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Kennedy High School in La Palma, California gave out IDs and student planners in three different colors to its students based on how well they performed on state standardized tests. The school distributed black and gold cards to students who scored "advanced" or "proficient" on the tests--distinctions that gave them special privileges and discounts at school events and at some local businesses
I've actually never seen this before - during my school days we just had the honor role. Is this a widespread practice?
Do you agree that students should be ID-ed based on their academic performance? Should students with better grades also receive special privileges? Or is this really damaging for the other students' self-esteem and can cause other problems? The article mentioned there were condescending attitudes towards those with a lower-graded card.
I don't think this is right at all. A test is not an absolute measure of how intelligent a child is or is not. Some kids are very intelligent but don't do well on tests.
I don't think this is right at all. A test is not an absolute measure of how intelligent a child is or is not. Some kids are very intelligent but don't do well on tests.
And some kids are not good at football either, but maybe athletic in "other" ways, should they get football varsity jackets? If not, should no one get football varsity jackets?
There is nothing wrong with recognizing achievement. And for the record, recognizing one type of achievement (test scores in this case) does not diminish other types of achievement.
Not a good idea, although I do think that students should continue to be tested and graded. Differentiation will likely come in the usual ways - in their future careers and incomes.
Not a good idea, although I do think that students should continue to be tested and graded. Differentiation will likely come in the usual ways - in their future careers and incomes.
So should we shield the students from the future differentiation or let them get used to it at a younger age? Do you think this would encourage students to work harder or give them another reason to quit school/give up?
I don't think this is right at all. A test is not an absolute measure of how intelligent a child is or is not. Some kids are very intelligent but don't do well on tests.
Good point. Students can be intelligent/gifted but not score highly on standardized tests. Would this ID be more acceptable if it was based on report cards instead of a standardized test?
It is clear from a young age that some students are more talented in some areas than others. Some are musically talented (a gift I sorely lack to my regret), some are gifted athletes, etc. Acknowledging these talents is not considered a slight to those who do not have them.
Yet, intelligence, another skill based on both inherent genetic traits and work (like most other talents) is held to some other type of accountability. I have always told my daughter there will be people smarter than her, because there will be. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that or acknowledging the achievements of those who "test" better than she does.
Maybe everyone's self worth is wrapped up in being smart now, but I am not sure why that is. Not everyone is smart. That is not an insult. Its a statement of fact.
Personally, I would rather the school acknowledge those who work hard but if there are plenty of resources (not likely in a Cali school) it is perfectly fine acknowledging those who met a particular goal, even if that goal was a test score.
Do you agree that students should be ID-ed based on their academic performance? Should students with better grades also receive special privileges? Or is this really damaging for the other students' self-esteem and can cause other problems? The article mentioned there were condescending attitudes towards those with a lower-graded card.
Thanks for your thoughts
It's about time high achievers got recognition for their hard work and intelligence. They certainly won't get it in society, and they'll be heavily taxed (punished) by government if they continue to work hard and succeed.
And "low esteem" is no longer the problem it was when I was growing up (1960s and 70s). The problem now is that younger generations have far too high an opinion of themselves, and think they deserve a life of luxury just because their parents always treated them like God's gift to the world (of course, the reason our generation raised kids like that was BECAUSE we had low self-esteem, and we desperately wanted our kids to like us and consider us their best friends).
Sports stars have always been given special privileges and recognition in school--something that makes no sense, since school should be about academics and not recreation. Even back when I was going to college, I didn't qualify for scholarships despite straight-As, because my family had a relatively high income (but only for 3 years, then my Dad had to retire early due to health). All the academic scholarships required you to be low income, while all the sports scholarships (and there were tons of them) ignored income altogether.
Our society seems to despise and look down on intelligence, although we heavily depend on those people to work hard keeping the nation's systems functional. Intelligence is NOT correlated to financial reward in our society, which is one of the reasons our economy is so dysfunctional--we reward arrogant Narcissism instead.
In the school system--the ONE time in life that high intelligence and learning ability are actually recognized--it seems that many are obsessed with pretending everyone is exactly the same, and everyone has equal value to society. Unfortunately, a school system is meant to differentiate between the most intelligent and the least, so that career paths can be decided. Doctors and engineers have to be pretty smart to get through their educations and careers, while graphic artists can be very intellectually challenged while still being superstars.
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