The International Schools Review Forum

I just read an interesting review of a school in Egypt and in it, a general comment about Egypt is made:

"You will generally be judged, whether a particular school agrees and admits to this point or not, on the grades that you as a teacher are able to produce at the end of any given assessment period – not your students. Despite their lack of interest, motivation and unwillingness to do well, knowing full well that a career has been secured for them regardless of their results, you will be held responsible and accountable and will have to answer for the results. Although this generally seems unfair; welcome to the teaching profession (and unfortunately one of the reasons many of us decide to leave this career)."

As I just accepted a job in Egypt and I may be facing a similar situation, my first thought was, why not just give them the grades they want? In a situation like this, if the reviewers description is accurate, grade inflation seems like an ethical decision if a man has bills to pay, kids to feed and of course tries his hardest.

He also goes on to talk about safety issues. I've been to Egypt four times on holiday and I always felt safe and I really loved the country. Generally speaking, what is like to teach in Egypt?

An ethical decision? Sure, in the sense that the decision involves consideration of ethical concerns. But your economic self-interest would only be one part of the relevant ethical questions.
Other ethical concerns include the meaning and value of grades, and their use in understanding what a child knows and can do, and of course their use in determining who gets scholarships, respect, entrance to which university, etc. By knowingly giving false grades, one raises up one child (or group) at the expense of others.
And one builds one’s own reputation.

Grade inflation is a common issue in IE, and to various degrees ITs are held responsible for the results and marks their students get.

Why dont they just give the marks that are expected, many ITs do just that, it makes the day a lot easier. Its why homework is almost worthless in IE. Other ITs have significant frustration doing with the lack of academic integrity, they dont want to be just another classroom prop.

For some reason most schools where teachers are pressured are located in either Latin-America or in the Arab world, and almost always schools where the percentage of local students is high. Thankfully, not all schools in those regions have this problem, but it's worrying that more than a few do.

There's little point in fighting it too hard and straight out, if management says you should, but it's a good reason to leave the school for a better one when your contract is up.

Well, I would say that giving the grade that will make your life easier rather than the grade that they earned is much more akin to being pragmatic, rather than ethical, but I don;t really have the energy for a philosophical debate.

On the practical side, local students in Egypt are not known for their maturity and good behavior (also speaking from practical experience). There seems to be an inverse maturity pattern at work, especially with many Egyptian boys in that the older they get, the less mature they act (e.g. wrestling and power wedgies in the HS hallways are not uncommon in many int'l schools).

With that being the likely case, what is going to happen to behavior when they realize they don't really have to do any work or really even pay attention to get "good" grades? Certainly many teachers just go with the flow and it is difficult not to if that is the accepted school culture and the expectation of students and parents (and admin to some extent).

So it is not ethical in most senses of the word, but it is certainly common and something you should be ready for in many/most schools in Egypt (and the ME in general, IMHO).

I experienced this at one of my schools in the Middle East. I was basically ordered to change grades. Left the school after my contract. Very few of truly good schools will ask this of you, but this was at the begin of my career and I hadn't bothered to do research but was just happy to land a job. I also don't like the typical ME local student, so won't return to that region unless it's an true international school with a very low percentage of local students.