VOA慢速英语--在大流行期间,学校面临更多不及格分数 [

Schools Face More Failing Grades During Pandemic

School districts across the United States have reported the number of students failing classes has risen many times higher than usual numbers. English language learners, as well as disabled and poor students, are suffering the most.

Erik Jespersen is principal¹ of McNary High School in the state of Oregon. At his school, 38 percent of grades in late October were failing, compared with 8 percent in normal times.

Educators see a number of reasons for the change. Students learning² from home often miss assignments — or school completely. Internet availability is limited or not effectively established, making it difficult to complete and upload assignments. And teachers who do not see their students in person have fewer ways to note who is falling behind. That is especially true with many students keeping their cameras off during online classes.

The increase in failing grades has been seen in districts of all sizes around the country.

At Jespersen's school in the Salem-Keizer Public School district, hundreds of students at first had grade scores of 0.0 percent. This showed that students simply were not taking part in school at all.

In New Mexico, more than 40 percent of middle and high school students were failing at least one class as of late October. In Houston, Texas, 42 percent of students received at least one F in the first grading period of the year. A grade of F is the lowest possible letter grade a student can receive in the United States. Nearly 40 percent of grades for high school students in St. Paul, Minnesota were Fs. That is double the amount than seen in a usual year.

Many schools have increased efforts to return to in-person learning. Other schools are changing their grading policies and giving students more time to complete assignments.

Jespersen said his school began to see grades improve after bringing groups of 300 students into the building to receive support from teachers. However, that recently stopped because of the area's rising coronavirus cases. Advisory⁴ teams have increased contact with students. Teachers have been asked to temporarily stop assigning⁵ graded homework. And parents of Hispanic students were invited to learn how they can see their children's grades online.

In Charleston, South Carolina, administrators⁶ and teachers are considering bringing back a grading system used in the spring. The system permitted instructors⁷ to give 50s instead of 0s to make it less harmful to students' grades, said eighth-grade English teacher Jody Stallings. "I'm an English teacher, not a math teacher, but I've learned⁸ zeros are very, very devastating⁹ to an average," he said.

Most of the failing grades Stallings gives out come from missing¹⁰ assignments, not assignments that were turned in with a lot of wrong answers. "You talk to them later and they say,`You know I just didn't do it. I didn't know the answer so I just didn't do it,'" he said.

Stallings teaches most of his students in person and the rest online at the same time at Moultrie Middle School. He added, "When you have a kid in person, he's going to take the test ... Even if he doesn't know anything, he has a chance."

In Hatch¹¹, New Mexico, high school registrar¹² Blanca Ramirez said her job has changed during the pandemic. Now, she often serves as a translator and advisor³ to students and parents who speak only Spanish. In discussions¹³ with students, she asks them how they can have such low grades.

Ramirez said she thinks many students are afraid to even begin their schoolwork. "And so just making that phone call opens up that encouragement and they start making a little bit more effort," she added.

In some cases, the biggest difficulty for an English-language learning student is simply getting the necessary classwork online. A few times this school year, Ramirez has had students meet her in the school parking lot so she can show them and their parents how to use the online system.

Hatch High School reported 79 percent of students were failing at least one class during their first grading period of the year. That percentage has been reduced to 46 percent within a few months. School spokeswoman Audra Bluehouse says that is because school has been made easier and students are now more engaged.

Bluehouse says the number was high in part because the school added an eighth class to every student's schedule this fall.

Now, teachers have been instructed to give less homework. They have been urged to find different ways of teaching¹⁴. Grading has been changed from a 100-point system to a 50-point system so that missed assignments with zeroes do not hurt students as much.

Words in This Story

assignment – n. a job or duty that is given to someone; a task someone is required to do

devastating – adj. causing great damage or harm

encouragement – n. something that makes someone more determined¹⁵, hopeful, or confident

engaged – adj. greatly interested

translator – n. a person who changes words in one language into another

1 principal   

adj.主要的；n.负责人，校长，资本

参考例句：

• When he saw the principal,he raised his hand in salutation.他看到校长时举手敬礼。
• Their school gave a reception to their new principal.他们学校为新校长举办了一个招待会。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

4 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

5 assigning   

分配( assign的现在分词 )； 指派； 指定； （作为说明或原因）提出

参考例句：

• The patrol was quite likely an extension of the General's motives in assigning him to reconnoitre. 这次派他去侦察，很可能又是将军调他到侦察排的用意的进一步发挥。
• We can worry about minor details like assigning blame later. 我们可以稍后再讨论为这个过失负责的问题。

6 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

7 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

8 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

11 hatch   

n.孵化，舱口；vt.孵，孵出，策划；vi. 孵化

参考例句：

• No one knows how the new plan will hatch out.谁也不知道这新方案将怎样制订出来。
• The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。

12 registrar   

n.记录员，登记员；(大学的)注册主任

参考例句：

• You can obtain the application from the registrar.你可以向注册人员索取申请书。
• The manager fired a young registrar.经理昨天解雇了一名年轻的记录员。

13 discussions   

n.讨论( discussion的名词复数 )；商讨；详述；论述

参考例句：

• Discussions are held on an informal basis within the department. 讨论限于在本部门内非正式地进行。
• Her specialist input to the discussions has been very useful. 她在这些讨论中提供的专家建议很有助益。

14 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

15 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。