According to a new policy, students have to work until the very end of the semester trying to get all topic scores to a 3.
“In my mind, when teachers are teaching a standard, if you don’t have that knowledge and are not proficient earning a 3, then I don’t know that you have the knowledge to be able to move on and be successful,” said Principal Chris Basinger.
Basinger said some students are okay with just a 2 or 2.5, but those scores really mean that you didn’t quite master key concepts that you were supposed to learn in the class.
“We’re living in this strange kind of transition time right now where we have parents and teachers who grew up in a standard grading practice, where C’s and B’s were okay for some people,” he said. “Now at Norwalk we have the idea of a 3, which is set in A, but that means that you are proficient in something. You can do what a teacher is asking you to do.”
Basinger compared the new proficiency standard to a video game.
“If you score a 3, it means you’ve nailed that skill (level in the game) and you’re really good at it,” he said. “If you score lower, like a 2 or a 1, it means you’re still learning and need some more practice. If you score below 1, it means you haven’t quite got the hang of it yet. But, if you score a 3.5 or a 4, it means you’ve gone above and beyond!”
Tyler Davis, a senior at Norwalk High School, said he thinks it is too much to make kids do extra work for a 3 in every standard.
“Just because a student has a 2.5 in one standard doesn’t mean they are failing that standard. A 2 is passing still,” said Davis. “Even if they change the rules, it’s not failing, by all means. They shouldn’t force students to retake just because they didn’t get a 3.”
Davis said he thinks students shouldn’t be demanded to come to school at the end of the semester. He said they should be given options.
“Students know what they’re doing,” Davis said. “Some aspects were just tough for them to handle. The majority rules out of the few. I don’t think they should be tackling many people about this sort of stuff.”
Joe Ceretti, a freshman at Norwalk High School, said he enjoys the new proficiency standard.
“I think it helps all the kids pass,” said Ceretti. “It really does help. I think it gives extra learning time. I know a lot of kids improved their grades during the make-up days.”
