Lowering the Grade Scale is Going To HELP Students' Education? Really???

Check out this website: http://m.imgur.com/ANy1J02 to read about a school who has lowered their grade scale to "help" students. Since when are homework completion, classroom activities, and studying non-academic??? Instead of lowering the grade scale, shouldn't they be raising the student learning level?

To clarify, I am NOT blaming teachers for this. A teacher can only do what a school district allows them to do, which in turn is doing what their State Board of Education is telling them to do or not to do. It's the government who has in fact has taken "education" out of the public school while trying so hard to only "teach" what's on the state tests. Instead of how much the students are truly retaining, the State is only worried about the scores of the state tests.

Whatever the public schools decide to do regarding this matter, and for whatever reasons, I just want to make it clear that my children, through their homeschooling experience here at Sisney H.O.U.S.E., have and will always be under the following grade scale (notice there are no "+" or "-" levels either):

     Grading Scale        Point Values
    A    =    4.00           93 – 100
    B    =    3.00           85 – 92
    C    =    2.00           77 – 84
    D    =    1.00           70 – 76
    E    =      .00           69 & below
    I    =    *Incomplete

My children, as my students, must make an effort to do their ALL of their assigned work and turn it in on time, must learn to STUDY for a test and truly learn the material not just cram for the exam. They are required to correct all their mistakes after papers are graded so that they, again, learn from those mistakes and understand why their answers were marked incorrect. Yes, that makes them have to work harder and it makes me have to grade papers twice. But we are talking about my daughters education here. We are not haphazardly going through the school year just to promote them to the next grade level. We are in it to EDUCATE our children.

We homeschool using the same academic requirements put forth by the state Board of Education, and usually exceed those requirements because we put more time into our schooling experience. We do the required work, but also "chase rabbits" so to speak and study topics and subjects that go beyond the average classroom and interest our children's personality. If they want to learn about the proper way to host a tea party, then we fit it into our schedule. If they want an up-close, be-there-when-it-happens, hands-on study about a calf being born, then we try to put them right there at the moment a calf is arriving into this world.

Part of the reason we choice to homeschool is because we do not believe in teaching to gain statistics on a report somewhere. I really don't think the teachers out there like to teach using that as their class goal either. If the government would allow teachers to get back to their original goal of teaching the STUDENTS, not teaching for that one state test grade, schools would not be failing on their state report cards.

It saddens me that a school would even consider lowering their grading scale thinking - or trying to convince parents - that they are helping the students. What should be happening is that the states should be making sure that their school districts have the funds to keep updated curriculum, hire enough teachers and aides, and stop dropping educational programs left and right (yes, I believe that art, music, drama, creative writing, etc. are educational).

Those countries who are "out scoring" America's students, like China and Italy, are attending school SIX days a week, not lowering the grade scale. And many attend PRIVATE schools, not their local public schools.