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High School Kills Color-Coded ID Program
theodp writes "Anaheim Union High School District has killed a controversial incentive program that assigned students color-coded ID cards and planners based on state test scores, required those who performed poorly to stand in a separate lunch line and awarded the others with discounts. The program was designed to urge students to raise scores on the California Standards Tests, but it also raised concern among parents and students who said it illegally revealed test scores and embarrassed those who didn't do well."
Separate lines for lunch? Who could ever think this was a good idea. Sure, let the students doing well get some perks, just don't go around printing "Dumb" on the lesser achieving kids' foreheads. At least they wised up, even if it did take some external pressure to scrap the idea.
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
Anything and everything to motivate them. Coddling children doesn't do them any favors.
Here's another thought. Do better on the tests, and you won't have to worry about being "embarassed." It isn't like they printed the actual score on the ID card or planner. It's a shame that, in this country, we let the bottom of the barrel bring everyone else down, rather than force them to either catch up or fall off the radar. It isn't just schools, but raising the children that way means that it will carry over into everything that generation does as adults. What's next? Musical chairs with enough chairs for every student so no one feels bad about not having a chair?
Funny. Here in Finland the back of the bus is traditionally reserved for the troublemakers. Just like the back of the classroom. Further away from the authorities (bus driver, teacher), less surveillance.
"Classification RED, friend computer!"
"I'm sorry, that information is not available at this time."
It's human nature in general - not just for students - that we are more successful and more happy when we do things that challenge and excite us than when we do things for the sake of rewards or to prevent punishment. What's even worse is that once we've done something for reward it is even less appealing when we stop receiving the award again.
For example, somebody who take photos for fun decides to become a professional photographer. Once they start getting paid it becomes yet another job and loses the fun. Even when they quit doing it for pay it still doesn't hold the appeal it did before.
The same goes for children and education. Telling a class they will get a pizza party if they all pass an exam is an awful strategy for motivating students. If you instead instill excitement and interest in the topic itself they will not only do well on the exam but they often will go BEYOND the requirements of the exam because they are excited about the topic.
God forbid you should feel bad about being a dickhead. You know, some people really are stupid, or at least not as smart as you think you are. Some people put forth effort yet fail to achieve. How about those people? Should they be humiliated? Maybe if you have a child and he's a difficult one to potty train you'd make him walk around with a diaper on his head to motivate him?
(A) Test scores are heavily correlated with demographic factors such as race and social class. In fact, there's some evidence that they're correlated more with those sorts of demographics than they are with factors like time spent studying. So whether it was intended or not, it's quite possible that the effect of this would have been to separate out, with official sanction, the generally wealthier white and Asian-American kids from the mostly poorer black and Hispanic kids, and treat the first group better than the second group.
(B) For kids who's friends are generally anti-intellectual, they might be more embarrassed to be in the "smart" line rather than the "stupid" line. If you're in a crowd where most everybody is heading nowhere in life and knows it, they will often single out the people who are going somewhere for bullying to try to make themselves feel better about their utter lack of prospects.
(C) Threats only get kids to fake learning, not to really learn stuff. You can get kids to pretend to go to study groups but really just hang out with friends. You can get kids to cram for the next exam and promptly forget everything the next day. You can get kids to cheat on their test to avoid school or parental consequences. But you can't get kids to really learn and internalize what they're supposed to know with threats - for that you need to actually give them a goal that their learning will help accomplish.
I am officially gone from
This is what comes from tying performance to pay. I know schools here are awarded more money from the state as well as teacher performance bonuses for better scores on standardized tests. It's had this kind of push here as well. Lots of schools have even been caught cheating to get their scores up. Desperation brings on this kind of craziness.
And Billy gets suspended, dragged through the courts and a reputation for being a trouble maker because he dared to fight back and kick the star quarter back in his knee.
Though you are correct he was never piked on by a bullying jock again.