Capstone Reflection

Student Teaching Classroom Scenario

What’s at stake?

Special needs learners, on Individualized Education Program (IEP), grades cannot be below 70% or above 90%, based on the schools administrative rule. Since full virtual school began this academic year, over 80% of these learners in my classes have not done any form of interacting or completed any assignments or tests. Their attendance and punctuality is over 90%, two (2) usually complete all assignments some with 100% accuracy, while four (4) are always on camera with limited participation.

What I know

The school serves a population of One Hundred and Twenty-five (125) learners with varying levels of disabilities to include Autism, Learning disabled, Life Skills, Multiple Disabilities, Emotional Disturbance and Other Health Impairment. I am currently teaching the entire 9th grade population of One Hundred and Seventy Five (175) leaners of which Fifty Seven (57) or 33% are classified as special needs or low incidence. The School District grading policy stipulates that, “Students with disabilities are expected to make ongoing progress on their IEP goals and objectives that are based on the general education curriculum." Differentiated progress monitoring is reflected by:

• Students’ performance on curricular goals.

• The process for completing work.

• Sustaining effort on meeting their IEP goals and objectives having been provided with appropriate aids, services and accommodations.

Additionally, their marking guidelines stipulates that teachers have multiple opportunities to evaluate learners' progress using a variety of assessment strategies. Grades include the following components: Tests 40%, Performance Based Learning 30%, Classwork 20% and homework 10%. All grades are recorded in the district provided electronic grade book, Infinite Campus, the School Information System.

What I’ve found out

The schools have mandated a grading policy that contradicts that of my interpretation of the School District's Policy and what I have been taught. Their directives are as follows, “As far as grading, Low Incidence learners are in most cases graduating according to their IEP goals, so their participation in your classes look different then the typical learner. We do not grade below a 70% or above a 90%. A 70% would be that they never show up for class or participate, in this case please contact me as early as possible to avoid any potential issues. An 80% is if they attend your class with minimum participation, and a 90% would be if they participated everyday, are on time and may have turnt in an assignment. The expectation for them when participating in elective or special classes is to include them with their non-disabled peers and encourage socialization.

What I’ve tried

At first I entered the letter M for missing in the system that was translated into a failing grade and as such I got a verbal then written warning. I have met with the head of the special education department to express my concerns about placing grades in my records without any evidence of learners' work. His response was that by virtue of them being in the class we cannot tell what they have learnt and grades should be assigned for attendance. I escalated the matter to administration and their response was to follow directives.

Questions for the class

• How do I justify learners' grades without evidence of work done?

• Are learners and parents being misled about their competencies?

• Are my actions ethical/legal?

Post-Discussion Reflection

I am happy to have discussed this issue with my colleagues and lecturer as they have helped me with my inhibition to enter grades for non-participating learners. They understood the reason for my ethically conflicted feeling and also questioned the benefit or justification for such actions. The overwhelming consensus was to follow my administrative directives and input grades based on their guidelines. Their advice and key takeaway for me however, was to document the basis for providing a grade as much as possible. One colleague provided me with a sample as follows: "Student absent from class, failed to submit assignment, will graded a 7 per the school policy"