selling grades for a good cause?

My highschooler told me about something his teacher did that has me a little shocked and outraged. I'm doing a reality check and looking for feedback especially from teachers or those familiar with normal high school practices.

In short, my son's teacher offered to give 20 extra credit points to any student in the class who brought in $25 to go to the teacher's favorite charity. For perspective, 20 extra credit points is enough to raise a final exam grade by 10%, e.g. from an 80% to a 90%. It would probably raise the final grade in the class at least a couple of points.

I don't think the teacher was pocketing the money; it was done in conjunction with a school-wide fundraiser this fall. But isn't this teacher just selling grades? And isn't this a blatant violation of her ethical duty to grade her students based on ability and effort, not on how much money they "donate" to charity? Or do teachers routinely give extra credit for things that have nothing remotely to do with the content of the course?

How should I proceed? I'm hesitant to confront the teacher directly in case my child "misunderstood" the offer (always a possibility) and she takes it out on my son in future. I don't want to contact the administration until I'm sure it's true.

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What's so different in this case???
puppycat's picture
Submitted by puppycat on Fri, 01/05/2007 - 8:54am.

Came across this article after reading your blog! It's happening everywhere! My kids tell me stories like this all the time. If they bring in canned goods for a food drive, they get extra credit; print an article, get extra points, etc. The grades we see some of the time are not a true reflection of our childrens knowledge, but it sure helps the schools and teachers grades go up. Just some food for thought! Here is that article:

WALNUT HILL, Fla. -- It's three years probation for a Pensacola, Fla., middle school teacher accused of allowing students to miss gym class in exchange for money.

Tamara Tootle will also voluntarily surrender her Florida Education Certification permanently and perform 300 hours of community service.

Tootle pleaded no contest to six felony counts of third-degree bribery.

Authorities said the former Ernest Ward Middle School teacher gave students who didn't participate or dress for her gym class a 100 percent participation grade in exchange for $1 during the 2004-2005 school year.

Although she will not teach during her probation, Tootle's teaching career outside of Florida hasn't completely been ruled out, said Assistant State Attorney John Simon, who prosecuted the case.

"That's an issue we still have to figure out," Simon told the Pensacola News Journal. "For now, she is not to teach in any public or private school."

Another gym teacher at the school, Terence Braxton, pleaded guilty in May to six counts of felony bribery. He was sentenced to three years of probation and also had his state teaching certificate revoked.

Escambia School District spokesman Ronnie Arnold told the paper that Tootle and Braxton paid "a heavy price for a poor decision."

"It's sad," he said. "But something like this is just common sense. When we got into education, we all knew we'd have to live to a higher standard."
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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re: selling grades
Submitted by Proud2BWcat on Wed, 01/03/2007 - 7:24pm.

It is totally wrong in my opinion, morally and ethically. What does the school code of conduct say? maybe the teacher in this case needs to read it again.

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