Failure Is Impossible for High School Students! (No, really)

by Mira Jacob
West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Virginia has decided to try out a new system and they took F's out of their grading system, they will use 'I', which stands for incomplete, instead. They think this is more effective because it will give students a chance to learn a lesson and catch up, when they do they will be given a grade, like any other student. But there is divided opinion concerning this new method.
An english teacher stated that it's a bad method because not only does it affect the students it affects the teachers. Students will be under the impression that they could do whatever they want and it takes the only tool that teachers had to make students learn.
Others argue that this method isn't meant for those purposes but to benefit those who learn slower than their peers. They claim that if we really want students to learn giving them an F and moving on isn't going to help them; whereas if they get an 'I' and more time to learn/complete assingnments they will understand better.
Some of the nation's highest educational institutions, including the law schools of Stanford University,  Yale University, and UC Berkeley all have non-traditional grading systems. Other high schools like the Big Picture high schools in Rhode Island, which focuses on internships, have found that learning goes better when uncomplicated by grades. They show this is a successful method them because most of their seniors go on to college and they have high college graduation rates