Changing the narrative In Oklahoma and in most areas of the country, a premium is placed on letter grades and standardized tests in public schools, and funding is directly tied to such tests. The stress placed on 3rd grade students taking literacy tests that determine a school’s funding is felt by everyone involved. Martin, whose school operates on a social justice curriculum that teaches through the study of real-world examples, said grades are an expediency from another era, and that given another option for determining whether a child is accepted to college, admissions personnel are ready for one. “I saw in my own classroom over the years just how much damage grades were doing,” said Martin. “The leading thinkers in education, especially as you work towards 21st century learning, are 1,000 percent in this boat. And again, what colleges are telling me now, when we send those narrative assessments out is, ‘Thank you. That tells me what I need to know.’” Sometimes, the college admissions system is simply not prepared to accept something that is, at its core, a story about one student’s educational experience. Martin shared one example about a student applying online to one of Oklahoma’s state schools. When the student reached a pull-down menu to register her grade point average, the system would not let her proceed without a proper number.
Martin said he simply went to bat for the student, like he does for all students as they near the end of their studies at Odyssey. “This girl would be the valedictorian at any school anywhere,” Martin shared about the student. “She, as a seventh grader, was staying late after school asking us questions. She’s done brilliant work. I’ve had her in multiple classes. I will vouch for her. I will put my experience, I’ll put my PhD, I’ll put everything on the line to tell you, this girl has it.” Martin’s pitch went well, but it still needed to go up the flagpole. He met with the dean of admissions and provided the office with pages upon pages of stellar writing. Ultimately, the student not only earned admission but received the President’s Scholarship based on that work. So, while public schools are still mired in a post-industrial system of grades and GPAs, Martin said there can be rewards for going deeper with assessments — rewards that will be felt by the students themselves. “I tell our kids this all the time, if you will do your part — take the classes, work hard, go above and beyond — we will do our part and we’ll see where we land,” said Martin.
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24 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / SEPT-OCT 2021
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