Re-engagement was meant to be a tool providing students with a second chance to fully master a topic they were once struggling to fathom. However, many students are abusing the policy to their own benefit of scoring a higher grade the second time. Students and teachers fear that the ideology of a “second chance” isn’t setting them up for the rigors of college and beyond.  

The terminology “Grade Inflation” is a phrase commonly used by students and teachers within the hallways of WESS, and what does it mean you ask? “Grade Inflation” is the idea that a student’s grade average isn’t an accurate portrayal of what they are capable of scoring the first time as students have the option to complete an assignment a second time if they don’t score high enough the first. A teacher who chose to remain anonymous mentions that the idea behind re-engagement is good, but the wrong people are using it to their benefit. This teacher finds that the students who actually are struggling to comprehend the material choose not to re-engage, while students who already are scoring mastery and above are using it to their advantage as a way of inflating their grades. This teacher thinks that re-engagement should absolutely be maintained for students who score under mastery but not for those who score above. 

With the re-engagement policy being enforced into our curriculum, students are taught that there will always be a second chance when you mess up. Although in the short term, it may feel beneficial to see your Jumprope grade jump up from a 3.5 to a 4, it is feared that those who rely on this policy won’t be prepared in the long term. When talking to a senior, they mentioned the anxiety behind going to college that they and many other seniors at WESS are facing as this extra support will no longer be a viable option to pick students up in times when they fall. Freshman, Kali Ward exclaims how re-engagement is a “misleading blanket of security” and it makes for a more difficult transition when enrolling in college. However, she also acknowledges that it can be helpful to students who are struggling to achieve mastery.  

When speaking with students and teachers here at WESS, the general consensus was clear. Re-engagement is a good tool if used correctly, but if it continues to be used in the way that it currently is, it will instill a false safety net into many students when completing work.