Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Education Week: For $20, Kids Can Buy a Better Grade


Education Week: For $20, Kids Can Buy a Better Grade:

"Selling candy didn't raise much money last year, so a North Carolina middle school is selling grades.

A $20 donation to Rosewood Middle School in Goldsboro, N.C., will get a student 20 test points—10 extra points on two tests of the student's choosing. That could raise a B to an A, or a failing grade to a D.

Susie Shepherd, the principal, said a parent advisory council came up with the idea, and she endorsed it. She said the council was looking for a new way to raise money."

"Last year they did chocolates, and it didn't generate anything," Shepherd said.

Shepherd rejected the suggestion that the school is selling grades. Extra points on two tests won't make a difference in a student's final grade, she said.

It's wrong to think that "one particular grade could change the entire focus of nine weeks," Shepherd said.