“what is more important — the quality of education in Manitoba schools or stubbornly clinging to a mistaken policy”
Remember when Manitoba teachers were once forbidden from giving zeroes to students who didn’t hand in assignments? At that time, even docking marks for late work was strongly discouraged.
Unsurprisingly, this approach failed miserably. Anyone with an ounce of common sense could see that this policy resulted in students choosing not to hand in assignments on time. And yet, no-zero policies were overwhelmingly supported by education professors and school administrators.
The earlier NDP government in Manitoba initially made the mistake of listening to bad advice from education professors. Former education minister Peter Bjornson even went as far as publicly defending no-zero policies by explaining that “a zero is not an accurate indicator of what the student has learned or achieved.”
Fortunately, soon after making that silly claim, Bjornson was replaced by Nancy Allan. Unlike her predecessor, Allan discerned that it made no sense to defend the indefensible. In 2010, Allan wisely announced that teachers could once again use their professional discretion to give zeroes to students who failed to hand in assignments.
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More.
Fact-checking research claims about math education in Manitoba
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2007 math forum audio video
Discovery Math
Singapore Math
Remedial math
Madison’s most recent Math Task Force
When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?
