DOE is setting kids up for failure

THE scariest part about the devastating report into cheating at Maspeth HS is how the Department of Education has responded to such scandals.

The biggest issue, to them, is not that Maspeth’s principal graduated students who didn’t pass classes. Or that students were fed answers to tests. It’s that grades and tests even exist.

Consider one Maspeth administrator’s response when asked why he fed answers to a student during a test. According to texts acquired by investigators, the administrator writes:

“What’s worse, her thinking she can’t do it or that’s she’s smart?”

A teacher responds: “that she’s smart when she’s not. that’s setting her up for failure.”

“You don’t get it man,” the administrator replies. “You came from a very black and white background in private schools. But it’s different here. It’s different because I’m not going to not even give these kids a shot at the real world because they didn’t pass HS. That’s ridiculous. She shows up everyday and tries. Maybe not in algebra because she’s GIVEN UP. That’s why its a bulls--t system.”

This attitude is not isolated. You see it in every move the DOE makes.

The DOE wants schools to do away with honor rolls and valedictorians because “recognizing student excellence via honor rolls and class rank can be detrimental to learners who find it more difficult to reach academic success, often for reasons beyond their control.”

They want to make grades “holistic,” whether or not students know the answers. They want to make getting into Bronx Science and Stuyvesant based on demographics and not achievement.

In short: The DOE wants to take what Maspeth did and make it policy.

But the solution is not to punish the intelligent and hardworking. It’s to provide opportunities for everyone. Give students the option of vocational school or GEDs. Don’t just pass kids because you’ve given up.

That teacher who objected to Maspeth’s cheating scheme is absolutely right. You are setting that student up for failure.

We can’t let that happen to the entire school system.