Easier Isn't Always Better, Especially In Education

The best policies for students aren't necessarily the easiest for adults.

Very often, the most rewarding things in life are also the most difficult. Nowhere is that more true than in K-12 education. Holding students to high standards is challenging and exhausting, and it can test the patience of parents and the adults in the school. Many policies implemented in K-12 education in recent years purport to be in the best interest of students, but they are often more about convenience and ease for adults. The challenge is to do what is best for students, even if it’s not the easiest for the adults.

Consider the “no homework policy” that so many schools have adopted. Initially intended to be an extension of the school day, homework provides opportunities for students to retrieve and recall knowledge they gained in the classroom that day. Research shows that frequent retrieval practice leads to greater understanding, meaning homework benefits student learning. This research would lead one to believe that schools would support it. Unfortunately, homework burdens teachers with assigning, collecting, and grading it and parents with ensuring it gets completed. Both must then enforce the consequences if students fail to complete it. Those tasks can be unpleasant, so many schools have simply stopped assigning homework. Adults relieve their stress, depriving students of extended learning opportunities.

Another policy many schools nationwide have adopted under the notion of doing what is best for students is “Restorative Practices.” Rather than hold students accountable for their actions, “restorative practices focus on resolving conflict, repairing harm, and healing relationships.” It sounds lovely in theory, but in reality, it creates chaos and turmoil in the classroom. Not only is this not an effective way to teach students that there are real consequences for negative (and sometimes violent) behavior, it prevents the rest of the class from learning. It also puts their peers and teachers in danger. The use of “Restorative Practices” doesn’t help students. It alleviates the burden on administrators who don’t want to deal with parents, who are often part of the problem. It also allows the district leaders to make the reality of the situation look better on paper.

The longest-standing policy that serves the desires and agendas of adults rather than what is in the best interest of students is “social promotion.” It was a common belief that holding students back a grade even if they hadn’t mastered key concepts would negatively impact their psychological well-being. It was thought to be a better practice to pass them along with their peers and hope they would eventually catch up.

It turns out that moving from grade to grade without mastery likely has a more significant negative impact on them in the long run. Research shows that “people with lower literacy had greater mental health difficulties such as anxiety and depression.” Data also shows a correlation between academic failure and incarceration.

It’s difficult for a teacher or administrator to tell a parent their child needs to repeat a grade. It can be a bit embarrassing to hear that as a parent. Nonetheless, if holding students back is in the best interest of their future success, the adults must set their discomfort aside and do what is right. Currently, in America, “54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level).” If parents, teachers, and administrators involved in the educational process demanded and implemented policies that genuinely served the best interest of students, not adults, the literacy rate would likely be much better.

Employers and college professors have lamented how unprepared recent high school graduates are in recent years. They struggle to accept responsibility and deal with the natural consequences of their actions, they fail to complete assignments correctly and on time, and constructive criticism to help them improve is received defensively. The adults who chose the easier, more convenient route during the K-12 journey of these young adults made navigating life after high school much more difficult for them. It’s time to put the best interest of students at the center of education policy, no matter how difficult it is for the adults.