To: The Chairman, St. Mary’s School Administration Board
From: John Doe,
Date: May 6th, 2020.
Subject: A proposal to study on systematic methods for preventing and monitoring of grade-fixing.
Introduction
I am writing this letter to St. Mary’s School administration board to propose a study on systematic methods for preventing and monitoring of grade-fixing at the School. I seek to help the school administration set and attain higher education standards that are reputable and adaptable not only by the School alone but also by other schools in the country as well. I seek to enthrone St. Mary’s School as the epitome of quality education.
St. Mary’s School has, in the recent past, repeatedly suffered allegations and scandals involving the menace of grade-fixing, or should I say grade inflation? The events of the last scandal are still engraved in my mind and to that of many others, only to the detriment of the quality of education you offer. I would love to believe that there still exists quality education at St. Mary’s School, yet the past events so hamper this belief that it would be destabilized. I have seen the School lose very high-quality educators through resignation just in a bid to preserve their dignity. Some of your past graduate students are also demoralized about their grades even though some did work hard for them. This, I wish to deter through my study and the implementations thereof.
New York Post in September of 2019 published an article exposing the scandal that enraged Maspeth High School in Queens District in the US—involving grade-fixing. This was just a year after Maspeth High was awarded a National Blue Ribbon for a near-perfect graduation rate. How unbecoming was this event on their pride as a school? From near perfection to the coronation of a cheat! I wish not to see this occur St. Mary’s, for I have the School at heart.
To make matters worse, as if the Maspeth High School scandal had escaped our attention, another grade inflation scandal would erupt at Patrick Taylor Academy. This would grab the attention of the state of Louisiana, and their investigation department had to go to work. The investigation would lead to the exposure of the involvement of the academy’s Principal to the surprise of many. Many did not suspect corruption from the top, but this has only encouraged them to don assumptions of frauds from the top officials. Were this happen to St. Mary’s, the necessary foundation of the School would be well shaken. I believe we are together on that. We must, therefore, eradicate this menace.
Statement of the problem
The New York Post (2019) reported some of the practices that entail grade-fixing. The article mentioned that truant learners from Maspeth HS were being loaded with fake classes that they needed on their transcripts to pass or acquire credit. This creates a false assumption of accomplishments, which is very dangerous for the learners’ futures. How befitting would it be for St. Mary’s School to secure their learners’ futures.
CBS New York (2015) also reported on a grade-fixing scandal five years ago at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn. It was reported that the mastermind behind the menace, so carefully dubbed, “Credit recovery Program” by the institution itself, was the Principal. Heaped upon that claim was the fact that a cut-throat strategy was employed by the Principal to ensure the program worked as seen fit. “If you didn’t follow the rules, they would crush you,” reported a teacher at the institution. This alone is a clear recipe for a decayed corporate leadership that will only bear a corrupt society. On this occasion, the teachers themselves blew the whistle.
The New York Post article also reported that the School wanted a higher graduation rate no matter what. It’s repudiating to see what lengths a few individuals are willing to go climbing the ladders of glory at the expense of their future. A future that they are responsible for. Responsibility should be taken seriously, and this, I would love to see St. Mary’s embraced wholeheartedly.
To make matters worse, the New York Post, on the Maspeth High scandal, also reported that a lot of students just stopped trying to achieve when they realized that they would never be given a failing grade. This would lead to the bad habit of unproductivity that would affect the learner’s productivities at work. To add insult to injury, some teachers also help the learners cheat.
From the aforementioned practices, it is clear that grade-fixing would only create an unfavorable environment for the learners. They would be at a disadvantage when they join institutions of higher learning institutionof the absence of skills they so profess to be having.
Proposed Solutions
To begin with, I propose a competency-based curriculum rather than one based on grades scored by the learners. Countries such as Singapore have successfully implemented such a curriculum, and it would be nice if we base our trials on them.
Secondly, I recommend an integrated digital education system for St. Mary’s to be developed. This would highly enable transparency on all activities of the institution. It would also welcome the participation of all the major stakeholders of the institution, including the Parents, Teachers, and students.
In addition to this, I recommend that St. Mary’s School should plan for a biannual academic review program that involves the parents and the teachers. The parents would be in a better position to enforce some qualities into their children after assessing their performances. These academic review program would involve parents evaluating their children’s performances in the presence of the subjects’ teachers. This type of first-hand information on performance is what is needed by St. Mary’s to eradicate this menace.
Also, it has been reported that this menace seems to crop from the top of the leadership ladder itself. To ensure this is minimized, I recommend that St. Mary’s conduct an annual education seminar on corporate social responsibility on their staff. This would help enforce some leadership skills that might have been dropped by the team.
St. Mary’s School should also work closely with the state’s authority to help in executing some top-notch decisions for the School, such as setting standards that line with those of the state and the nation as a whole.
Discipline should be observed in the whole hierarchy system of the institution to ensure enactments are enforced to the latter.
I also recommend that the body responsible for the recognition and award of performing institutions in the country should also vet their modus operandi. For is one institution is unfairly awarded, then it’s like the awarding body itself is responsible for the decay.
To end with, education is a responsibility that cannot be left in one man’s hand. It is a community responsibility, and therefore all must participate in ensuring that it attains the goals it so professed to aim for.
Audience selection
Primary Audience: The Chairman of St. Mary’s School Administration Board
Secondary Audience: St. Mary’s School CEO, Advisor to CEO, Chief of Staff, Chief Accountability Officer, Chief of School Support and Leadership Office, Chief of Special Education and Student Services Officer, and Chief Academic Officer.
Tertiary Audience: The State Authority, Religious leaders around the School, Parents of St. Mary’s School Students, The helping staff of St. Mary’s School.
Final Project keeper: Theresa Dudley, President of St. Mary’s School.
Mr. Christian Rhodes, the current Chief of Staff at St. Mary’s School
Conclusion
In conclusion, it has been pointed out that grade-fixing is a menace that needs to be eradicated. I have also shown the detrimental effects of grade-fixing, and it spells doom for every aspiring student. Events at John Dewey High School and Maspeth High should not repeat at any institution. It’s dehumanizing. Albeit St. Mary’s School has recently been affected by this problem, I have proposed possible solutions that I am very convinced will help the institution curb the menace. It would be serving for me if my recommendations were considered.