Are schools safe for kids?

 And you thought school was safe?

An aide in the DC public schools has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge for putting hot sauce in the mouth of a nine-year old non-verbal child on the autism spectrum because “he deserved it”.  Under an agreement, the D.C. Superior Court judge could dismiss the charge if Davis stays out of trouble and completes community service before her July 22 court sentencing.  If that happens her record will be cleansed and there will be no record of her having committed the behavior.

A teacher who saw the behavior reported it to the principal who reported the situation to Child Protective Services.  At the present time the District refuses to report on the employment status of the aide.  There is no record of her having been terminated or disciplined.  If her court record is expunged she will be free of any indication that this behavior occurred.

The incident comes in the wake of a broader investigation into the delivery of special education services by DC public schools.  The investigation began last year before the demolition of U.S Office of Education by the current administration.  So there is no update on where the investigation is heading.

The incident happened on September 11.  The mother’s attorney has informed the District of the mother’s intent to sue if the two sides cannot negotiate a settlement to the family’s civil battery claim.

The school has said it has offered “support” to the child and the family, although it is not clear exactly what that support is.  The mom has previously reported her child had come home with scratches and bruises in recent weeks.   The school told her that “probably” happened on the bus ride but there was no investigation.  Six months later, the child is still refusing to go to school and the District has not transferred him to another school.

With a clean record, no District discipline, one cannot help but wonder where the perpetrator will show up next. Just how badly do we need aides in schools?

What causes autism? Tylenol?

 Who speaks for autism?

RFK Jr has overhauled the federal autism panel.   Its job is to look at science and make recommendations for the treatment and prevention of autism.  Kennedy Jr. fired all of the members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)and appointed his own Committee.  Of the twenty-one members of the Committee, none has ever served before.  The new committee is made up of folks who have linked autism to vaccines or have advocated for treatments that lack evidence.  None of the members has any prominence within the scientific community.  They will be making recommendations for all of us.

The Autism Science Foundation and the Coalition of Autism Scientists, groups making up more than 300 researchers in the field are behind an effort to establish an Independent Autism Coordinating Committee (I-ACC).  The I-ACC will be modeled after the federal IACC, bringing together scientific experts and stakeholders in the community to create a strategic plan for autism research to guide non-governmental research funders.  Meetings will be held on the same schedule as the IACC so that the new group can responds quickly to any recommendations that are not backed by science.  The new 12-member group includes former directors of the National Institute of Mental Health and past chairs of the federal IACC.  All respected scientists, respected by their peers.

The first meeting of the newly formed group will be on March 19, the same day as the federal IACC.  Looks like the public is in for dueling notions on the causes and prevention of autism.  

One thing we can be fairly sure of is that none of it has anything to do with Tylenol.

 

Easy Does it

 Easy Does it

Your child got an A in a course?  No big deal.  In the last three decades the ease of getting an A has, well, gotten easier.  A failing grade has become far less common.

One would think that better grades means higher achievement.  Sorry, that isn’t so.  Student achievement on tests like the ACT and the NAEP has gone down as school grades have gone up.

Maybe it’s not so bad that grades are going up.  Boosting a kid’s self-concept is a good thing.  Not so, says a study that is co-authored by researchers from the University of Maryland and Harvard Grad School of Education.  Students who experienced more lenient grading were less likely to do well in subsequent courses, were less likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college.   Over the course of their lifetimes, they earned less money.

The researchers examined students  in both Maryland and Los Angeles.  The Los Angeles cohort provided data on almost a million students.  The population was about 70% Hispanic and failing grades were common.  The Maryland cohort included 250,000 of a more racially diverse population.  Graduation rates exceeded 90%

Researchers examined students whose teachers were lenient graders.  The lenient graders were defined as teachers who gave high grades to students but whose students did poorly on standardized tests.  

Examination of the outcomes for these students showed that in both cohorts showed no upside and actually damaged student chances of future success, even into the workplace.

The study does not answer the question of why grade inflation hurts kids, it just reports the data.  But one can imagine that students who get high grades that were not earned learn that they do not need to work hard to achieve success.  And as they haven’t learned the skill sets necessary to achieve in subsequent coursework.  Future course grades will deflate any confidence that A grade offered.  

It’s really easy to blame teachers on this one.  But digging deeper researchers found that teachers felt strong pressure from administrators to offer “equitable grading”.  This policy forbids zeros, allows for unlimited retakes and eliminates penalties for late work.

While it’s true that low grades are hardly inspiring for kids; this early evidence suggests inflated grades are doing them any favor either.  

Next time your kid comes home with an A, check it out.