The Texas Education Commissioner had to remind everyone that publicly rewarding students who pass the state test violates FERPA. (Associated Press, October 14, 2008) Ummm…what about those National Merit finalists, the magna cum laude graduates, the honor roll students? All those students not wearing the gold tassel or the gold sash at graduation failed—to a degree. They don’t get to go on the bus trip to the elite universities.
Should the high school yearbook include each student’s height and weight along with clubs and honors?
How did we get so differentiated in our proclamations of success and failure between academics and sports? Is there something personal or embarrassing about being slow in the classroom more so than slow on the field? We publish athletes’ height and weight, their speed, their won-lost records. By the way, the local school board must still designate sports vital statistics as public to follow FERPA.
The EduGuru speaks: School is about the curriculum, so the smart kids rule over the others. Even FERPA doesn't trump the naming of the valedictorian. Sports are extracurricular, that is "less" curricular, not "even more" curricular.
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