This Tuesday, Stuyvesant students were given their long anticipated report cards, detailing their performance over the past semester. Obviously, on one side (and I'll take the liberty to the say the bigger side) there was much heartbreak, tears, disappointment, and overall sadness. However, on other more cheerful side, there was probably satisfaction of a job well done and lots of relief. However, could all these emotions be attributed solely to the students themselves? I've heard many times in my career as the student that teacher don't give grade but only return what was given to them. While in theory, this statement may be true, how accurate is it in reality?
It is common knowledge and both in Stuyvesant, and every single other school in the world, some teachers are better or easier then others. Perhaps it is because these teachers teach the material better and the students therefore do better, or maybe it is because the curriculum and the tests the particular teacher uses is just simpler compared to their colleges. Therefore, it seems unfair to me to base a student's performance on the grade that the teacher gives them. One student could score a "B" in one teacher's class yet do the same amount of work and preparation for another teacher's class and "earn" a mere "C". While some of this unbalance is mitigated by the standardized finals, these too could be unfair, as depending on the teacher, students may to better or worse. I personally find this gap between "easy" teachers and "hard" teachers to be a serious issue within our educational system.
However, the real problem is the solution of this issue. While many suggestions may be given, each of these suggestions has their own problems. For example, President Obama is pushing for merit pay, or pay based on the performance of a teacher, as a solution for this discrepancy. While in theory this may be a good ideas, problems such the possibility of lowered standards or "teaching to test" may occur. Another proposed solution is to standardize the tests and curriculums of all students but this may in turn, drastically limit the freedom and creativity of teachings that teachers should have. It really seems as if there is no "correct solution" to this matter. However, what do you guys think is the best solution? Sound of in the comment section to express your own opinion on the matter.
