Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/27719
well on the tests for intrinsic reasons, but that doesn’t always happen,” says Bokor. It’s too soon to see if the policy has had an impact on overall school achieve- ment; the policy was announced to stu- dents in spring of 2008, shortly before they took the test. But Bokor has noticed that his students are trying harder. “I believe it’s working,” says Bokor. “Students are interested in knowing how they did on the test and whether it will have an impact on their grade.” Some students agree. Classmate Jacob Hodge says, “I think it’s amazing. I was sick a lot last year with bronchitis, and this helped me bring my grade up.” Both students say they have heard of students slacking off in homework as- signments — in hopes of compensating with high test scores. But they believe those willing to take such a gamble are in the minority, and that if it does work for students, there’s no harm done. “Homework is a learning aid,” says Napier. “This system rewards students based on their knowledge, and not on whether they complete meaningless busywork. If you understand the mate- rial and do well on your CSTs, what is the point of homework?” Heather Golden-Young, chair of the English department, says staff wrestled with the policy. “But we came to the conclusion that having this policy is no different than college; students can ‘test out’ of certain subjects if they know the materials. And isn’t having students know the material really the goal?” Her students, she adds, are taking longer to complete their STAR tests. “They were really reading the ques- tions,” she says. “We saw an increase in effort. And now we are going to have to go back and make some grade changes.” Social studies teachers decided to opt out of the grading experiment, says de- partment chair Tim Guzik, who fears that the policy could be unfair to students who are unable to raise their grades. MARCH 2011 | www.cta.org 21 RIGHT: English Department Chair Heather Golden-Young says it wasn’t an easy decision for teach- ers to allow standardized test scores to boost grades. BELOW: Andrew Napier, a junior at Del Norte High School, says students try harder on their CSTs when they have a reason. Social studies teachers are not the only ones with concerns. A parent who teaches at a nearby charter school has complained to the school board and the California Department of Education. The school also received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union objecting to the practice. “For some folks, this raises the flag,” says Randy Fugate, chair of the science department, which uses the incentive system. “But flag-raising is OK, because it causes us to be more re- fined and consistent in our approach. And that’s always good.” “My staff is taking a closer look at grading practices within departments to make sure that subjects are being graded consistently,” says Parker, the principal. “Because the state of California, our leg- islators and the governor are holding schools accountable with the use of this exam and it has no bearing on a student’s grade, I applaud my teachers for coming up with a way to utilize the scores to bring value of this test to students.”