Failsafe

That is the form that students have their fates decided. The 8th grade students who are either not passing or in danger of not passing have to get them filled out to see what they will be doing next year.

1. They'll be in 9th grade next year with their classmates.
2. They'll be in summer school making up the classes they failed, then going on to 9th grade.
3. They'll get to enjoy middle school for a 4th or 5th year. Yes, I did say 5th year.

I would say that 1/3 of my students had this form for me to fill out and I am happy to say that the majority (80%+) passed at least one of the two quarters and assuming they pass English will be 9th graders next year. The rest will either be taking summer school or repeating 8th grade. I took no pleasure in failing students but they didn't do enough work to pass. I took plenty of pleasure with the kids who had a 45% last quarter and a 77% this quarter. Think about that, their math grade improved 32% simply because they started turning in work.