Science Grades Being Awarded On Student Report Cards Even When No Science Lessons Are Taught [View all]
As many as one in five teachers in Kansas and neighboring states are reporting science grades on student report cards, without actually teaching it or testing students on the subject.
Trego school district Superintendent George Griffith presented to the Kansas State Board of Education a report Tuesday that surveyed more than 900 elementary teachers across Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Among his findings, according to the Lawrence World Journal: more than 55 percent of K-6 teachers have cut back on science education, by an average of 30-60 minutes a week.
Board member Ken Willard called the act "unconscionable" and "reflects a lack of integrity."
Educators said they reported science grades simply because there was a blank space for it on report cards. Cutting back on science lessons also meant teachers could spend more time focusing on high-stakes reading and math exams.
"I can understand their concern," Griffith said told the Lawrence World Journal. "Those are the key things we want to focus on, and that's important. Some of it was top-down from administration; some of it was the teachers' belief system, that they felt they needed to put that much time in… This seems to be an ongoing theme around the country, it's not just in Kansas."
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