Is the 50-Percent Rule Really Helping Students?
“Rule Helps Students To Keep Trying”
In 2006, MCPS made the wise decision of implementing the 50-percent rule. The rule prohibits teachers from giving low, failing grades. Although some contend that the rule allows students to slack off, the 50-percent rule actually encourages students to keep trying and not give up on a course in which they struggle.
Student athletes benefit the most, because the rule makes it easier for them to balance school and sport while remaining eligible. Assuming student-athletes do their homework for a completion grade worth 10 percent of the overall grade, the 50-percent rule nearly guarantees a passing grade for the students who give an effort. The 50-percent rule not only can help keep students eligible, but also helps those talented athletes to have a better GPA as college coaches consider them for their teams.
Without the 50-percent rule, students could not study (as most occasionally do), fail a test and receive such a low grade that it brings them down an entire letter grade in a class. Tanking on a 100-point summative grade could be detrimental to a grade, but the 50-percent rule takes away some of the sting to the overall grade.
The 50-percent rule is not just for those students struggling to pass a class. Students who consistently earn As and Bs on assignments should not see all their hard work ruined by one terrible grade. Emergencies and illnesses do occur. There are also times when students have so much to do that they cannot give their usual effort to everything. Students’ overall grade should reflect the totality of their effort in a class, and the 50-percent rule helps ensure this is the case.
Those against the 50-percent rule may argue that students will abuse the rule and use it as a free pass to slack off. While some students may take advantage of the rule, these same students likely aren’t even bothering to complete their homework or turn in assignments. In other words, they are going to fail the course whether there is a 50-percent rule or not.
Instead of the 50-percent rule being a way to slack off, it gives students more incentive to do well. Due to the fact that students may get away with a few poor grades here and there, they will study for their tests knowing that if they did not understand the material, it is not the end of the world in their high school lives.
“Rule Rewards Students for Slacking”
In 2001, President George W. Bush established the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which aimed to make it possible for every child to graduate high school. States and districts were expected to make adjustments to reflect the goals of the federal law. In response to NCLB requirements, MCPS established the 50-percent rule, in which students automatically receive at least a 50 percent if they show any effort to pass an assignment. Therefore, a student who actually earned 20/100 on a test, for example, would be bumped up to a 50/100.
The rationale for the 50-percent rule is to ensure that one or more awful grades do not ruin a student’s overall grade in class and lead the student to quit the class. However, in reality, the rule permits students to pick and choose when they want to try on assignments, quizzes and tests. There have been many times over a student’s high school career where he/she has a mentality of, “I don’t care, I’ll just get my 50 percent because I really don’t feel like studying.” The MCPS policy provides a means for students to work the system rather than actually obtain knowledge.
Granted, getting a 50 percent on the majority of assignments still will result in a horrible grade in a class, but there is still a hugely important distinction between passing and not passing a class. The 50-percent rule permits students to pass classes—and eventually graduate—when they did not earn it. It also sends the wrong message about how the real world works. College professors will not give half-credit just for trying. Bosses certainly will not give credit to an employee for doing very poorly. Just the opposite; the person will be fired.
As I reflect back on my high school career, I have to admit that it is hard to imagine making it without the 50-percent rule. But I now realize something else: the rule has taught me how to manipulate the system to get something I didn’t really earn. Too often, I have tried to work out the minimum grade that I can receive while doing the least amount of work possible rather than actually studying for the class. This mentality is something that I cannot take with me into the real world. MCPS cannot be blamed for my slacking off, but the 50-percent rule contributed to it by making it easier to work the system and pass by doing the very minimum in my high school courses.