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Igel

(35,197 posts)
12. Devos will properly have no answers.
Sat Mar 21, 2020, 06:44 PM
Mar 2020

Not a federal function. States set standards for graduation and seat time.

I have kids denied credit because before school was suspended they had 10 unexecused absences from my class Sorry, the state says you can only have 9. I've had kids with no problem missing 15 days for school approved activities.

I have one in-school course that has no seat-time requirement at all. If they'd finished up by October they'd have gotten the years' credit. It took a state waiver, but the feds had no say. State requirement, that one.

And if it's credit recovery, there's no requirement. If it's the *same course* taken for initial credit, it's something like 5 7-hour days.

It's a state thang.

We're released as states from federally-required standardized tests. And the governor here has said standardized testing isn't for this year. (What that means we don't know for sure, but the education commissioner was pissed off over that. Testy tester's gonna protest no testing.)

In Texas we have virtual school and some districts have online classes for some subjects for some students. And as long as districts say it's okay, as long as we offer standards-based classes and have some way of holding them accountable, we can give them course credit.

Now, teachers are concerned (or not, diversity!) about whether what we teach this year will be sufficient prep for next year. One class I teach is an on-level science elective with mostly seniors in it. I'm not especially concerned, because there is no "prep for next year." Another course doesn't have a sequel: You screw up the last 9 weeks of on-level chemistry, meh. At best I've messed up ... I don't know what I've messed up, there's no good vertical alignment for what's coming up. Now, the pre-AP algebra II teachers are terrified, because their kids are heading for the meat grinder known as pre-calculus.

My kid's in pre-AP English, and he's started getting work. But some of the kids in on-level English ... They're not going to do their assignments and they'll be doubly behind. Many are LEPs and tech challenged already, but even more they're motivationally challenged: without the motivation of in-your-face learning probably some won't even bother to log in. They should be given t-shirts that read, "Stay cool, stay a fool!"

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