Lynden Dorval, an Edmonton teacher, plans to fight the suspension he received for going against his school’s policy not to give grades of zero. Dorval has taught physics at Ross Sheppard High School for 15 years and has worked in the Edmonton Public School system for 35 years.
About a year and a half ago, the school adopted a policy that replaces marks of zero with assigning behavior codes for formative assessments.
He says the problem with this is that the marks program doesn’t recognize anything that isn’t numerical, meaning students’ marks are only based on the work they have actually done. He has continued to hand out zeros to students, dismaying his employer.
Dorval claims that the practice has been common in junior high for over a decade and that high school teachers have had to deal students a dose of reality once they reach Grade 10. “They just haven’t had any accountability; they were just pushed through,” he said. “It’s promoting students without having them do the work.”
Edgar Schmidt, the superintendent for the Edmonton public school board, expects teachers working for the board to follow assessment plans. “It is my expectation that once an assessment plan is in place, all staff work and adhere to that expectation,” he said. He denies that the behavior code system gives students an easy pass.
He explains that teachers give students feedback on the work they do, and if it is not handed in or not complete, then it is coded. Dorval argued that incomplete and zero are two different things, adding that they give every opportunity to demonstrate what the student knows.
Dorval says he has talked to several times since the policy was brought in because he continued to hand out zeros to students who didn’t do the work. “We are talking about high school students.
These are people who are on the verge of being adults. I think it makes them accountable,” he said, adding that at the beginning of every semester, he hands out a sheet letting students know that he still gives zeros.
“That’s just not how I’ve done my evaluations over the 30 years. When I give zeros, I give students infinite chances to make up the work they didn’t do.” The suspension is indefinite. Dorval has up to 21 days to appeal, which he says he plans to do. “I definitely plan to. I don’t expect to win but I have to try.”
Content contributed by Allison Salz, reported from Edmonton, Canada, sourced by QMI Agency
