Diploma Milling
There is a grading system being used in several Utah school districts that needs the public's attention. Proficiency Based Learning, or PBL, is a grading system designed to increase graduation rates without increasing student learning.
The districts will tell you that it was adopted because teachers were thoughtlessly assigning grades. I attended several trainings in which teachers were accused of not knowing the difference between an A, C and F, or giving so much extra credit for Diet Cokes and tissues that students could go from an F to an A in minutes.
I have been teaching for more than 20 years, and such teachers and occurrences are rare. Obviously, some teachers are better than others. We have all had bad teachers. The difference here is that an entire grading system was changed based on the belief that most teachers were assigning grades arbitrarily, when really it was the districts' agenda to raise graduation rates without increasing student learning.
PBL changes the A-F grading system to a 1-4 system. Four indicates that a student is highly proficient in a content area, while 1 means they need substantial improvement. There are no zeros, unless an assessment is missing. There is no late work, only one or two deadlines a term, and a student is given multiple opportunities to re-take all assessments. Homework is highly discouraged.
PBL proponents say that it removes "busy work" from the classroom, it promotes mastery through retakes, and grades are based on assessments not attendance. This system, however, is hurting students. PBL teaches students that showing up is not important, deadlines are not real, preparedness is overrated, and having a work ethic is for losers. Schools are using PBL to graduate students who are not college or career ready.
There are nuances to the PBL problem that are too complicated to address here. But the truth is that half of my students are absent most of the time, but 90% of my students have at least a D-. This problem needs attention.
Parents need to question how PBL is affecting learning. The public needs to question what type of citizens this system is producing. The districts need to stop hyper-focusing on graduation rates and start focusing on how many students can read and write on grade level.
I and other educators have voiced our concerns to administrations and parents with very little success being heard. I know in our world of media frenzies over drag queens holding read-a-thons and teachers brainwashing students with woke curriculums, this complaint is but a whisper in the media typhoon.
No community is going to complain about high graduation rates. No parent is going to complain about their kid passing English with 12 absences. No college is going to complain about collecting tuition from students who never show up to class. But I and other teachers are complaining because PBL is hurting kids, and we don't have a voice.
If you have kids in the public education system, question your administration and district about proficiency based learning.
MARY ANN WARD
Salt Lake City
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