School Fundraiser : Higher Grades in Return for Cash

I could not fit the whole title in this ATS title thread...

www.fundmymutualfund.com...

This Day in "Signs America is Degrading Fast": School Fundraiser Offers Higher Grades in Return for Cash

Deep... deep... sigh. I don't know what troubles me more; the concept of exchanging higher grades for money. Or the fact a parent group thought it up... as a fundraiser! (something about apples don't fall far from trees would be appropriate here)

Not the first time I've heard something similar proposed, I think NYC wanted to pay kids for higher grades - I mean after all that's "capitalism" and I guess we are not self motivated enough to strive for excellence unless a cash prized is offered. But this is the first time I can recall paying to "buy" a higher grade.

From the department of "I can't make this up" co-sponsored by "10 Signs America is Falling Apart at the Seams" I bring you my jaw as I help lift it off the floor:

Per CBC News in Canada:

* A middle school in North Carolina is selling better test scores to students in a bid to raise money.

* The Raleigh News & Observer newspaper reported Wednesday that a parent advisory council at Rosewood Middle School came up with the fundraising plan after last year's chocolate sale flopped.
The school will sell 20 test points to students for $20. Students can add 10 extra points to each of two tests of their choice. The extra points could take a student from a B to an A on those tests or from a failing grade to a passing one.

* Principal Susie Shepherd said it's not enough of an impact to change a student's overall marks. (well that makes it ok then!) Officials at the state Department of Public Instruction said exchanging grades for money teaches children the wrong lessons.



I'm still searching for the original story in the North Carolina paper...

EDIT 4 PM - original story from 3 days ago here

Thankfully after the bad publicity, someone with sense higher up the food chain stepped in and in today's paper an updated version of the same story said "no soup for you" principal Shepherd. Can we fire the parents for bad judgement?

Great remarks in the "comments section", I especially liked "GrannieSue"

I have to laugh... While this would be an EXCELLENT example to show the kids how things work in the "real world" - I'm glad someone understands this is perhaps NOT the best lesson we could be teaching our children.

On the other hand - all the parents that would rather buy their children a passing grade than pay for a box of candy ought to be taken out back and told to get their switch. Ethics? Whatever happened to the idea of personal integrity? Passing grades? How about sitting down with your kids instead of a reality show?

Let's not forget - its the PARENT Advisory Council - the parents AND the school are responsible for what comes about in a meeting. ALL OF THEM should be fired.




I can now sleep tonight knowing people like GrannieSue exist. I'm not alone... thank you.

p.s. again, I am *not* making this (truth is stranger than fiction) up but here are the goodies you can buy, the $75 package is especially thoughtful

Rosewood Middle School price list

* A $20 donation buys 10-point credits to be used on two tests of the student's choice.

* A $30 donation buys the test points and admission to a 5th-period dance.

* A $60 donation buys 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."

* Photo ops with Rosewood principal Susie Shepherd, the vice principal, and a home room teacher go for $75. The photos will be posted on a school bulletin board and on the school's Web site.

Only in NC.... Where people cant spell to save their own butts OR the planet if either depended on it! A state where a mind is a just plain terrible thing ( I think, therefore I am single).... But just ask Ol' Bubba Joe about Nascar , sports, wrasslin', or huntin- Ooh doggie! Same goes (unfortunately) for the women, too.

So, sure. Let's trade $$ for grades. It makes absolute, perfect sense in NC. Anyone still wonder why our country is viewed as a joke? No? Good.

reply to post by TrainDispatcher


These people are insane.Can't you just imagine when their kids go to work and expect their parents to pay for that big promotion they want. They are in for a huge letdown.

They have been doing this in the ghetto school districts in DC, in an effort to bribe kids to go to class, not do drugs, and not get in fights. It has nothing to do with the economy.

WASHINGTON — After decades of plummeting student performance, school leaders in Washington have decided to pay middle schoolers to show up, behave and get good grades.

In the 15 months since she took the helm of Washington, D.C.'s, lackluster public school system, Chancellor Michelle Rhee has earned a reputation as a risk-taker. Rhee says she's more than willing to try unconventional educational approaches in order to boost sagging student performance.

"We know that for the last couple of decades the kind of things that we have been doing as a school district have not worked, so I think it's actually quite irresponsible of us not to engage in some innovative programs and try to think outside the box about what we can do to break this cycle," Rhee said.

This school year, that includes paying kids in cold, hard cash.

The new Capital Gains program gives students the chance to earn points based on criteria like showing up on time, turning in their homework, using good manners and earning top grades.

The points translate into dollars, allowing students to earn up to $100 a month. The cash goes into a bank account in the student's name, and he or she must withdraw the funds in person.

For now, it's only a pilot program that doesn't involve all of the District's middle schoolers. Harvard researchers will measure the pay-for-performance group against the students who are not part of the program.

The $2.7 million price tag for the program is being funded by the D.C. Public School system and Harvard's American Inequity Lab, but not everyone thinks it's the best use of money in a district that spends 1.5 times the national average per student and doesn't have much to show for it.

Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union says D.C. schools are over-funded and under-performing. "D.C. public schools already spend 13,000 dollars per pupil," he said. "Where is that money going? We should be asking that question before piling on more."

Charlene Rucker, who has a grandchild in the D.C. public school system, has doubts as well. "Take that money and invest that money in equipment, invest that money in materials, in books. Invest that money in the schools," she said. "I think [this is] a lousy idea."

Rhee says she'll take a look at the research at the end of the school year and will abandon any expansion of Capital Gains if it isn't working. She says middle school is make-or-break time for most students, and in the District they aren't faring well: Just 33 percent are proficient in math and 36 percent in reading.

"For a lot of our kids in middle school there are incentives out on the street to do all of the wrong things," she said. "What we want to do is provide some positive incentives."

link

reply to post by stevegmu


They would probably be using that money more wisely if they paid thugs to beat the parents behinds when their kid fails to learn. A parent should have allready taught that kid how to study, be on time, and make sure they are fed.

reply to post by HotSauce


The kids at these schools don't really have parents. Mother is a crack, pcp or heroin addict. No father-figure. I'm pretty sure the program hasn't cost much money, because the kids make a lot more money gangbanging and hustling than getting good grades. The few kids who were already good students are pretty much the only ones getting the money.

reply to post by stevegmu


This is about students paying to have higher grades they didn't earn academically. Not schools paying students to attend. Read.

Originally posted by TrainDispatcher

Rosewood Middle School price list

* A $60 donation buys 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."

OMG! For $60 I get a private pizza lunch and a lap dance!?