The F(ailure) Crisis

ElEanor WE stmorEland STAFF WRITER

A student walks into their first class in high school.

One school year later, they fail it. They could retake the class, relearn the subject, and move on with high school. They could also, instead of moving on, hate high school classes, feel worse about themselves, and consequently, do worse.

Sadly, this is an ouroboros a student can easily find themselves in.

“A failing grade means the student did not master the course content and will likely struggle for coming years without a lot of extra support,” said Robin Lake, Director of the Center of Reinventing Public Education, in an interview with The New York Times.

We know that a lot of pressure from failing classes could be taken off the students if they pass classes, but how can we help more students pass classes?

According to an article by the Gates Foundation, ninth grade can be a critical point in how students go into high school. Someone who fails classes in ninth grade may be unsure they can succeed in high school, while a student who passes ninth grade classes will have reinforced thoughts that they can.

Social Studies teacher Stacie Forbes teaches freshman classes where this very idea is applicable.

“[Passing classes] also depends on new materials and new versions of classes,” Forbes said.

Forbes’ teaching style changes depending on what the students need and what materials there are.

The intent of this strategy is to boost

How can we raise grades and help students not be held back?

everyone’s score by making sure everyone understands the material.

Math teacher Grant Melville teaches Honors Algebra A/B and he maintains an average grade of a B+/A- despite student behavior.

it. Some people have outside things, but when you are just playing on your phone, I feel like you are just trying to check out,” Melville said. Melville aids students by being there before and after class, and, if the whole class is struggling, Melville will guide students toward better study options for them. This makes Melville’s classes more engaging to the students, as shown through the average grade.

at whether or not this is a case of students simply doing badly or not doing assignments… If it’s a case of missing assignments, oftentimes I’ll seek out the student and talk to them individually about what they are missing. If a student is simply not understanding and turning in poorly graded work consistently, then I just need to talk to the student and figure out what they are failing to understand in class,” said Mocny.

Mocny helps his students individually. This can be an arduous process if lots of students need help, but Mocny has clearly shown results in his work with his 0% fail rate.

“You have a choice, do you want to try to do the math? Obviously, some students are choosing to check out by being on their phone playing games or putting their head down, and I get

English teacher John Mocny is in his first year teaching at Holt and teaches a variety of english classes, including AP Literature. He had no one fail in his first semester teaching.

“When grades are low, I look

Senior Steven Hodges shared his thoughts on teaching styles.

“I struggle with teachers who are unorganized. When you walk into a classroom and things are strewn about or irritated or teachers take a long time to grade, it’s just a red flag. If they can’t keep it together, then how can you?” Hodges said.

Hodge’s ability to do well is related to the organization of the teacher, something others might experience.

Senior Eddie Tobias spoke about how students generally can change after failing classes.

“I definitely feel worse about going into higher level classes after failing, but my attitude is more ‘I’m gonna try this time, I’m gonna give it my all,’” Tobias said.

Tobias, in general, felt bad going into future classes, but because hew was motivated from past failure, he was able to have a mindset that helped him do better overall.

An anonymous junior talked about how having bad grades can lead to poor mental health and vice versa.

“A lot of parents will punish their kids for [insufficient grades]. My parents did it sometimes, but not as much as they used to. It can lead into a negative feedback loop. If a kid fails a class, a kid can get depressed, and that can prevent them from doing work,” the anonymous student said.

It is clear that some kids get stuck in a cycle of feeling bad and failing classes.

One thing students never mentioned is that the classes they have taken are hard. It’s likely that teachers have a big impact on the grades of their students. Teachers adapting their teaching methods to their students’ needs and helping them through the course is, according to the students interviewed, likely to change future grades.