When Atlanta Public Schools summer school began this year, administrators had no plan to determine whether the 776 high school students enrolled passed or failed.
It was only shortly before the final week of the three-week program that they came up with a plan for grading students, according to district spokeswoman Jill Strickland. That plan involves basing half of students’ grades on online classes they took in the first two weeks of summer school and half on face-to-face instruction during the final week.
An internal district memo described the change as a way “to provide greater opportunity for our students to be successful.”
In a shift from past years, classes were taught largely online this year, with students sitting at computers in APS classrooms.
APS' online classes have come under criticism from some Atlanta teachers who say they're a poor substitute for a full-time, live teacher.
That’s not the only midstream change to summer school this year. The district also added two additional days of class and ditched online instruction for the final week of class, requiring all classes to be taught face-to-face.
In response to questions about the changes, Strickland provided a written statement: “The district took this action based on the varying learning modalities of our students — meaning some students work better face-to-face.”
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