Massive grade inflation hides serious learning deficiencies in many of our students from their parents.  Here is the evidence:

• Over the past five years, the average grade point average (GPA) of all graduating seniors in the entire District exceeds 90%. That corresponds to a grade of A/A-.

• More than half of all graduating seniors during that period graduated either Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, or Cum Laude.

• STAAR tests, given annually in grades 3-8 and then in high school after completion of  English 1, English 2, Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 show the following at each grade level: 40-45% of the students tested show that they are reading below grade level; and more than 50% of them show their math skills to be below grade level. Question: Is there any way to reconcile the grades reported above with the STAAR test results reported by the state? Answer: No.

• In 2014, student enrollment peaked at 68,000. Today, 10 years later, enrollment is down to 57,000 a 15% decline. Question: If the grades reported above were accurate reflections of performance, why would so many parents remove their children from such a well performing system? Answer: They would not.

• A constant concern mentioned at virtually every Board meeting and listed as a major issue by most of the candidates in this election, is that of teacher retention and recruitment. Question: If the grades reported above were accurate reflections of performance, wouldn’t teachers in the system want to stay and wouldn’t teachers outside the system be lining up to apply. Answer: Of course they would.

I BLAME THIS MASSIVE GRADE INFLATION ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, NOT ON THE TEACHERS. Let me explain. Teachers do not become teachers to punish their students.  If you even suspect that a significant number of teachers are “easy graders,” you are faced with a moral dilemma. If you give your students honest grades, you are harming their class standing relative to the students of the easy graders. That a typical teacher will not do, so easy grading becomes the norm.  The party charged with oversight should notice the problem and work to fix it.  That responsible party is the Board of Trustees.

Receiving grades you did not earn frequently turns a student into a passive participant in their own education, intellectually lazy, intellectually uncurious, and with an unearned sense of entitlement. This leaves such a student unprepared for the adult world they are fast approaching, and quite susceptible to propaganda and groupthink. [Michael Gurwitz comment: “Having taught several thousand recent graduates from local ISDs, I have witnessed this outcome far too many times. To me, this is the most heinous act a supposed educator can inflict on a student.”]

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Parental rights are minimally acknowledged, the important role parents play in the education of their children is not appreciated, and the parent’s primacy in instilling values in their children is contested.