Retakes Get a Remake in Recent Revision of School Board Policy
Written by Sydney Weber
Photo by Zehrah Ali
Retakes are a central part of academics at East Ridge. While they’re never the best case scenario, having the option for a retake after doing badly on a test is crucial for students’ success. Recently, the school board released a new district wide retake policy to be implemented this school year, and it’s game-changing.
The policy states that all students who earn below a 70% on a summative assessment are allowed at least one retake, and that retake can earn students up to 100%. Students who originally scored above a 70% may retake at the discretion of their teacher. In the old policy, students could only retake up to 70%. The opportunity to retake for full points is new ground for East Ridge, and both teachers and students seem unsure how to navigate it.
Teacher Matthew Howard states that, “While I do have some concerns about how this policy is going to work for students, I’m hoping that everyone is going to be able to make the most out of it. The worry is that there are going to be too many new things going on for both teachers and students, and how that is going to impact retakes. Ultimately, I want it to be something that makes sure everyone is doing what is fair and best for students.”
The new policy leaves possible retakes for students with scores above a C- up to teachers, which has been controversial for many. Senior Haileigh Smith states that, “I think everyone should be able to retake because everyone deserves to get full points if they put in the work. If you only allow 70% and lower to retake, what about everyone who scored a bit above that still put in the work before the test?” Senior Libby Walzer supports the new policy as she states, “I love the new retake policy. Everyone should have the opportunity to get points back and relearn. I think it’s going to be a lot more work for teachers though, coming in before and after school and working with kids to relearn content, especially if more kids start retaking. I think that’s what we should be promoting here though.”
The policy also outlines that a student must complete a “relearning plan” before retaking an assessment. The plan is up to the teacher. Some students have speculated that the new policy may encourage more students to retake with the hope of getting full points, which would create many more relearning plans the teacher has to keep track of. Howard states that, “I am still processing how I’m going to go about everything. I want to do what is best for my students, but this will certainly change how I teach and do retakes.”
Whether students are in favor of the policy or have some complaints, they still seek to promote academic success for both themselves and their peers, and they want that success to be earned fairly rather than given. Senior Reghan Sikorski states, “I think it's important to support kids who maybe tried hard for a test but just aren’t good test takers or had a bad day, but I think there should still be implications to make sure students are actually putting in the work. I think that tests should be different. Same concepts, different questions, so that students actually have to learn instead of memorizing.”
There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding this new policy, and both students and teachers will have to work together to navigate it. The success of students at East Ridge is the school’s first priority, so whether this policy turns out to benefit most students or not, it may be a step in the right direction.
