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by Karen Goff — June 28, 2016 at 9:00 am 9 Comments

Metro Downsizing — Metro GM Paul Weidefeld says 500 Metro jobs will be eliminated in a cost-savings measure. [Washington Post]

New FCPS Grading Policy Will Help Struggling Students — “No Zero” will attempt to eliminate zeros from grades. Students who make an attempt will be given no lower than a 50, according to new guideline. [WTOP]

Congrats, HHS Class of 2016 — Here is a recap of Hornet graduation ceremonies held at George Mason University. [Connection]

Photo: First day of Reston Association Camps 2016/Credit: RA

Lil Snowflakes

So low performing students are allowed to turn in work late, retake tests, and can’t score below a 50. This is no way to prepare them for the rest of their lives.
- cRAzy
  
  This is Lake Wobegon–where everyone is above average!
- JoeInReston
  
  There are two ways to solve the ‘too many students are failing’ problem:
  a) Help the struggling students so they don’t fail
  b) Redefine failure as barely passing (ie pass everybody)
  
  Solution (a) is a very hard problem to solve
  Solution (b) is easy to implement.
  
  Obviously solution (b) is not palatable to the general public. Thats why the explanation is disguised in the ‘participation trophy’ logic. Nobody likes participation trophy logic, but it doesn’t sound nearly as bad as “pass everybody”. So we all roll our eyes, complain about it the stupidity, but let the system proceed.
  - BagOfHammers
    
    Did you read about the new guidelines? It is NOT a pass everybody solution.
    
    There are two ways for Restonians to comment on this blog:
    (a) do a bit of research and comment intellengently
    (a) make stuff up and complain because your too lazy or too stupid and didn’t get the second chance to better yourself
    - JoeInReston
      
      Yes, I employed a little hyberbole – the horror – but only a little.
      
      This is how you would fail according to the article:
      
      —
      “I don’t think it’s going to mean that nobody’s going to fail, because in the end if a student doesn’t do any work, they’re still going to receive a zero,” Hickerson said.
      —
      
      So the student need only apply some chicken scratch. But they don’t need to demonstrate any knowledge. They don’t have to get anything correct.
      
      Sorry, I don’t see any other value of this system, other than to pass more students through the system and lower the drop out rate.
susie

I wonder what population this new grading scale is targeting?
- LuvinHillary
  
  Easy: Trump supporters.
  - susie
    
    What a stupid retort.
    - LuvinHillary
      
      Stupid is what stupid does

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