F RI DAY, A P RI L 25, 2014
Band’s Hawaii Trip
Vaping: Superior alternative LIFESTYLES page 8
Too Many Thus
Popular Sports Events Sports page 11
FEATURES pages 6 & 7
VOLUME 55 NO. 7
FLIPSIDE page 12
The Prospector
CHSPROSPECTOR.ORG
Student Newspaper of Cupertino High School
10100 FINCH AVENUE, CUPERTINO, CA 95014
Excerpts from FUHSD’s Academic Policy
THE GRADE
TRADE
An inside look at questionable TA grading practices STAFF REPORT
The names of all student TAs interviewed for this article have been changed to protect their confidentiality. Over the past several years, an increase in the student population has led to a rise in the importance of teacher assistants, or TAs, in grading student work. As teachers face growing volumes of graded assignments, many have turned to TAs as an easy, efficient way to keep up with grading. However, the rapid swell in the size of the TA program has brought unexpected problems, some of which directly defy the Fremont Union High School District’s legal and ethical codes. The most glaring problem with the TA system is that of legality, or which tasks students are legally allowed to perform under the title of “Teacher Assistant.” The district’s Board Policy outlines the specific duties of TAs, which include filing paperwork and delivering messages. Nowhere among these enumerated tasks is a mention of grading of any sort — in fact, the policy expressly forbids it, stating that “the teachers are solely responsible for information in grade books and for maintaining confidentiality of student records.” Furthermore, the school has instituted its own policy against TAs grading student work, as outlined by Principal Kami Tomberlain. “TA’s should not be grading subjective work,” Tomberlain said. “They should be grading things for which there is an answer [that is] either right or wrong.” Work that is “subjective” includes any type of writing, according to Tomberlain — and even specifically outlining what should be in the writing is not enough to guarantee a lack of subjectivity. Thus, this type of grading is supposed to be left up to the teachers; however, in reality, student TAs are grading subjective work more and more often.
Science TA Kenneth Hammond has graded numerous student essays, lab reports and quizzes — all of which can be considered subjective work. Although he uses a key, his work is almost never checked by a teacher, in yet another violation of both the school’s and the district’s policy. “We are the last eyes, the last people to look at [an essay],” Hammond said, referring to himself and his fellow TAs. Although each essay passes through the hands of three different TAs in an attempt to establish equitable grading, the lack of teacher supervision stands in clear opposition to the school code. “The teacher should look at the material … a TA should not be tallying a grade and writing it in the gradebook [if] at no point does it ever pass through the teacher’s hands,” Tomberlain said. The main reason for this opposition to student grading stems from the fact that under the eyes of the law, students are not qualified to issue grades, as they lack any formal training. According to Tomberlain, the authority of TAs in issuing grades “depends... on how well they are trained.” However, when Hammond was asked whether he received any formal training, he said this was not the case. Furthermore, there is no grade requirement to be a TA — for example, a student does not have to receive an A in a class in order to serve as a TA for that class the next school year. “The only thing really required is your enthusiasm,” Hammond said. “[Anyone] could ask [the teachers] to be a TA and would let you.” Another violation — this time of the Academic Honesty Policy — occurs when teachers neglect to secure all student work, leaving it readily accessible to TAs. Teacher Assistants “have easy access to cabinets [containing] student assignments [as well as] lab books,” according to science TA Sean Carter. This series of legal and ethical violations has far-reaching QUESTIONABLE PRACTICES, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
“Student assistants shall not record student grades in teacher’s grade book or computer program” “The teacher will ensure that grades in mark documents and the grade book are private and safe, not allow teaching assistants (TAs) to make or maintain grade entries” “Educators accept responsibility to practice their profession according to the highest ethical standards. Educators recognize the magnitude of the responsibility they have accepted in choosing a career in education ...”
The Michael Project One student’s initiative to support a friend THU DAM
LEAN ON ME | Ishan Sharma poses with friend and fellow
sophomore Michael Munson. Sharma’s efforts to help Munson through a difficult time have been dubbed “The Michael Project”
SERENA NGAN photo crew
MARVIN WANG news assistant
Last February, sophomore Michael Munson’s father suffered a severe injury after falling into Calabazas Creek, where he was walking his dog. The fall paralyzed him from the chest down, a condition called partial quadriplegia. Because of this incident, Munson now faces the possibility of moving away from his residency here in Cupertino, as his father is not able to earn money to pay for their housing and the family is unable to afford everyday necessities such as groceries and clothing, things that students take for granted everyday. Despite MICHAEL MUNSON PROJECT, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2