This is becoming a theme on Pratt on Texas: Are Texas public school administrators honest with parents, students and taxpayers? Take for example the no-pass, no-play rules demanded by Texans of every stripe years ago.
One of my big school district inside sources has provided me with an email sent to faculty at the end of September. The email, beyond question, has an administrator suggesting that the spirit of no-pass, no-play laws be systematically broken by teachers.
The text of this particular email, sent by an administrator, reads: “The coaches would like to remind everyone that if you have a student that has not completed work for the six weeks period, that you give them an incomplete. If the grade goes in as not passing, that is how it will be counted for UIL. Let me know if you have questions.”
Well leader, of a big academically-failing high school campus, I have questions beyond the basic grammatical mistakes in your email: Is it your intention to have teachers circumvent no-pass, no-play laws by marking a student as incomplete even though the teacher knows said student has failed? How, big school administrator, is this ethical or right in any way?
Friends, this is not the exception. From what I’ve seen this type of behavior is the rule, especially among the campuses and districts which seem to get the worst marks on accountability measurements. It seems many are far more interested in skirting, or cheating, the system than in demanding academic excellence and working to achieve such.
Is it any wonder their students do the same?