Teachers at Berkeley High School often have a form of participation that factors into a student’s grade. However, some BHS teachers consider attendance when grading. As teachers consider adopting this policy, we must evaluate its merits. In California, it is illegal to put attendance into its own grading category. However, there are exceptions. If teachers make attendance part of a participation grade, they are allowed to deduct points. While this system might not impact some, it penalizes students for events outside of their control.
While this policy might serve as a preventative measure to students cutting or skipping class, teachers must account for alternative circumstances. Many students may be late to or absent for reasons out of their control. Circumstances from heavy traffic to a family emergency could get in the way of a student's attendance. Neither of these situations warrants a grade drop as they could not be controlled.
Already, if a student is tardy or absent from class, it is their responsibility to make up for the work that they missed. Losing points for attendance on top of having to make up missed work can be overwhelming. “I think (there are) extraneous situations where students can’t control their attendance, and that can lead to stress in that class,” Judah Press, a BHS sophomore, said.
If a student is barely holding onto an A and they miss a day of school, they may end up with a B for points they cannot recuperate. Not only is this unfair, but it creates stress and anxiety. “Sometimes teachers don’t always understand that in life there are circumstances beyond our control,” Press said.
Some argue that this grading policy is the only way to keep students accountable for their attendance. A 2009 National Center for Education Statistics study showed that attendance was shown to affect students’ education for the rest of their lives. High school dropouts in the study were revealed to have a history of school absences. A 2010 meta-analysis by the American Educational Research Association found that weak attendance was correlated with lower high school GPAs.
However, the BHS attendance policy states that there are already measures in place to improve student attendance. Students who have 30 unexcused period absences or more are not eligible for work permits or prom. These policies are more than enough to incentivize students to remain in class.
In summary, while some argue that graded attendance leads to academic success, this policy causes unwarranted stress on students. There are far too many uncontrollable conditions that affect attendance for this policy to be just.