In schools around the world, how many of you have witnessed grade inflation and subsequent retaliation?
I've now worked in three different schools where this has happened. I've personally seen people unfairly dismissed in retaliation for not changing a failing grade to a passing grade for students of wealthy families who thought they could buy their kid's grade, or because their kid needed the [fake] passing grade to get a scholarship for the university of their choice (unfairly taking away money from a truly deserving scholar).
I've also seen history of teachers grading for completion and not for accuracy, and then a new teacher who didn't know the game, graded honestly and was dismissed because they weren't keeping with the status quo of pleasing parents.
I've also seen teachers give inflated marks by assessing students on below grade level material. These same students get passing grades, but then fail grade level standardized assessments. Those teachers get to keep their jobs because parents are happy. They are also the ones who get great recommendations for their next gig.
Are there any supervising bodies, either international or USA-based, who will investigate reports of blatant violations of ethical education practices and help victims receive compensation for unfair dismissal and lost wages?
Grade Inflation and subsequent retaliation
Re: Grade Inflation and subsequent retaliation
I never thought I'd see the day...
Even PsyGuy is not responding on this one..
Anyone out there with a solution?
Even PsyGuy is not responding on this one..
Anyone out there with a solution?
Response
@smile2017
The issue has already been written about, but i dont mind exploring it again.
What type of body would you imagine there is? If the IS was a private DS in the US, who would you report it to? Regulatory authorities wont help you, as thats the nature of private/independent education systems.
The issue is how do you prove it? It comes down to the complaint of a disgruntled former employee against an entire IS. Its "he said she said", and this is assuming an accrediting body or organization wants to spend the resources for an inquiry. You would need substantial evidence of the smoking gun type for anyone to take any interest.
Who would get you "compensation"?
You can file suit and pursue your remedy through the judicial tort system. File a lawsuit, you can do that OS as well as local, but your IS and leadership and ownership know that your time is limited. You need a visa, and without a sponsor you may not be able to stay in country for very long, and even if you do, youre subject to a legal system and language barrier that would be very difficult to pursue outside of some type of labor or union arbitration. if you have to file in a defacto court your going to need an attorney, and thats going to take resources and coin.
So what are the viable options:
1) The IB inspectorate will make an inquiry when presented with compounded allegations. These can become serious, and ISs have lost authorization.
2) Ofsted will investigate complaints of a similar fashion, at a BSO. Especially during an inspection year. Examination boards only investigate examination irregularities.
3) Provincial CAN regulators will make an informal inquiry, and if there is a prolonged and repeating pattern of irregularities will sometimes take corrective action.
4) AUS generally doesnt do anything for lack or want of jurisdiction. Most AUS ISs are just marketing approaches.
5) In the US the AP considers meds/peds an internal issue, as the AP/College Board program is entirely an externally mediated assessment program.
6) Generally regional accrediting agencies need substantial evidence of serious misconduct before they will even make an inquiry.
7) In some cases the DOS in the region may be able to exert some influence on an AS, but you would need some substantial evidence, like smoking gun type of evidence.
If you want compensation you need to pursue a claim against the IS in the jurisdiction they reside, either through the labor arbitration system or through judicial process. None of the above will result in you getting compensation or recovering damages.
Statements such as "blatant violations of ethical education practices" are colorful and affective, but they have no legal/technical or practical meaning.
The issue has already been written about, but i dont mind exploring it again.
What type of body would you imagine there is? If the IS was a private DS in the US, who would you report it to? Regulatory authorities wont help you, as thats the nature of private/independent education systems.
The issue is how do you prove it? It comes down to the complaint of a disgruntled former employee against an entire IS. Its "he said she said", and this is assuming an accrediting body or organization wants to spend the resources for an inquiry. You would need substantial evidence of the smoking gun type for anyone to take any interest.
Who would get you "compensation"?
You can file suit and pursue your remedy through the judicial tort system. File a lawsuit, you can do that OS as well as local, but your IS and leadership and ownership know that your time is limited. You need a visa, and without a sponsor you may not be able to stay in country for very long, and even if you do, youre subject to a legal system and language barrier that would be very difficult to pursue outside of some type of labor or union arbitration. if you have to file in a defacto court your going to need an attorney, and thats going to take resources and coin.
So what are the viable options:
1) The IB inspectorate will make an inquiry when presented with compounded allegations. These can become serious, and ISs have lost authorization.
2) Ofsted will investigate complaints of a similar fashion, at a BSO. Especially during an inspection year. Examination boards only investigate examination irregularities.
3) Provincial CAN regulators will make an informal inquiry, and if there is a prolonged and repeating pattern of irregularities will sometimes take corrective action.
4) AUS generally doesnt do anything for lack or want of jurisdiction. Most AUS ISs are just marketing approaches.
5) In the US the AP considers meds/peds an internal issue, as the AP/College Board program is entirely an externally mediated assessment program.
6) Generally regional accrediting agencies need substantial evidence of serious misconduct before they will even make an inquiry.
7) In some cases the DOS in the region may be able to exert some influence on an AS, but you would need some substantial evidence, like smoking gun type of evidence.
If you want compensation you need to pursue a claim against the IS in the jurisdiction they reside, either through the labor arbitration system or through judicial process. None of the above will result in you getting compensation or recovering damages.
Statements such as "blatant violations of ethical education practices" are colorful and affective, but they have no legal/technical or practical meaning.
Re: Grade Inflation and subsequent retaliation
Grades have inflated everywhere, but it has not been uniform. Some schools hold onto higher standards, but it is in a school's best interest to inflate grades. This is certainly going to help your students get into university. It is rarely going to get back to the school community that your "A" students are not well prepared for college.
I would argue that students can be made to understand where they are academically, even if their grade doesn't really reflect that. There is a wealth of external assessments to help universities deal with the fact that grading is completely inconsistent between schools, but the admissions officers cant help being swayed a a bunch of A's on a transcript.
You can be a curmudgeon and fight administrators about grades, but it is a losing battle. I personally am willing to fight with parents and students about grades, but if an administrator wanted something changed then I would do it. It is just a grade, and you are not saving the world by handing out low grades.
I would argue that students can be made to understand where they are academically, even if their grade doesn't really reflect that. There is a wealth of external assessments to help universities deal with the fact that grading is completely inconsistent between schools, but the admissions officers cant help being swayed a a bunch of A's on a transcript.
You can be a curmudgeon and fight administrators about grades, but it is a losing battle. I personally am willing to fight with parents and students about grades, but if an administrator wanted something changed then I would do it. It is just a grade, and you are not saving the world by handing out low grades.
Re: Grade Inflation and subsequent retaliation
Thanks to you both for sharing your perspective.
I didn't use the phrase "blatant violations of ethical education practices" to be colorful and affective, but rather to accurately describe said practice of students receiving fake grades for their own financial gain (scholarship) or emotional benefit.
I consider this to be the equivalent of an accountant embezzling funds from their employer for their own gain. Or an employee falsifying time sheets, coming into work late or leaving early, "stealing" company time for their own benefit.
These acts would be grounds for dismissal.
Instead of the student being denied the grade they didn't rightfully earn, the teacher in that situation was fired for whistleblowing.
I guess what I struggle with, is that we can't collectively focus on academic performance on one side of the spectrum and not the other. At least in the States, we have laws like IDEA to ensure students with learning needs receive the support required to be successful in school. If schools and staff don't comply, there are grounds for a lawsuit.
But then on the other hand, we're not going to have any laws or accountability for general population students, because it's "not a big deal" if a student performing on a fifth grade level receives an A for the fifth grade work he did in the 10th grade because "grades have been inflated everywhere". I would argue that a teacher is in fact "saving the world" by honestly and accurately reporting what a student is able to do. Alas, school politics make this completely impossible; I get that. Maybe we need to take the burden off the teacher to report grades. If someone's career and livelihood is at stake, then of course we're going to get teachers reporting fake grades to save themselves. Or again, we need a third . to oversee grade auditing and/or perform the actual assessment for learning themselves.
It doesn't help students or society in the long run, to receive "A"s for sub-standard work and then get out into the world and not have the skills or preparation to be successful. While you write, "it is rarely going to get back to the school community that your "A" students are not well prepared for college", maybe it should? I read a lot of articles about university professors complaining that their students aren't prepared for higher ed. "It's in a school's best interest to inflate grades to help students get into university" is such a depressing thing to read because it's so short-sighted in nature.
Imagine if we had these same standards for things like bridges? A bridge is "safe" using the parameters of bridges built in the 1900s to support the weight of horses and buggies and then the bridge collapses because it can't support the weight of cars and trucks in 2017. And oops, as it turns out, the bridge was actually unsafe. For that reason, there is a system and expectation that engineers and other third parties inspect the bridge on a periodic basis to ensure its safety. People definitely appreciate the efforts of an engineer hired to save people from plunging to their death. Can you imagine the outrage if it came to light that the engineer accepted a bribe to label the bridge "safe" when it really wasn't? Can you imagine the outrage if it came to light that the engineer was bribed by the toll booth company to label the bridge "safe" in order to get more cars across for more profit, without interrupting service for repairs? Would the the supervisor who exposed the bribe be fired or proclaimed a hero?
I look forward to the day when the education industry is held to a higher ethical standard.
I didn't use the phrase "blatant violations of ethical education practices" to be colorful and affective, but rather to accurately describe said practice of students receiving fake grades for their own financial gain (scholarship) or emotional benefit.
I consider this to be the equivalent of an accountant embezzling funds from their employer for their own gain. Or an employee falsifying time sheets, coming into work late or leaving early, "stealing" company time for their own benefit.
These acts would be grounds for dismissal.
Instead of the student being denied the grade they didn't rightfully earn, the teacher in that situation was fired for whistleblowing.
I guess what I struggle with, is that we can't collectively focus on academic performance on one side of the spectrum and not the other. At least in the States, we have laws like IDEA to ensure students with learning needs receive the support required to be successful in school. If schools and staff don't comply, there are grounds for a lawsuit.
But then on the other hand, we're not going to have any laws or accountability for general population students, because it's "not a big deal" if a student performing on a fifth grade level receives an A for the fifth grade work he did in the 10th grade because "grades have been inflated everywhere". I would argue that a teacher is in fact "saving the world" by honestly and accurately reporting what a student is able to do. Alas, school politics make this completely impossible; I get that. Maybe we need to take the burden off the teacher to report grades. If someone's career and livelihood is at stake, then of course we're going to get teachers reporting fake grades to save themselves. Or again, we need a third . to oversee grade auditing and/or perform the actual assessment for learning themselves.
It doesn't help students or society in the long run, to receive "A"s for sub-standard work and then get out into the world and not have the skills or preparation to be successful. While you write, "it is rarely going to get back to the school community that your "A" students are not well prepared for college", maybe it should? I read a lot of articles about university professors complaining that their students aren't prepared for higher ed. "It's in a school's best interest to inflate grades to help students get into university" is such a depressing thing to read because it's so short-sighted in nature.
Imagine if we had these same standards for things like bridges? A bridge is "safe" using the parameters of bridges built in the 1900s to support the weight of horses and buggies and then the bridge collapses because it can't support the weight of cars and trucks in 2017. And oops, as it turns out, the bridge was actually unsafe. For that reason, there is a system and expectation that engineers and other third parties inspect the bridge on a periodic basis to ensure its safety. People definitely appreciate the efforts of an engineer hired to save people from plunging to their death. Can you imagine the outrage if it came to light that the engineer accepted a bribe to label the bridge "safe" when it really wasn't? Can you imagine the outrage if it came to light that the engineer was bribed by the toll booth company to label the bridge "safe" in order to get more cars across for more profit, without interrupting service for repairs? Would the the supervisor who exposed the bribe be fired or proclaimed a hero?
I look forward to the day when the education industry is held to a higher ethical standard.
Reply
@smile2017
Its accurate only in so far as its your opinion, the statement "blatant violations of ethical education practices" has no legal or technical meaning/definition. You might consider it "equivalent" to such misconduct such as embezzlement, or theft, behavior that actually does have legal and technical meanings, but that is false equivalence. They arent equivalent because your opinion is that they are.
Insubordination is also grounds for dismissal, your leadership/superior tells you to do X (change a grade) and as long as that instruction isnt illegal (it isnt), failure to do so is grounds for dismissal. You need to really take your ego out of this, because the reality is those arent your grades. They arent your classes, they arent your transcripts and they arent your diplomas. All of those things are the ISs, its the ISs grades on the ISs transcript, not yours or any other ITs. You arent a a teacher, I know thats a bit shocking, but as an IT you are a private organizational employee who provides classical training to a client, and your job is to make the client happy.
The IT wasnt a "whistle blower" there was no crime being committed and the organization wasnt a government entity.
Those same sets of laws exist OS as well, but you are comparing two non equivalent systems. IDEA and other regulation (of which exists OS has as well) is all part of the municipal DS system. IDEA would no more protect you in a private parochial DS in the US than it does at an IS. Want to see authority and regulation go work for the SG MOE, DTs are deitys, your academic determination will be respected. There are lots of rules, regulations, procedures about the assignment of a grade or mark, but thats the public/maintained/municipal DS system.
In a private/independent DS or IS in the States a DS can say, sorry we wont be a good fit for you as we dont provide that level of instructional service.
You would have grounds for a lawsuit as well OS, but thats what you have to do is file a lawsuit, obtain counsel, prepare the suit, arrange witnesses and evidence, and you have to do it on your own coin, while making arrangements to either reside in country or travel back and forth, if you have the coin for that, than that pathway is available to you.
You might be saving the world, but thats immaterial, your job isnt to save the world, your job is defined by your contract. They have hired you to perform a service, and the terms of that service are subject to change, if you dont like it your free to leave. Its a private business arrangement between two parties, you arent some gatekeeper, you didnt get a badge, you dont have super powers.
Lets be honest what you describe as "honestly and accurately reporting what a student is able to do" is nothing more than your subjective opinion, a professional opinion Ill grant you, but its still just your opinion.
We have lots of third parties that conduct assessment, IGCSE/A* exams, AP exams, IB exams, SAT/ACT, the vast number of Uni entrance exams in various regions.
I read a lot of those same articles and coming from tertiary education its completely true, but its the Uni that admitted them unprepared for tertiary education. So where where the admissions gate keepers protecting the academics?
Short sighted how? ISs are not charities (they may be listed as such) but these are businesses and their goal is to generate revenue, collecting tuition fees is what they do while providing the services they advertise to their client, who pays them. There is no other goal.
Its accurate only in so far as its your opinion, the statement "blatant violations of ethical education practices" has no legal or technical meaning/definition. You might consider it "equivalent" to such misconduct such as embezzlement, or theft, behavior that actually does have legal and technical meanings, but that is false equivalence. They arent equivalent because your opinion is that they are.
Insubordination is also grounds for dismissal, your leadership/superior tells you to do X (change a grade) and as long as that instruction isnt illegal (it isnt), failure to do so is grounds for dismissal. You need to really take your ego out of this, because the reality is those arent your grades. They arent your classes, they arent your transcripts and they arent your diplomas. All of those things are the ISs, its the ISs grades on the ISs transcript, not yours or any other ITs. You arent a a teacher, I know thats a bit shocking, but as an IT you are a private organizational employee who provides classical training to a client, and your job is to make the client happy.
The IT wasnt a "whistle blower" there was no crime being committed and the organization wasnt a government entity.
Those same sets of laws exist OS as well, but you are comparing two non equivalent systems. IDEA and other regulation (of which exists OS has as well) is all part of the municipal DS system. IDEA would no more protect you in a private parochial DS in the US than it does at an IS. Want to see authority and regulation go work for the SG MOE, DTs are deitys, your academic determination will be respected. There are lots of rules, regulations, procedures about the assignment of a grade or mark, but thats the public/maintained/municipal DS system.
In a private/independent DS or IS in the States a DS can say, sorry we wont be a good fit for you as we dont provide that level of instructional service.
You would have grounds for a lawsuit as well OS, but thats what you have to do is file a lawsuit, obtain counsel, prepare the suit, arrange witnesses and evidence, and you have to do it on your own coin, while making arrangements to either reside in country or travel back and forth, if you have the coin for that, than that pathway is available to you.
You might be saving the world, but thats immaterial, your job isnt to save the world, your job is defined by your contract. They have hired you to perform a service, and the terms of that service are subject to change, if you dont like it your free to leave. Its a private business arrangement between two parties, you arent some gatekeeper, you didnt get a badge, you dont have super powers.
Lets be honest what you describe as "honestly and accurately reporting what a student is able to do" is nothing more than your subjective opinion, a professional opinion Ill grant you, but its still just your opinion.
We have lots of third parties that conduct assessment, IGCSE/A* exams, AP exams, IB exams, SAT/ACT, the vast number of Uni entrance exams in various regions.
I read a lot of those same articles and coming from tertiary education its completely true, but its the Uni that admitted them unprepared for tertiary education. So where where the admissions gate keepers protecting the academics?
Short sighted how? ISs are not charities (they may be listed as such) but these are businesses and their goal is to generate revenue, collecting tuition fees is what they do while providing the services they advertise to their client, who pays them. There is no other goal.
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Re: Grade Inflation and subsequent retaliation
I think the best a teacher can do is to work for schools with administrators that will stand up to parent demands which are absurd.
When you get to the point that an administrator is demanding that you change a grade, then not changing a grade is most likely going to get you fired. This is a situation where I think you have to vote with your feet and later write up a review including the good and the bad of the school. Other teachers who see that administrators have demanded that grades be changes may see the review and decide to avoid the school.
I guess you could save evidence and try to contact the university with the situation. They may or may not contact the school directly to ask about the situation. It may or may not change what the university does. I think that could also have consequences for the dismissed teacher and/or anyone the school's administration thought had made the contact with the university.
When you get to the point that an administrator is demanding that you change a grade, then not changing a grade is most likely going to get you fired. This is a situation where I think you have to vote with your feet and later write up a review including the good and the bad of the school. Other teachers who see that administrators have demanded that grades be changes may see the review and decide to avoid the school.
I guess you could save evidence and try to contact the university with the situation. They may or may not contact the school directly to ask about the situation. It may or may not change what the university does. I think that could also have consequences for the dismissed teacher and/or anyone the school's administration thought had made the contact with the university.
Re: Grade Inflation and subsequent retaliation
OK, here's a question.
My school asks me to inflate a student's grade (it wouldn't, by the way, but this is hypothetical.) If I refuse, then the school might consider that insubordination. If I do it and am found out, then the GTC Scotland would consider that unethical behaviour and remove my teaching license. What should I do?
Just on a side point - I wonder if this is less prevalent in schools which follow IGCSE / A level / IB Diploma where there are externally assessed and marked exams? I guess the grade inflation could come lower down and even at the mocks stage, but would that not be found out on the external exams, when the pupil who has been assessed in school as A* suddenly gets a C or D?
My school asks me to inflate a student's grade (it wouldn't, by the way, but this is hypothetical.) If I refuse, then the school might consider that insubordination. If I do it and am found out, then the GTC Scotland would consider that unethical behaviour and remove my teaching license. What should I do?
Just on a side point - I wonder if this is less prevalent in schools which follow IGCSE / A level / IB Diploma where there are externally assessed and marked exams? I guess the grade inflation could come lower down and even at the mocks stage, but would that not be found out on the external exams, when the pupil who has been assessed in school as A* suddenly gets a C or D?
Discussion
@expatscot
Change the grade and email leadership/ownership with a copy to yourself (an outside email address) that you are doing changing the grade at leaderships insistence and under protest. At that point you are no longer an arbitrator of academic quality but merely an instrument of the IS performing an assigned task. No different than a secretary/staff member who is simply engaging in data entry.
Yes, but it also happens. Its more common in ISs that issue a national or local diploma. It happens in IB though, students dont take exams in all subjects, and they dont study everything at HL. Its not uncommon to see students with high marks in "maths studies" or maths SL who cant factor a binomial. The same is true of IGCSE and A levels, students only take exams in subjects they are generally good at or highly motivated to develop proficiency. Even then you see those students who get A* in their coursework and get C on their exam, and then blame "test anxiety", etc.
Where its really common is in lower secondary years where ITs can just advance the student to the next IT and make it there problem. You rarely see students in IS retained a year.
@eion_padraig
Yet there are so many that dont, and the growth in ISs is all in the third tier. For-profits and non-profits run as for profits. Its all about building enrollment and getting those tuition fees.
Writing upa review though, wont get you compensation, damages, or anything else for that matter. Not that it would matter while many ITs would be turned off, there are plenty of ISs and ETs/ITs who dont even know this site exists, and really could care less about academic integrity or marking, as long as they are having fun, and collecting their coin, all they have to do is show up on time and everybody is happy.
I wouldnt advise contacting the Uni, not without consulting with an attorney, you may very well be violating some privacy or other records regulations. besides aside from a query, all the IS is going to do is put together a response with a bunch of signatures, and seals, on letterhead. It really just comes down to a disgruntled IT with an axe to grind taking it out on a student.
Change the grade and email leadership/ownership with a copy to yourself (an outside email address) that you are doing changing the grade at leaderships insistence and under protest. At that point you are no longer an arbitrator of academic quality but merely an instrument of the IS performing an assigned task. No different than a secretary/staff member who is simply engaging in data entry.
Yes, but it also happens. Its more common in ISs that issue a national or local diploma. It happens in IB though, students dont take exams in all subjects, and they dont study everything at HL. Its not uncommon to see students with high marks in "maths studies" or maths SL who cant factor a binomial. The same is true of IGCSE and A levels, students only take exams in subjects they are generally good at or highly motivated to develop proficiency. Even then you see those students who get A* in their coursework and get C on their exam, and then blame "test anxiety", etc.
Where its really common is in lower secondary years where ITs can just advance the student to the next IT and make it there problem. You rarely see students in IS retained a year.
@eion_padraig
Yet there are so many that dont, and the growth in ISs is all in the third tier. For-profits and non-profits run as for profits. Its all about building enrollment and getting those tuition fees.
Writing upa review though, wont get you compensation, damages, or anything else for that matter. Not that it would matter while many ITs would be turned off, there are plenty of ISs and ETs/ITs who dont even know this site exists, and really could care less about academic integrity or marking, as long as they are having fun, and collecting their coin, all they have to do is show up on time and everybody is happy.
I wouldnt advise contacting the Uni, not without consulting with an attorney, you may very well be violating some privacy or other records regulations. besides aside from a query, all the IS is going to do is put together a response with a bunch of signatures, and seals, on letterhead. It really just comes down to a disgruntled IT with an axe to grind taking it out on a student.