Getting "A"s on tests, still flunking

Willie has gotten an "A" on his math tests, but of course he's still flunking. 

He has not "done the work" as they say.  It's all about behavior, not knowledge. It doesn't matter if he knows math.   So they say he doesn't know math, when he does. 

The math teacher refuses to look at his own data showing boys won't do homework if they know their math. 

It's all about an obsolete outmoded "value" that Baby Boomers keep shoving at their students. No data or evidence that the value works (just the opposite) but that doesn't matter. See our political situation for more "faith based" versus "reality based"  values.

Comments

[Richard Mandau]

Knowledge without behavior results in a wasted life. If a person can't use the knowledge they posess than they are no better off than one who does not have that knowledge at all. We all know folks who have great knowledge, physical or artistic abilities, but lack the application of their God given talents.

[Fran Henslee]

There is a serious flaw in the grading scale when a student can make an A on the test, but still receive a grade of F. The way I structure my grading scale is such that the student will make a grade of C if they make an A on the test, but do not do the other work. It is the student's choice not to do the other work, but in my class that student would not fail, he would just get a grade 2 letter grades lower than what he could have achieved. That student should and obviously could do the work, but for some reason they choose not to. If the student does indeed know the material, they should not fail just because they don't do the other work, but they don't get an A in my class either.

[Suzanne Kart]

A test may show you know the subject, or that you're really good at memorizing (depending on the subject).

Even back in the olden days when I was in high school (1980s), that behavior-based model seemed boring and a waste of time.