As a high school teacher, I try so hard to give kids all the differentiation they need to accommodate different learning styles and speeds. I keep parents informed through progress reports and report cards of some pretty dismal record of attendance, classwork, behavior and exams. I explain over and over again when I have to, to the kids who drift in late or think we owe it to them if they’re absent half the time. I search tirelessly for yet another way to convey a difficult concept, and I correct papers at night filled with mistakes that should have been sorted out by 5th grade.

Credit recovery is the absolute wrong solution for these kids. It reinforces what they already know so well: how to shirk responsibility for their own learning and get one heckuva a freebie as they enter adulthood.

That being said, we have no choice but to repeat that statement again. Regardless, your post, like gothamschools’ attention to this issue, and the excellent recommendations above are crucial.

Bogus Credit Recovery is destructive on so many levels. GGW, it spawns the opposite of high expectations. In my district the kids say that Credit Recovery “exercizes the right click finger.” It encourages students to cut class, and cut other corners, figuring that they’ll get bailed out in the end. Some get bailed out enough to graduate, becoming the B students who then flunk out of college and ending up in debt. Some students will always dig themselves into a hole that is not too deep. Younger students see seniors walking the halls, having fun, with the help of Credit Recovery they walk across the stage. But then, even more of the younger students dig themselves into too deep of a hole.

Just as bad currency drives out sound money and bad tests drive out good ones, bogus Credit Recovery poisons the well for other self-paced digital schools. We have a lot of online tools that are not for everybody, but they could be a constructive supplement, but in this dishonest “reform” climate the potential for misue is greater than the potential good.

Besides, what is the value of the information learned by Credit Recovery, as opposed to the dangerous lessons that we teach teens – that all of that talk by adults about “consequences” is baloney? You don’t need to show up for class, the rules don’t apply to you, and you can scrape by with a minimum of effort, and no integrity.

Of course, everything I say about Credit Recovery could be applied to other results of data-driven accountability such as test prep, working off absences, and gaming the systems. But that’s the point. The lies that surround Credit Recovery like the lies that surround the other unintended results of data-driven accountability are polluting our educational values.

I know that I sound crotchety. Its hard to believe that I’m sounding so conservative, since I still believe that a key purose of education is teaching creative insubordination. But we still need the value of an honest day’s work. We still need to teach teens that there are consequences.

And finally, look at the effect on educational policy. Gothamschools is one of the few places where you can read the whole story on NYC’s miracle test scores. Its like the bubble that just burst in finance. The ideologues claimed that the system would balance itself out, and that if one part of the financial engineering was unsound, the Market would correct itself. And yes, it finally did. But the bubble grew to dangerous levels because one engineered piece of data, unrelated to reality, led to another, and another, and eventually we had an entire bloated system based on lies.

Had there been a bottom line based on reality, the system would not have grown so malignant. Credit Recovery is the tool that allows us to keep up the lies. How was it framed under Bush? “Reality is just the old paradigm.”

TO: Meryl Tisch, Chairman, Board of Regents
Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Associate Commissioner, NYS Education Department
EMSC Committee.

FROM: Alan Maisel, Member of the Assembly

RE: Draft Proposal Policy on “Making-up” Course Credit and Receiving Course Credit for Independent Study

A year ago, as a result of a complaint by a teacher, the SED examined the “credit recovery” program at a New York City high school and found it inadequate. In the ensuing months the NYC Department of Education took no action, and, disappointingly, neither did the SED.

This year the Chancellor met with the Assembly Education Committee on a number of occasions, we asked a number of questions about credit recovery, unfortunately, the Chancellor gave vague and unsatisfactory answers.

I am encouraged that the SED has asked for comments, however I am find the draft policy proposal lacking.

For many years the Board of Education required each high school to form a Course Accreditation Committee, made of the Principal or their designee, the Teacher Union representative, the Guidance Counselor and an appropriate subject area teacher. The Committee reviewed all proposals for credit recovery, independent study and elective courses. The findings of the Committees were forwarded to the Superintendent for approval.

Bullet # 2 should be amended as follows:

A school-based panel consisting of the principal, the assistant principal (Guidance), the building teacher union representative, a guidance counselor and a teacher (not the student’ teacher) who is certified in the subject area of the course must approve all make-up credit.

Credit recovery program must be submitted to the area superintendent for approval.

Credit recovery courses shall appear on student transcripts as well as the original failing grades. Schools shall be required to submit reports each semester to the SED detailing the students in credit recovery courses by course and students who have earned credit recovery credits.

Students shall not earn course credit through credit recovery for more than three (3) credits.

If a student failed a course and was absent more than 50% of the time the student shall not be eligible for credit recovery.

Schools and school districts are encouraged to be flexible in meeting the needs of all students and credit recovery and independent study are acceptable options, however, the failure to establish clear and transparent regulations is unacceptable.

We fear that the recent increase in New York City graduation rates may be the result of unregulated credit recovery programs, and, I urge the SED to include my suggestions in their final regulations.

“Re-establishing high academic expectations for our youth.”

Not sure it can be re-established. Needs to be established. Right now, we know that most NYC public school kids from open-admissions schools who DO graduate go on to struggle (and often drop out) of college.

In fairness to this Chancellor and all urban superintendents, they’re boxed in:

A. They have a low standards problem (and need to raise it so their alums, their “B average” kids, don’t flunk out of college once there)…

B. They have a high standards problem (the low standards still lead to a number of kids leaving, hence ideas like credit recovery).

Do you have specific ideas on what to do?