the “no-D” policy at the local high schools and said they now under- stand why some of their students expect extra chances. “Learning this produced an ‘aha!’ moment for me,” says history professor Lynn Medeiros, a member of the Sierra College Faculty Association (SCFA). “Last semester I had a student say, ‘I missed these questions; when can I re- take the midterm?’ I said there was no retaking mid terms. S he asked if she could just retake the questions she missed and I said no.” Medeiros says students who have asked to retake tests and rewrite papers have told her they should be entitled to do so as part of the “learning process.” But college, she says, has stricter standards. “It’s always a double-edged sword when it comes to helping students who are struggling with something and facil- itating a process to test whether they ABOVE: Rocklin Teachers Professional Association member and Whitney High School science teacher Rachel Kanowsky. LEFT: Student Ryan Harper. know it or not,” says Jay Hester, also a history professor at t he college and SCFA member. “If you reach a point where you have a sys tem that allows them another method of getting a good grade other than being tested on the in- formation and knowing the informa- tion, you have a problem.” MAY 2010 | www.cta.org 15