Should students get half credit for assignments they did not even complete? This Florida teacher refused to comply with this policy and was fired.

Joe Manchin Makes a Stand Against A...
Joe Manchin Makes a Stand Against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Her ‘Recipe For Disaster’

After losing her job, the St. Lucie teacher penned a letter to her class that read, "Bye Kids, Mrs. Tirado loves you and wishes you the best in life! I have been fired for refusing to give you a 50% for not handing anything in. ? Mrs. Tirado"

Florida Teacher Fired Refusing to Give Students Credit, Diane Torado

Diana Torado has been a teacher for many years, but just started at West Gate K-8 school in August as an eighth grade history teacher.

Her students were given two weeks to complete an explorer notebook project.

Several students did not turn in the project. Torado was informed about a "no zero" policy which is shown in the student handbook. The handbook states there are no zeroes and the lowest possible grade is 50%.

no zero policy

Per WPTV:

“What if they don’t turn anything in?" Tirado said she asked administrators. "'We give them a 50.' I go, 'Oh, we don’t.' This is not kosher.'”

Tirado was terminated on Sept.14, but there’s no specific cause mentioned in the letter from the principal because she she was still in her probationary period, according to the letter.

On her last day after she was informed, she had to pack up her classroom, Tirado wrote the message to her students on her whiteboard before she left and sent out a picture of it through a class app. Several students responded in support.

"You were right about not giving people 50s because why would you give them half credit for doing nothing?" wrote one student.

The public information officer of the school system released a statement:

"Diane Tirado was employed as a teacher for St. Lucie Public Schools (SLPS) from July 30, 2018 to September 14, 2018.  She was contracted as a teacher on probationary status, and was terminated shortly after one month of classroom instruction.

SLPS values the importance of maintaining a high-quality teaching staff who support students’ individualized learning needs; who understand the value of forming appropriate and positive relationships with students, colleagues, and parents; and who provide accurate and productive feedback to students on assignments. Wavering on the expectations of quality is not an option.

There is no District or individual school policy prohibiting teachers from recording a grade of zero for work not turned in. The District’s Uniform Grading System utilizes letter grades A-F, numerical grades 100-0 and grade point averages from 4-0."

So what do you think? Should a student get 50% despite turning in nothing? That seems absurd to me. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Our Privacy Policy has been updated to support the latest regulations.Click to learn more.×