District slams door on N.C. ‘cash for grades’ fund raiser
That controversial “cash for grades” fund raiser at a North Carolina middle school didn’t last too long.
After the scheme to award extra points on tests for $20 appeared in the Raleigh News & Observer, Wayne County district officials today killed the Rosewood Middle School fund raiser.
Struggling with ways to raise cash for technology, the school came upon the idea of selling extra points. A $20 donation earned a student 20 test points – 10 extra points on two tests of the student’s choosing. A $30 donation bought the test points and admission to a 5th-period dance; a $60 donation purchased students test points, the dance invitation, and a “special 30-minute lunch period with pizza, drink and the choice to invite one friend to join them.”
As you might expect, this “cash for grades” created a furor once reported by the Raleigh newspaper, and the district acted fast to squelch the idea and do damage control.
In its statement today, the district said:
“Yesterday afternoon, the district administration met with [Rosewood Middle School principal] Mrs. Shepherd and directed the the following actions be taken: (1) the fundraiser will be immediately stopped; (2) no extra grade credit will be issued that may have resulted from donations; and (3) beginning November 12, all donations will be returned.”
When candy sales didn't make much money, a North Carolina school turned to the idea of selling grades
The principal told the Raleigh paper that a parent group suggested the idea after candy sales last year bombed. Principal Susie Shepherd was not worried about the prospect of students earning undeserved grades that they bought, telling the paper that a few extra points on two tests won’t make a difference in a final grade.
The story reported one practice that surprised me as I am unaware of this deal anywhere in Georgia. If it does go on here, please let us know. The News & Observer reported:
Teachers giving extra test credit to students who bring in classroom supplies is a longstanding practice at some schools.
Carmen Zepp, a Raleigh parent, said there should be policies against offering students test credit for anything other than what they’ve learned.
Zepp objected this year when her daughter’s social studies teacher at Knightdale High School had students bring to school tissues and hand sanitizer. The supplies counted for 25 percent of a “supply check” grade.
“It’s awful,” Zepp said. “It’s indicative of the fact that our schools don’t have enough money. They can’t get tissues or hand sanitizer or whatever without bribery. And that’s pretty sad.”
I am aware and have reported here that Georgia schools are boosting grades to reward perfect attendance for AYP purposes, which seems wrong to me as well.
What is most dispiriting to me is how desperate schools are now for extra cash as a result of cutbacks.
I half expect to hear next that teachers are offering to sell kidneys to pay for classroom supplies.
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29 comments Add your comment
Marie
November 11th, 2009
4:10 pm
I don’t know what I’m more appalled at – that the school administration actually lacked the common sense to pursue this scheme or that the school was so desperate that this idea was even floated. If this doesn’t scream that our public schools are underfunded, nothing will.
Sarge
November 11th, 2009
4:34 pm
This article confirms the truism that Georgia’s education elite are not alone in the category of MINDLESS LEADERS.
David S
November 11th, 2009
4:35 pm
Government schools are absolutely NOT underfunded. Every year more and more is spent on education and the results get worse and worse. In Washinton DC they spend $15,000 per student and they have statistically the worst schools in the nation. Money has nothing to do with quality. The schools keep passing this idea off to a gullible public so they can get and waste more money. Suckers.
Socialism doesn’t work. Government schools are about the best example of socialism we have in this country, although medicine will soon be an equal example.
This is about what one would expect from government parasites and their never-ending lust for money. There are plenty of costs that could be cut, but that will never happen so long as the parasites can continue to steal tax dollars from an unwilling public and businesses.
The free market could solve all of these problems, but parents are too unwilling to be responsible for their own children’s education to ever want that kind of responsibility. Easier for the likes of Marie to blame everyone else for “not enough money” than be fully responsible for the kids she brought into the world.
timmaayy
November 11th, 2009
4:43 pm
It’s easy to blame the government for every failure. While I agree this was a bone headed decision, our public schools are under funded. A free market for k-12 would be a disaster. Let’s ask Yale and Harvard how much they are charging for admissions? While we’re at it, let’s also ask the citizens of Somalia how less government is also working out for them.
ATLNative
November 11th, 2009
4:45 pm
David, one piece of advice: Stop drinking the neo-conservative tea – I’m an economist (more conservative leaning than liberal) and can enlighten you with lots of articles concerning free market reasons for why government schools are better than the alternative. Markets are never truly free because many things in real life just don’t play out according to theory (imperfect information and physical, legal barriers being examples).
Crazy People
November 11th, 2009
4:48 pm
David, I’m conservative but you’ve just gone up the deep deep end. Your public schools = socialism theory is just ridiculous and not even worth debating.
say what?
November 11th, 2009
6:14 pm
David free market gave us Enron, and ponzi schemes. If used in education arena our kids would be even dumber. Sad that schools have to come up with schemes to get money.
Don't down free market
November 11th, 2009
6:47 pm
I don’t necessarily agree with David, but “say what” doesn’t give credit that free market also helped give us huge technology leaps and medical advances as well as lower prices on popular items. Using these things you could suggeset that if used in education our kids would get super educations at cheap prices. The reality is probably somewhere between these two extremes.
Marie
November 11th, 2009
6:53 pm
David your insane over the top views are more appalling than anything in this blog post. I’m sure your view that public school students are equal to little government parasites will have an audience on Rush Limbaugh’s show and hint, the url for that isn’t http://www.ajc.com.
catlady
November 11th, 2009
7:20 pm
Good Gawd! Sort of like paying students to study and attend school? What system in Georgia is allowing that???
And re teachers selling a kidney: soon they will be REQUIRED TO, to find their own “sponsors” so they can be employed! You heard it here first!
catlady
November 11th, 2009
7:21 pm
After all, teachers are supposed to sacrifice “for the good of the students.” It works every time to guilt teacher into doing more and more work for less and less financial remuneration.
Hall Monitor
November 11th, 2009
8:32 pm
This story made http://detentionslip.org ! Check it out for all the crazy headlines from our schools.
V for Vendetta
November 11th, 2009
8:47 pm
I can’t believe that this principal wasn’t immediately fired. I’m not concerned about the funding (although I honestly don’t believe our schools are “underfunded”); however, the idea of attaching grades to some sort of monetary award is simply appalling.
David S.,
ATLNative has some interesting perspectives on this issue. I hate to charge you with explaining them once again, ATLNative, but I thought your arguments from the other day might be worth reposting here.
Crazy People,
I’m not sure what your definition of “socialism” is, but public school certainly seems to fall under that umbrella.
say what?,
Without the free market, we would have failed to make many of the technological leaps we have made over the past few decades. No matter what type of economic system you have in place, there will be some dishonesty and criminals. It’s unavoidable.
jackie
November 11th, 2009
11:29 pm
I like the idea of the teacher having her own sponsor like NASCAR. She could wear a drivers/teachers uniform with her sponsors name on it. I can see where Wal-mart, Sears, Office Depot, etc. would line up to sponsor a teacher. Her sponsor could pay her and furnish supplies with manufactures name on them like Zerox or microsoft. These wouldbe auxiliary sponsors. Contingent sponsors would put up money for year ending awards; but the kids would have to wear contingency decals on their backpacks or clothes. It is a no-brainer, folks….
Meme
November 12th, 2009
9:05 am
I laughed when I saw this yesterday. I bet that some PTA mother who has a child that doesn’t make A’s came up with this idea.
It was actually a good idea...
November 12th, 2009
9:12 am
If I’m reading correctly, the student would only buy 20pts and the higher amount would include other perks. The real issue would be if the student were able to buy more than 20pts. Example, if the student spent $50 to get 2 sets of points with the luncheon and dance that would be a problem. But if it is only one set per student, 20pts is not enough to increase a finial grade more than 5%.
The students only have 20pts with five classes of exams to choose from. Since this is grade school, each class probably have at least three exams so the student have to decide among 15 exams, two of which to apply the 10pts. These points would really only matter if a student is borderline. If a student only have three exams for the semester, and all three exam values have the same tens place ending with a 7, 8, and/or 9 then 10pts for one exam could help to boost them a letter grade up for the test average. If the exam values end with 6 or less or if the student has four or more exams then the 10pts does nothing to help the student to the next letter grade. This does not take into account the other areas the students are being graded on such as attendance, homework, etc. Basically what I am saying is if the student is an all-around failing student, the other areas the student is failing will negate the artificial test average.
If the requirements were placed as to how to use the points and what people could and could not do, then this was a good idea to raise funds.
mystery poster
November 12th, 2009
11:55 am
Mathematically, it is statistically insignificant. For example, consider a typical class with 12 chapter tests. 20 extra points out of 1200 test points: 0.016 points. Tests count for 40% of the grades, so take 40% of that: 0.0066 points on the overall average.
However, despite the math, I don’t think this was a wise decision. Money for grades is a concept that we can do without.
not willing to identify self
November 12th, 2009
1:18 pm
Bribery for rewards is all over Cherokee County from the reward program in elementary schools in which a kid gets “dollars” to spend on ‘fun friday’ for bringing in candy, tissues, etc. Dollars are also given for good behavior and taken away for bad. So…bad kids whose parents send in lots of stuff, get lots of “dollars” to cancel out the ones lost to bad behavior. But good kids, whose parents can’t afford it, have less “money” to spend on Friday. And then there’s the TRULY ridiculous practice of rewarding perfect attendance with points added to the final exam…Is there NO common sense going on out there?
Caleb
November 12th, 2009
2:45 pm
Yes my name is caleb and i go to rosewood high school the school in the artical is the middle school but it was a simpol mistake we all make mistakes ok
mystery poster
November 12th, 2009
2:56 pm
I also hate the bonus points for attendance policy. It encourages kids to come to school when they’re sick and makes them feel like they’re punished for being sick.
John Galt
November 12th, 2009
4:34 pm
How much would students have to pay to get them out of such a pathetic public school system? Pardon my redundancy with the words “pathatic” and “public school system.”
ScienceTeacher671
November 12th, 2009
9:40 pm
If Hewlett-Packard sponsored me, do you suppose I’d have enough printer cartridges and copy paper to last for a whole year without buying it out of pocket?
ME
November 12th, 2009
9:59 pm
ScienceTeacher671: I am so sorry you have to pay for your stuff- I am happy to contribute- and when our teachers send out a “mayday’s” many of us hop-to and contribute..I would give even more if asked. I just don’t know how we can alleviate the problem of money allocation in public schools..because there is definitely NOT transparency in public education funding. However-(not directed to you, Science Teacher) rewarding kids because their parents contribute is so wrong- on so many levels- that it should be stopped immediately. Period!
Ole Guy
November 13th, 2009
2:10 am
Caleb, thanks for your views. Yes, we all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from our mistakes, and to become better for the experience.
Caleb, I would like to ask you a question. How could you better-express your thoughts? It is very important, in life, to be able to express yourself as well as you can. I am not asking you to re-write your views, but to simply examine your blog and to think of ways in which you might be able to improve your writing. OK, Caleb?
Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee » Cash for Grades?
November 13th, 2009
4:03 am
[...] [AJC] [...]
ScienceTeacher671
November 13th, 2009
6:12 pm
@ME, I don’t ask the students to contribute classroom supplies, and I agree that it’s unethical to reward some students whose parents are able to contribute.
Shou
November 16th, 2009
10:10 pm
I went to this middle school but at the time she wasn’t the principal… man wish i had it easy Lol
uh hello?
March 1st, 2010
6:27 pm
i totaly disagree with parents having to pay to get good grades espiecially if your parents arent that rich but your really smart and someone else gets a higher grade jst because they paid for it that is so unfair
ps im a 6th grader if anyone wuz wondering
Ms. Justice
May 4th, 2010
3:05 pm
Mrs. Shepherd’s decision to back the idea, “cash for grades”, sends a message loud and clear, that her school, as well as others all across the nation, is in desperate need of financial assistance.
What is one to do, when students, are learning from used and outdated books? What is one to do, when there is not enough money in the budget to fix repairs, that could affect the students mental and physical health? What is one to do, when your plea went unanswered, or was answered with false promises?
To all you critics out there, when your back is against the wall, and you have thousands of students, and parents expecting you to come up with a solution, NOW, and look to you to back them with an idea they created, that could bring revenue to the school and improve student moral, tell me, what on God’s earth is one to do?
Times are changing, and we must change our old ways of thinking. Mrs. Shepherd could have easily rejected the idea, of “cash for grades” to keep her job, however, she did not.
Instead, she made the unselfish decision to stand behind the parents, and students, who looked up to her, expected results. Mrs. Shepherd LISTENED,….. to the parents, and took action, and action that cost her job.
Mrs. Shepherd should be allowed to keep her job, as principal. I believe she was wrongly let go, and was replaced only to smooth things over to avoid further controversy. After all t hey had to blame someone right?
So if anyone out there has a better solution, including the school administration, get out in the front of firing line, and present that idea, and quit standing in the back, criticizing and pointing fingers!!!!