South L.A. student finds a different world at Cal – LA Times
Read this article from The LA Times. Take notes to collect textual evidence to support your response to:
What issues around traditional K-12 grading practices does this article raise?
In the comment section below, post your response to the above question including supporting textual evidence.
Grading for Learning 
The article by L.A. Times “South L.A. student finds a
different world at Cal” addresses not only the issue we have in many schools regarding grading but other problems first generation students, especially black students face. Depression, family financial issues, among other things did not help to the already overwhelming stress that is trying to maintain grades up and being actively in your campus community. Kashawn’s grades and performance in high school were great, he was beating the odds and being part of that 3% of black students making it to the UC campus. However, those good grades weren’t only calculating or averaging his proficiency or understanding. Often times, teachers grade on things like participation, effort, attendance, which he excelled in and they might be great for promoting student engagement but what happens when he truly isn’t mastering the skills needed to pass? The article also states, “…At Jefferson, a long essay took a page and perfect grades came after an hour of study at night” but “At Cal, …he could barely keep afloat.” His high school was not challenging and that is where they did him a disservice by not having greater expectations for him. He was then set up to do amazing at the level he is in and set up for failure in higher education. The author also states “It took awhile for him to understand there was a problem,” Delp said. “He could not believe that he needed more skills”. He expected to have graduated more than ready to excel at the UC level but he was faced with a cruel reality.
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The Los Angeles Times’ article “South L.A. student finds a different world at Cal” was so painful to read. College is hard enough of an adjustment for most inner-city students without even factoring not being academically prepared. His teachers and the traditional grading practices of averaging grades did him a disservice when they got together and “willed” success and an opportunity to attend college. This article sheds light on the differences in how schools are preparing students for college. He had the right attitude and the desire to attend college but he lacked the skills to succeed in college. Had his teachers graded him on content and standards they could have addressed his weaknesses and deficiencies.
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What issues around traditional K-12 grading practices does this article raise?
The Los Angeles Times’ article “South L.A. student finds a different world at Cal” brings to light the differences in how schools are preparing students for college, or even to face the “real world.” The article shares how Kashawn Campbell and the faculty at his school simply “willed” for him to be successful in high school so he would have the opportunity to attend college. However, when Kashawn began classes at UC Berkeley, he was stunned at the low scores he earned on his work, despite his best efforts. He didn’t work any less hard than he had in high school, yet suddenly, his endeavors to succeed were failing him. Given the hhistory of substandard education at Kashawn’s alma mater, Jefferson High School, it can be intimated that Kashawn’s classes may have provided more false hope than real expectations. In other words, the work he submitted in high school might have earned him high marks at Jefferson. However, at another higher-performing school, he might have earned lower scores on the same assignments, thus preparing him for the rigorous expectations at UC Berkeley. Had he been scored on a standards-based scale, the results would have been different and provided him the idea as to where his skills really lay.
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The issue that the article arises is that Kashawn did not really master any of the material he needed to be college ready. He did receive a high G.P.A in High School, but it was not because he mastered any standards. He simply did what he had to do, and maybe the teachers feeling he had a future inflated his grades, as well as his ego. Therefore, as he completed his semester at UC Berkley, him and his ego came crashing down. The reality is, teachers are human, they feel, and they hope for the best for their students. Therefore, traditional grading can inflate grades, even though the student has not yet learned or mastered the standard or content being taught.
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The issue I see the article addressing is social promotion, Kashawn graduated from his high school where he was a big fish in a small pond and then he went to Berkley. All students should be exposed to critical thinking prompts on a daily basis and given the tools to respond to them. Kashawn wasn’t prepared for Berkley where his friend Spencer was. Spencer’s mom was more involved making sure Spencer always acquired knowledge and pushed him to participate in academic activities. exposed her only child to art, politics, literature and the world beyond Inglewood.” If a bookstore was going out of business, she’d drive Spencer to the closeout sale and they would buy discounted novels. She pushed him to participate in a mostly white Boy Scout troop in Westchester.”The article also shows that parental involvement is important.
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The issue this article raises is around social promotion. We pass students along for complying with classroom norms, respecting teacher and others, and turning in assignments. We give them a grade based on overall effort. The students advance to the college setting and find themselves in a situation where they don’t have the skills to pass their college courses.
Some are of the mindset that passing them along is social justice when in fact they have damaged them academically.
Mastery grading would help alleviate these issues and grade students based on growth and give them the ample opportunities to become proficient in various areas.
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What issues around traditional K-12 grading practices does this article raise?
This article raises issues with grading students based on effort rather than academic progress. This student is an example of your typical hard-working student who knows how to earn good grades based on a system that rewards effort. However, these grading practices clash with college grading because it is aligned to standards and rigorous tasks. As the article states that he would receive his college papers and he would have to revise and expand his vocabulary and word choice. Because this student received the highest grades, it made the student believe that he had all the skills for college.
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This article demonstrates the deficiencies in our grading practices. We tell our students that they must have a certain GPA in order to get to a certain university. Then students like Kashawn figure out that turning in all the work, maybe redoing some work, and having a positive attitude would get him A’s in his classes. He did not really gain the skills needed to be successful at a UC. This does not take away the fact that Kashawn may in fact be a really good student had he been given the proper guidance.
I am sure that it was hard for Kashawn and his teachers to really gage where he stood. Kashawn only knew the world that was immediately around him. In his world he was a super star. Teachers in low income areas want to see their students succeed and in the process we short change by not being honest with them. In the end all students have to compete with each other regardless of where they come from. Those with a true mastery of skills are the ones that will successfully navigate college.
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The major issue raised in this article about Kashawn Campbell’s struggle with the curriculum at the University of Cal is the inconsistency of the grading at the secondary level. Kashawn excelled at Jefferson High, was second in his class, had straight A’s and a 4.06 GPA, but his grades were a poor indication of how prepared he was for the next level.
It was not his fault that he was not ready for college level courses and that his high school teachers gave him a false sense of security with their inadequate grading practices at Jefferson High. The curriculum at his school was not rigorous enough to prepare him for succeeding in college. This can have serious consequences on a person’s self esteem as it did for Kashawn, who worked so hard but was not prepared for failure.
Kashawn’s roommate Spencer had no problem with the curriculum and found the courses easy for him. Growing up Spencer was also exposed to art, politics, literature by his mother who was an UCLA graduate whereas Kashawn rarely went out of his neighborhood. So the parents also play a huge role in the education of their children. Even though Spencer went to a tough school in Inglewood, he was much better prepared mentally and socially for the next level. Fortunately for Kashawn, he was driven to succeed and his hard work did pay off for him, where many other students would quit long before him.
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There are several issues around traditional K-12 grading practices that the article “South L.A. Student Finds a Different World at Cal.”
1) Kashawn Campbell had a false sense of success (“Jefferson [High School]…had a woeful reputation…just under 13% of its students were judged to be proficient in English”). To be a star student at Jefferson wouldn’t be difficult, given that the proficient or advanced group was so small; one could presume that with such a low proficiency rate, an A at Jefferson might not compare to someone with an A in a more affluent and academically competitive environment.
2) Kashawn may have received inflated grades instead of standards-based grades (“In College Writing 1A, his essays…were so weak that he would have to take the class again”).
3) Kashawn was not exposed to enough rigorous activities in high school (“He struggled to comprehend the readings for her class and think critically about the text”).
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This article raises important issues about the meaning of grades and their relativity. It also addresses the lack of support and community that many minority students feel at universities. The article states, “When Kashawn arrived, 3% of Berkeley undergraduates were African American.” This must have been quite a culture shock given that Jefferson High School is 99% minority.
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The issue that I see this article raises about traditional K-12 grading practices is that the way universities grade is more rigorous than public high schools. In high school, Kashawn was an “A” student. At UC Berkeley, he had a 1.7 GPA…”if he didn’t improve his grades by school year’s end, he would flunk out.”
What really made Kashawn have low grades? This article talks about Kashawn “not used to the people. Not used to the type of buildings. Definitely not used to the pressure I feel.”
But I think that what was more influential in his poor performance is that what he thought was great work in high school, was considered failing work at the university level. On one of his failing essays, the instructor said “extremely long, awkward and unclear sentences.”
Why Kashawn did not find out about his writing weaknesses in high school? I think this happended because the grading system we use is deficient compared to the way students are graded in universities. Even among public high schools, what seems to be “A” work in one, is not in another school.
This inconsistency in grading is what affects students once they reach higher education. If we want students to succeed in universities, our grading system should align towards how grades look in universities.
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Yes, it is possible that Kashawn was not challenged enough at Jefferson High School so that demonstrates that grading at certain schools is different than other schools. Second, the fact that he was able to pass his freshman year because he had a A- in African-American studies shows how inaccurate using the average grading system is.
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The issues around traditional K-12 grading practice that this article raises is that in “A” in some high schools is not weighted the same across different demographics. It appears that public schools grading practice is based on effort and not on standard based.
However, there are many factors that also come into play in a students success in school and college. Kashawn’s mother worked and he was not exposed to art, reading, and many other enlightening experiences. Then you have Spencer, his mother was a UCLA graduate and made sure to expose him to literature, art, museums, and had much more enlightening experiences than Kashawn had. As result, Spencer had a more positive first semester in Cal than Kashawn as well. Perhaps if Kashawn had a similar upbringing maybe he would have had a different result his first semester in Cal.
All in all, although Kashawn had a challenging semester and became depressed, he was still resourceful and had the will power to continue advocating for him self to make it through Cal.
Students shouldn’t have to go through what Kashawn did his first semester of college. As educators, we should be able to grade students based on standards. This would allow for students to have a clear understanding of the grades they earned.
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I think as teachers we really care for our students and want the best for them.. I believe that Kashawn’s high school teachers really wanted him to have the best education. However I feel they did him a disservice. I appears that he received a 4+ grade point average because he was the best student not necessarily a student exceeding the standards. This became evident when at university he was failing. Which eventually lead to Kashawn’s depression.
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How was Kashawn able to get a 4.06 GPA at his high school and receive a 1.7 GPA at Berkeley by his second term? How can a straight A student go into college almost flunking out by his first year? This article raises a lot of questions about our grading system. Kashawn was not adequately prepared to succeed at Berkeley level but had the grades to be accepted at this level. Kashawn wanted to succeed and his school wanted to see him succeed. The academic rigor he was getting at Berkeley clearly did not match what he was use to at his high school. Kashawn’s case shows us that our grading system doesn’t reflect what some of our students really know and don’t know. GPA of 4.06 didn’t equate to college readiness for Kashawn because his 4.06 GPA wasn’t truly 4.06. There was no mastery or advanced understanding of the content he was taught.
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The issue with K-12 grading that is brought up in this article is the fact that grades do not necessarily correspond to mastery. Kashawn’s teachers were not grading for mastery of how to write an essay; at his school “a long essay took a page and perfect grades came after an hour of study a night”. Kashawn’s essays received A’s in high school because, compared to other students, he was at the top. But his teachers were grading on a comparative scale rather than measuring how much learning was actually happening.
Additionally, expectations for Kashawn were lower than they would’ve been if he had gone to an upper-class school. The principal saw one student who was doing well and pretended like that was surprising; this is not a socially just approach to education. Expectations for grades and content master need to be equitable across every zip code.
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This article raises a question that is often on my mind. Do I teach to the students (who are often below and sometimes far below grade level) or do I teach to the grade-level standards? If we don’t meet the students where they are, our teaching will remain out of reach, and never become learning. But in Kashawn’s situation, while he may have been “top” of his class, he was in no way prepared for university. While his high-school teachers wanted to ensure that they “did not let him down,” in a way, they did let him down by not preparing him for his college experience. This seems to be a clear example of teaching to the students and we see that he was not served. The question then becomes, how do we teach grade-level material to students that are not at grace-level?
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What issues around traditional K-12 grading practices does this article raise?
Kashawn was under the impression that he was doing well in high school because he was earning straight A’s. However, when he got to college and was not making progress in his classes, he became depressed. Spencer, his roommate, was passing all of his classes and was making college look easy. What was different between these 2 young college men? Well there is no-answer here, but one thing that stood out to me was that Spencer’s mother was more involved with his education and encouraged reading, while Kashawn’s mother was working and he did his best at earning on his own while he was with his babysitter. Both Kashawn and Spencer attended inner-city schools, but the involvement of his parent made a difference for Spencer. The issue around traditional grading practices present here is that A’s don’t mean mastery for every student.
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The article tells the story of Kashawn, a high-achieving student who struggled in his freshman year at UC Berkeley. I believe the article forwarded the implication that perhaps Kashawn’s school did not grade him in a manner that accurately reflected his mastery of some academic concepts. For example, he earned exceptional marks in his high school classes, but during his freshman year at Cal, he struggled mightily with writing papers and revising his writing.
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I agree that students with higher GPA are not ready for college in low performing schools. If student has no behavior problem, the attendance is good, and they make effort to complete all their work even though they struggle, they end up making higher grade and for sure not ready for the college. The student in the article went through the same phase and I would say most probably it was due to the traditional grading system. With content mastery four point system, the student would have discovered on his own the level he was at and would not have gone through the stress he went through. Students also need to know that they must learn how to advocate themselves during the time of difficulty. With four point system they will be more prepared to handle a situation like this and learn how to take charge of their learning. It is very important to equip all students with strategies that can help them face challenges in higher education and life after college.
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That was a tough article to read. I tells me that if there was a standardized way of grading all students would have a better chance of succeeding. Since everyone grades differently from teacher to teacher there is really no way for a student to be as prepared as their peers. Everyone will be prepared differently and that is a huge disservice to the students. In the case of Kashawn, his mother, “Sylvia didn’t read many magazines, newspapers or books. Only rarely did she take Kashawn outside their neighborhood.” All he knew was in his neighborhood and at his school. He did not get much exposure to outside life. Where as, “Spencer’s mother, a medical administrator, had graduated from UCLA and exposed her only child to art, politics, literature and the world beyond Inglewood.”
As educators all we can control is what happens within our classroom. So, if we as instructors are not all on the same page we will not be helping our students become successful when they leave us. Kashawn did not just say o well I don’t know what to do he “went at least once a week to the office of his writing instructor, Verda Delp.” Obviously the way of “Traditional” grading needs to change. Otherwise our students will continue to struggle once they leave our door.
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As an inner-city high school math teacher, I struggle with sticking to rigorous, challenging curriculum without “dumbing-down” my class. I am very well-aware of the rigor and intensity of affluent high schools such as Palisades Charter and Beverly Hills. And if my top students get into the same university as students from those affluent schools, will my students be able to perform well at universities? Did I prepare them well enough for university’s rigor? It’s a very difficult balance because so many students already struggle with math, and I do not want to make the class that challenging that will make them want to give up and not try. Also, I want to make my math class as a positive math experience because once again many students have such a bad experience from their former math classes, so making the class crazy difficult and rigorous will only scare them away. When I hear students that they had 130% from their prior math classes and hence they deserve a better grade in my class, I question what does that 130% of their grade tell the students about their mathematical abilities and why does that “130%” student not receiving an A that they claim to deserve? I also wonder if there is any way math teachers horizontally (across the same content) and vertically (across the grade levels) stick to the same standards and consistent grading practice.
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I struggle in describing my feelings about this article. I attended an inner city high school and later graduated from a top college. I realized that I was woefully unprepared for the rigor and structure of college. Although I had a high g.p.a in high school, my inadequate math and ELA skills hindered my ability to do well in basic college courses. I also lacked confidence because of low scores and I did not get tutoring help. I felt that I something was wrong with me as student…where were all the “A’s” and “B’s” that came easy to me in high school?
I strongly identify with Kashawn in this sense. Why was I not prepared? Did the teachers allow me to move on because I worked hard? Did they appreciate me because I was respectful? Something was missing and although my teachers were well meaning…they did me a disservice. As a high school AVID teacher, I use these experiences to support my students and tell them that we all struggle academically. We are not allowed to let those skills continue undeveloped. Students will not become resilient if they are accustomed to failure without a chance to improve. Also, students must learn to advocate for themselves in difficulty. Coping skills are also a necessity.
Students of all backgrounds at inner city or elite schools will do well if they are equipped with these strategies.
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I can totally relate to Kashawn Campbell’s experience at Berkeley. He was top of his class back home but now that he was competing against top students throughout the country, it was difficult for him to keep up. Grades can be inflated and a teacher can be very subjective also. Students must complete A-G courses and instead of taking AP classes, a student can maintain a 4.0 gpa as compared to someone who has a 3.75 with AP classes. I was Kashawn when I went to UCLA. I had a high gpa and high school was easy in the inner city I went to. My first semester was an eyeopener for me. I couldn’t write a decent essay and I was never taught how to. I got A’s in writing but it couldn’t compare to the papers that were submitted at UCLA. I struggled and was in the library studying passed midnight just to get a C. Through tutoring and counseling, I was able to learn to write and express my ideas and thoughts. I feel that tests such as the SAT and ACT show what a student truly knows and that should play a bigger factor than grades.
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This article raises issues about the consequences of disparity in the way different schools assign grades. Grades vary based on the teacher and his/her grading system. This means that even within a school, there can be huge differences in how teachers assign grades. This inconsistency of grading can be confusing for students.
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The article retells the story of former student athletes I’ve coached and educated who were awakened by the true realities of college life. This is the story of Kashawn’s introduction to Cal’s academic expectations and rigor due to misrepresented academic levels, inequivalent academic skill sets in comparison to his socioeconomically advantaged counterparts, and academic rigor exposure and success while at Jefferson. Kashawn was not prepared through the courses and unrealistic expectations which failed to prepare him for the realities of college life at Cal. Additionally, the resources and educational development he received at Jefferson paled in comparison to that of his counterparts from more affluent institutions. As a SPED teacher, we are often faced with the decision of not failing our students and granting them any grade less than reflective of their true cognitive abilities due to not causing “ripples in the water”. This is a disservice in my opinion as the true realities of life and its functioning intellect level clearly differ from the abilities performed by students inside the classroom. I have always wondered about my SPED students and think of them years after they graduate regarding their surviving in the real world. This makes me reflect on Kashawn’s experience as certain students lack they skills and knowledge from foundational levels only to be passed along and given a false perception of what life is truly like and unfortunately, find themselves in life long struggles.
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This reminded me of my transition to CSU Humboldt and my gap in writing skills I had when I first entered university. It was my EOP tutoring program, my lifeline to vocabulary development and writing workshops- an effort I committed to each an every day in college. These skills classes began to bridge my writing and how I found affinity toward non- fictional informative writing was well suited to my style and primary science resources.
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What issues around traditional K-12 grading practices does this article raise?
I feel that the teachers at his high school were giving him grades based on his effort and their own desire to see him succeed. I think this article makes it clear that grades must be based on a scoring criteria that informs the students and the teachers what standards are being measured.
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Kurt Streeter’s LA Times article, “South L.A. student finds a different world at Cal” raises several issues around traditional K-12 grading practices. The article highlights a transferability problem between grading practices in certain high schools and those at the university level. This was the case with the straight As earned by Kashawn at his high school and then the areas of need that were uncovered as he failed to meet the expectations at Cal. Some have mentioned that the problem was that the high school wasn’t teaching rigorous content and had lower expectations and this could be one explanation but another explanation and yet another issue that the article points to is the disparity between grading by averaging percentage points versus teaching and grading for mastery. In Kashawn’s high school, we can attribute his straight As to the fact that his grades were averaged and so even if he had lower marks in some areas of his studies, they were drowned out when his grades were averaged and the As dominated. Had the high school he attended not averaged grades, but rather focused on mastery of content, then they could have identified his areas of need and then taught to mastery prior to sending him off to fend for himself at the university.
Another issue that is raised, although maybe in a more subtle manner, is the need for providing supports like mentoring and study groups for students as they transfer into the university. This is especially important in cases when the high school or community that students are coming from differ greatly and students are likely to experience culture shock. Mentoring and support groups can help to combat the overemphasis on defining one’s value and worth based on the grades earned. Kashawn himself, says this beautifully when he states, “I’ve learned the hard way that academics are not who you are. They are something you need to learn to get to the next level of life, but they can’t define me. My grades at Cal are not Kashawn Campbell.”
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The Los Angeles Times article by Kurt Streeter tells the story of Kashawn Campbell who in spite of having tremendous academic success in high school failed to blossom academically in college. According to the article, Kashawn graduated from an inner-city school in Los Angeles, Fremont High School, where he was the salutatorian. However, in spite of his high school academic success and his strong work ethic, he struggled tremendously at Cal Berkeley as a freshman because he was not adequately academically prepared. This caused several problems for him because not only did he not want to fail, but “[h]e also felt a more personal burden. He couldn’t let his mother down.” This led to depression as he felt “less than” because he had been so successful in high school yet was failing miserably in college. Unfortunately, Kashawn’s story is not a unique one and only highlights the lack of objectivity that can often be seen in traditional grading practices. Teaching can be a slippery slope as we are on one hand tasked with the assignment of not only teaching students but also preparing them for life after high school – regardless if they are prepared for the course at hand. This can lead to unintentional consequences as we tend “help” those students who we deem worthy yet are not, instead of holding all students to the same standard and ensuring that they live up to that standard. Kashawn’s circumstance clearly highlights this dilemma.
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This article epitomizes the point made in “It’s time to stop averaging grades” about grading being in relationship to the class. In this case, Kashawn was one of the brightest students in his school. He studied and earned As, but he soon learned that those grades didn’t transfer to Cal. He was given grades based on how he was performing in comparison to other students in his school, not on what he had actually learned. Because he was the best in the class he was given an “A”, but he never actually mastered the work. Unfortunately, I believe this is all too common in K-12 education, and it is not just in schools in the poor areas. While not to the same extent, students from higher SES area schools often find that they received inflated grades once they arrive in college and realize they are not prepared for the classes. Again, they were graded based on their standing in their class/school, not on whether or not they mastered to standards. Finally, one other thing stood out for me. I found the following statements dishearening, “”It was so rare to have a kid like Kashawn, especially an African American male, wanting that badly to go to college,” said Jeremy McDavid, a former Jefferson vice principal. “We got together as a staff and decided that this kid, we cannot let him down.”” While I’m glad that Kashawns teachers supported him, I can’t help but think about all those capable, intelligent students who weren’t as outgoing and motivated as Kashawn who were overlooked. This is another problem with education.
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Kashawn’s case is typical of inner city school. Where some kids get good grades because they are trying hard. Those of us who have taught inner city know what I am talking about. The student gets grade based on behavior not learning as it is very few students who come in high school specially black male students who talk about going to college as the author noted.. So what is happening here is one kid who has a goal but no tools. The teachers instead of actually helping him get college ready raise expectations of the student. I have taught AP in inner city school and most of my students were at 8th grade reading level. The teacher prior to me was teaching AP because the students were well behaved. Also parent education and awareness is also one of the component in child’s development as in case of Spencer.
Therefore as grading is very subjective it varies from teacher to teacher.
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The article, “South L.A. student finds a different world at Cal,” by Kurt Streeter claims that high school success does not necessarily transfer to college success. The article follows the story of an African American boy, Kashawn Campbell, who excelled in high school and was accepted into Berkeley. Although he earned high marks in HS, he failed his first semester at Cal. This was because he had only learned to follow the rules and meet expectations but not to think critically. The issues with traditional k-12 teaching that the article raises is that high school students are not being prepared for college success. To add, Kashawn was raised in a single-parent home, low socioeconomic standing, and without educated parents. This places him at a disadvantage when he arrives to college and his counterparts understand how to native the new expectations. Furthermore, the article pushes the idea that we need to teach students how to study and develop study habits. Often times, students graduate high school, not because they have mastered all courses, but because they have turned in all the “worksheets.” Teaching students compliance is not doing them any favors, teachers must raise their expectations and increase critical thinking in their classes to mirror those of college.
Although Campbell went to tutoring to receive the help he much needed, when submitting his final paper, the professor told him that, “this last batch of work was better. After reviewing his writing, though, it was clear to her that he had received far too much help from someone else.” Its not your own work.” Students must be able to stand on their own and because he wasn’t able to, he failed his first semester in Berkeley.
After learning to learn Campbell said, ““”I’ve learned the hard way that academics are not who you are. They are something you need to learn to get to the next level of life, but they can’t define me. My grades at Cal are not Kashawn Campbell.” Thus, it is far better to teach students to learn and think critically versus making them compliant to reach that A. Why do we still have teachers who give a grade for participation and attendance? Wouldn’t it be better to assess the students to see what they know regardless of their participation, behavior, or attendance? Because at the end of the day, Grades don’t define the knowledge, they most commonly define compliance.
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This article was most impacted me the most. It clearly showed how grading can be subjective. I made me think about why Kashawn would receive perfect scores at his school in South central LA but struggle when he got to college. Perhaps the schools in South Central did not have high expectations for it’s students so everything was easy for him. So he wasn’t truly prepared for college. His A was not equal to the A a school that prepared their students for college in a more affluent area.
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This article clearly illustrates how grading practices are subjective in nature and the ability to mean something completely different from one school to the next. The grades that Kashawn earned in high school reflect that lack of rigor associated with the type of instruction he received. As stated in the article, Kashawn’s biggest concern was his schoolwork. He was used to earning perfect grades with little effort, or after a quick study session. Consequently, he was not academically prepared for the challenges associated with being a student at UC, Berkley. Although he was dedicated, he was not able to keep up with the work and the rigor expected of a UC student. Kashawn was also lacking reading comprehension and critical thinking skills that he did not learn from his high school experience. Unlike this roommate, Kashawn was not exposed to art, politics, literature and the world beyond his South LA neighborhood. This limited his ability to feel confident and to contribute meaningfully at school. Needless to say, the grading practices associated with Kashawn’s high school experience demonstrate how students are set up to fail because they are not adequately provided with meaningful feedback of their academic skills. This grading practices are not just irresponsible, they are also unhealthy and dangerous because they are setting students for failure without understanding the reasons they are not up to par.
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Streeter’s article, highlights the resulting disparity from creating false confidence through grading practices which give our students the idea they can do anything they put their mind towards, without the perspective for what skills they need to express themselves in academic language and meet the competitive expectations for higher learning and employment. For example, the author makes reference to a box full of report cards with perfect scores (and therefore thinks he is prepared to tackle the world), yet here he is failing through a system which did not accurately prepare him for college. Our system is shaped by the local school culture and the local neighborhood cultures, where measures of success may differ. But should they? Access to various perspectives may be limited. Awareness of opportunities and how to reach them outside the local community may be limited. Passing students from grade to grade without identifying their areas of needs to met increasing expectations is the breakdown of our grading system. Moving students through the funnel of classes and hoping something sticks with them is not a strategy to give access to curriculum or the expectation benchmarks need to be met to progress. The system implies, just show up and move through, in the end, everyone will exit. But to what future?
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This article shows that all “A”s are not equal when comparing them to schools in different districts, neighborhoods, and socioeconomic statuses. Kashawn finds out right away at Cal that though he was one of the top students at his school and had the grades to back him up, his skills were not top notch at CAL. His writing instructor finds that “His writing often didn’t make sense. He
struggled to comprehend the readings for her
class and think critically about the text.”
The fact that Kashawn is not able to write coherently yet still received almost all “A”s at his high school probably indicate he is merely being compared to his peers and not to a rubric that would give more accurate reflections. It’s no wonder that he is so surprised at receiving these lower grades when all he is doing is what he has always done and had success with. Traditional grading has failed Kashawn here and because of his substandard competition left him feeling like he was an extremely high achiever. However, when compared to another high school with more high achieving competition, his skills might have been designated more middle of the road.
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This article raises the question of whether or not students are being graded with the same standards from one school to another. Kawshawn Campbell reminds me of a current student in my AP English Literature class who keeps scoring his essays as an 8 or 9 when they should be scored as a 4 at most on a College Board AP Rubric. Just like Kawshawn, my student does not understand what it takes to write a top-notch essay. Because he has earned A’s in the past, he thinks he still deserves an “A.” Even though I have shown my students samples of 9 essays, my student thinks he is an accomplished writer.
Kawshawn, compared to other students at his school, excelled. If students’ performances are measured solely against their peers, rather than on a concrete standard, there is a danger that students think they are mastering the assignment when they actually are not performing at high levels. Students have no anchor by which to measure their progress unless mastery grading is employed. Kawshawn, worked really hard, and could not comprehend why he was not excelling. He, like my student, thought that he could easily earn top grades because he did not understand what it really takes to write an accomplished paper.
It would not matter if Kawshawn was enrolled at Jefferson or at Crossroads if he was being held to mastery grading standards. He would be unable to earn the 4.06 GPA that got him into UC Berkeley until he demonstrated mastery. Once he demonstrated his prowess, he could then complete with peers at Cal on a more level playing field. Unfortunately for Kawshawn he entered a world-class university with inadequate tools. As for my student, his writing has improved, but he still seems unable to understand why I am not scoring his essays with a 9. I am hoping that if all our Venice English teachers (including me) adopt mastering grading practices, our students will enter their senior year with a clearer understanding of what it takes to write an A paper.
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What issues around traditional K-12 grading practices does this article raise?
This article was brutal, and made me feel deeply for Kashawn, as he faced such serious challenges at Cal, and did not get what he needed from his K-12 education. How was he to know he was lacking fundamental skills when he had been able to play the traditional grading game to such success? The fact that he made it to salutatorian with writing that “didn’t make sense” and the inability to comprehend college level texts highlights serious flaws in our approach to building students’ skills. I understand, however, without a clear mastery approach to grading, students who work hard and are motivated may end up with grades that reflect their level of follow-through rather than their proficiency.
I wonder how a mastery approach could focus both teacher and student to really understand what they both must do to help a student develop the requisite skills. I am eager to learn strategies that will help not only my Kashawns, but also his peers who are often under-motivated because of systems that do not reflect what skills they need to focus on.
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What issues around traditional K-12 grading practices does this article raise?
“But as the semester got going, he began to stumble. The first essay for the writing
class that accounted for half of his course load was so bad his teacher gave him a “No
Pass.” Same for the second essay.”
This quote from early on in the article already set the tone…. how is it that a student can be admitted to a top university but be unable to write, according to the teacher above, at a level in which at the minimum, he would “receive” a passing grade? And even furthermore, as we are learning, how does this type of grade help this student know and learn what he needs to do to improve.
further in the article:
“The biggest of his burdens was schoolwork. At Jefferson, a long essay took a page and
perfect grades came after an hour of study a night.
At Cal, he was among the hardest workers in the dorm, but he could barely keep
afloat.”
This quote already may show the incongruence of the rigor at his high school and the requirements needed at a college level such as Berkeley. And this student worked hard, harder than anyone else, trying to get those grades he needed. It wasn’t for lack of effort but the foundation and expectation for his rigor of work was not congruent for the rigor expected at the College Level.
Did this student master the College Career Standards at the 12th grade level?
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In this article “South LA student finds a different world at Cal-LA Times,” raises many questions about the issues we face with traditional grading systems in k-12 practices, including equity. The article states, “…At Jefferson, a long essay took a page and perfect grades came after an hour of study at night” but “At Cal, …he could barely keep afloat.” This quote portrays how we all grade differently given the population of students we are working with. At socioeconomically disadvantaged schools, teachers have very low expectations for their students compared to schools at affluent societies. Because at most times, you don’t have family support with students’ education and therefore, students lack skills and concepts that they should of mastered in the early grades. So teachers have to bring down the bar to the level of their students and try to fill gaps. Teachers will give “As” to students like Kashawn, who are hard workers and are motivated to learn versus others who are not as encouraged. At Jefferson, the assignments and expectations were not as rigorous compared to other schools and this is why Kashawn struggled at Cal.
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The issue of grading and equity arise in the article “South LA student finds a Different World at Cal.” The question of social justice arises when two different students, from different socio-economic backgrounds, abilities, and proficiency levels exist. In the article Kashawn was praised for his potential and his excellent work habits. He was a good student compared to low motivated and less engaging students who did not care about success. Once Kashawn went to college and a different environment, his abilities did not compare to the level of other students from different schools. Unlike Kashawn’s low performing school, other schools have more resources and higher expectations for students. Kashawn was at a disadvantage. He struggled in college due to the lack of rigorous programs, resources, and extra support. This would not happen at a higher performing school in a more affluent neighborhood. This crushed Kashawn’s self esteem feeling worthless and devalued. I’m sure many students feel just like him. Fortunately Kashawn received counseling and support services to deal with his depression. His attitude transforms and at the end of the article he states “I’ve learned the hard way that academics are not who you are… They are something you need to learn to get to the next level in life, but they can’t define me. My grades at Cal are not Kashawn Campbell.” As educators we must communicate to our students that they are more than their grades which do not define who they are.
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The article reminds me that we as teachers should always have high expectations across disciplines and across schools. If Kashawn had been attending another school he would have probably had two options. Option #1 he could have felt like he was not “good enough” and he would have stopped trying or 2) he could have looked for help to fully developed the same skills as all the other kids in high school.
This article also reminds me how dangerous it can be to single out a student because of his potential. It looks like Kashawn was a hard working student, but he was outstanding because he was compared to other students that were not so interested in being “good” students. Once he went to a different environment, his strategies and his abilities were not at the same level as other kids from different schools that have more resources and his world of confidence collapsed.
Unfortunately, there are many Kashawns out there, students who are really trying to do the best they can in schools with low proficiency scores, students who are not in rigorous programs in their schools and they go to college without being fully developed academically.
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This article shows that different schools have different expectations when assigning grades. The grades assigned will vary based on the teacher and the grading system they use. There is an inconsistent method used for assigning grades. This may hurt students when entering college and it is more difficult than they expected if they have always been an A student.
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“Kashawn’s 4.06 grade point average was second best in the senior class. Because of a statewide program to attract top students from every public California high school, a spot at a UC system
campus waited for him.” This is one of the issues that traditional grading practices raises: an “A” at Jefferson High School is not the same as an “A” at a high school in an upper class neighborhood. I think we teachers tend to give the A grades to the top students in our classes, but the top students at our schools may not compare so well with students at other schools. This is where a rubric, or a standardized test such as the CAHSEE, is helpful in determining a student’s level of mastery.
This also brings up the issue of passing students along to the next level even though they haven’t mastered the content. We’re only allowed to offer A-G courses, so remedial math and English classes are out the window. Students who get an “F” or “D” in Algebra 1A are passed on to Algebra 1B even though they have little to no chance of passing. The same happens in foreign language courses as well because we generally don’t offer the “A” portion of the course in the spring semester. This practice is not sound pedagogy and is damaging not only to the student who hasn’t mastered the material, but also to the students who have mastered the material but are slowed down by the teacher who is trying to remediate those who have fallen behind.
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