May 9, 2008
Dismissed for Flunking Students
Steven Aird, an associate professor of biology at Norfolk State University, is getting the boot at the end of this semester for flunking most of his students and resisting university pressure to dumb down his classes, The Virginian-Pilot reports.
For more than four years, Aird has carried on a running battle in which NSU administrators repeatedly pressed him to raise his pass rate and he steadfastly refused.
Twice, he was denied tenure and issued a one-year terminal contract, meaning he would have to leave at the end of the year. After the first denial, he filed a grievance. A faculty grievance committee found in his favor, ruling that the tenure decision was flawed by procedural violations and retaliatory actions by administrators.
He reapplied and was turned down again, despite a favorable recommendation by a departmental tenure review committee. Citing seven classes in which 83 to 95 percent of his students got a D or F, Sandra DeLoatch, dean of the School of Science and Technology, wrote that Aird’s “core problem” was “the overwhelming failure of the vast majority of the students he teaches.”
His bosses say it’s the teacher’s responsibility to make sure the lessons are getting through.
Aird, on the other hand, says coddling students who don’t pass muster does them a disservice: “I really care about my students,” he told the reporter, Bill Sizemore. “That’s why I refuse to lower the bar. The objective should be competence, not grades.”
Aird isn’t the only professor who’s felt pressure to lower his academic standards, Sizemore writes. He quotes Joseph Hall, a chemistry professor and president of the Faculty Senate, who said that …
“faculty are – I’ll use a nice word – encouraged to try and pass 70 percent of their students.” If the rate drops below 70 percent, [Hall] said, “faculty are called in and asked to explain what they’re going to do about it.”
Sharon Hoggard, a spokeswoman for Norfolk State, denies the assertion that the university is setting the bar lower, Sizemore writes:
By Gabriela Montell | Posted on Friday May 9, 2008 | Permalink“It goes against our very mission, which is to provide an affordable high-quality education for an ethnically and culturally diverse student population,” Hoggard said in an e-mail response to the Pilot. She pointed out that NSU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, for which it must meet stringent standards.
I would be interested in seeing what the average high school GPA is of NSU’s freshman class. I’d be willing to bet that Aird’s grades are completely accurate.
— Eric May 9, 11:45 AM #
First of all, the passage “For more than four years, Aird has carried on a running battle in which NSU administrators repeatedly pressed him to raise his pass rate and he steadfastly refused[.]” contains a run-on sentence at the end. In my opinion, academic standards are not a black & white issue. During job interviews, the faces of those interrogating me always seemed to sour when I told them that I pretty much did whatever it took to help students succeed in my course. On the other hand, as an adjunct, I always felt that half the students were not equipped to be in college. Thus, I think, on the faculty level I have encountered people during my job search who think we should flunk students rigorously and focus on the survivors, while certainly as a graduate instructor of a required university course, I was once urged to pass a student after the parents had complained about his failing grade.
— semper idem May 9, 11:52 AM #
As long as universities permit students to punish faculty (with poor evaluations) then these things will happen. Sometimes they sack the professor, other times they just deny them tenure. Either way, the inmates run the asylum.
— DrMink May 9, 12:04 PM #
This is disgraceful and shocking. Looks like the US undergraduate educational system is going the same way as the US K-12 educational system (i.e. complete dysfunction and ineffectiveness). At this point only doctoral programs in this country seem to be maintaining any kind of standards, and that is mostly because they are bolstered by brilliant international students and scholars coming in from countries like China, India, Korea and so on…
— Jean-Baptiste Legrand May 9, 12:49 PM #
Actually you got to have some issues giving up to 95% of the students “D’s” and “F’s”. It says something about his teaching and probably poor test design that does not correlate with lectures well. I don’t know if he has a family, but needs to do what it takes to keep his job, even if it means being a little looser on his “perceived” standards and reality.
— ROM May 9, 01:18 PM #
I am with the dean on this: the overwhelming failure of the vast majority of his students tells me that he has failed as a teacher and should not be teaching. If it is true that 83 – 95% of his students in 7 classes received Ds and Fs, that says a lot about his inability to teach. It doesn’t even make statistical sense to have 80 to 90% of the students get Ds or Fs, unless you are speaking in yidhish and yada yada while your students converse in English.
We in the professoriate like to blame students for not getting it but what about how we teach? Overwhelming student failure says a lot more about our teaching styles rather than our student abilities. A good teacher is one who could take novice student and make him appreciate his subject, even if that students ends up with grade of C. So, to me, this really says more about the instructor’s ability rather than the students failure. If the percents reported are correct, he should have been let hgo long time ago.
— AM May 9, 02:25 PM #
What Dr. Aird and the NSU administrators really need is more information about their students: Did either party give serious thought to administering pre- and post-assessments, or similar instrument? I also wonder why these assessments are not used in deciding and/or quantifying teaching effectiveness, particularly in the sciences.
— AERO May 9, 03:55 PM #
I agree with AM. This faculty member should have sought out assistance for both himself and for any students he felt were unable to complete the course without assistance. As faculty we have a responsibility to continually review and improve our pedagogy and to serve as a resource for students and not as an avenging angel of biology.
We can, at times, become so wrapped up in our work that we sometimes fall into the trap of equating our value as a professor with the number of students we fail, rather than with the number we see through to a successful end.
The dean has a responsibility to ensure the integrity of the academic mission of the institution, to safeguard the rights of the faculty to plan and deliver the curriculum, and to protect students from random abuse that may occur at the hands of instructional personnel.
It’s unfortunate that this is being read as an attempt to ‘dumb-down’ the curriculum, rather than as an attempt to correct a situation that does neither the school, the department, the faculty member, nor the students any good. As I remember it, that’s par for the course for the print media in Norfolk, Va.
— jordan May 9, 03:56 PM #
Something wrong with the professor’s teaching if that many fail. But we don’t know what the GPA the students have before they take his courses. If the GPA is really low, you can’t blame the professor for failing them.
— Bill May 9, 07:09 PM #
What has prior GPA got to do with anything? I am a professor, and if 83-95% of my students are failing my course, I have to find out why. Something must be wrong with the quality of my teaching or the “standards” that I have set. This idea that we need to take into account their incoming GPA is crap!
— Anthony May 9, 08:25 PM #
I agree that if such a high % of students fail, something is wrong with the teaching. In grad schl, I took two stats classes from a genius and learned nothing. His attitude was that he had work to cover and we had to keep up. I finanlly understood the concepts when I took stats in the Ag schl where the prof made the material relevant to, er, something.
Some profs have the “book knowledge” but can’t relate to student-needs. In those cases, they should not be in the classroom; or they should move to a school where they will readily relate to students.
— xol May 9, 08:44 PM #
Complaints about “dumbing down” smack of snobbery.
— xol May 9, 08:46 PM #
A high failure rate may indicate a teacher who doesn’t pay attention to the students current situation, but it may also indicate institutional problems, in encouraging students to take classes for which they aren’t prepared. So maybe the department should introduce some pre-intro subjects to bridge the gap. Many subjects have an broadly agreed set of outcomes; I expect that intro biology is like that; whether at Caltech or Norfolk State, the endpoint should be similar. The teacher should seek to get the students from where they start, to that finish point, but it sometimes isn’t possible.
— Alan Fekete May 9, 11:32 PM #
I agree with AM. His stats show he can’t teach.
— MM May 10, 08:51 AM #
Not so fast. The article said that he took extra time in an outside of class to help students. I wouldn’t be so quick to say that its the teacher’s fault. Further, there was nothing in the article about him spending the majority of his time researching, and the students all gave him good reviews. You have to wonder, then, about the students taking his class. You also need to see what the 15% of students who passed his class did to pass in comparison to those who did not.
— anon May 10, 09:54 AM #
Reading these posts, I am deeply troubled by the repeated confident assertions that a high failure rate is unerringly attributable to ineffective or uninspired teaching. That conclusion reflects a kind of all or nothing fallacy in reasoning that is frightening in CHE posters ,who I assume are mostly (if not all) teachers. What about the range of other blindingly clear possible causes ? Inadequate prior preparation of students, students’ poor or low motivation, students’ disrespect for the values of true learning and the necessity for aiming to achieve average to high standards. What about the fact that too many of our students are working too many hours, often at too many jobs ? What about the fact that too many students are too often absent from class (some routinely 50% of every week’s classes)? What about the fact that some students boast with unabashed and brimming pride that they only study when they have a test, or never at all?
In this debate, I am forced to make a clear distinction: It is the duty of teachers to teach. It is the duty of students to learn. I can teach as well as I know how; I may be as diligent and devoted, caring and committed as the absolutists and idealists posting here desire. If my students do not bring to the classroom an equal measure of interest, motivation, caring, and commitment to learning, or if they are indifferent to my willingness to help them acquire those values, all my best efforts will be in vain.
— Ling Sand May 10, 11:57 AM #
This could be the key for more objective discussion.
I am amazed how many university teachers,do not want to do any search for the facts.
“o support his allegations of grade inflation, Aird performed a statistical analysis of two common exams that were given to all students taking the freshman-level biology course in the fall of 2005. The median grade in all sections on both exams – taught by five different professors – was F.
His final grades were an accurate reflection of students’ performance on those two exams, Aird wrote the dean.
Hoggard said attributing the discrepancy between exam results and final grades to grade inflation is too simplistic.”
— M May 10, 03:21 PM #
I was recently sacked as an adjunct curriculum professor at a major southern university from which I had received my doctorate in education after a number of my students complained that I was drinking wine while teaching on the Youtube component of my class from my home office (mind you, I was teaching a graduate course to master’s students). Their real complaint was that they found the reading too difficult and could not believe that I would not give everyone an A just for turning something in. (I actually gave A’s to about 2/3 of the class—too low for the people who didn’t get them). Several complaints revolved around the ideas presented in class. I wanted my students to consider issues such as the teaching of evolution, gay rights, the role of religion in education, race, gender, and social class. I did not tell them what to think, but I made them read stuff they found way too controversial. Several complained bitterly that I should just accept their opinions in their papers without requiring reason and evidence.
The university, fearful of losing enrollment in my cash-cow class, sacked me summarily midway through the course. Fortunately, I still have my day job as a high-school teacher/administrator where I can actually impose standards when I need to that are far higher than those of the College of Education in the university where I worked!
— Rich May 10, 07:33 PM #
It is unlikely that the Admissions Office at this college made a mistake 90% of the time. When students are admitted, they have the right to expect that with a resaonable amount of effort, they will eventually earn a degree. You have to teach the students you have, not the students you might like to have. If this professor’s students were more capable, they would have enrolled at a more selective university.
— DJW May 10, 09:09 PM #
Rich, you teach on “you tube”? Very unusual!
— Bill May 11, 09:14 AM #
Though I, too, have issues with the tremendous pressure to inflate grades, I am a bit suspicious of anyone who claims that 95% of his students are failing. Why are so many students failing. Do you really believe that only 5% are competent? If I were to have that many failing students in my class, I wouldn’t automatically assume that the students are simply incompetent. I would also reassess my own methods for teaching them the material. If this happens across many classes, I find it hard to believe that teaching effectiveness is NOT an issue.
— Don May 11, 12:28 PM #
The purpose of any teachers’ tenure act is to secure permanence within the teaching profession. (Watson v. Burnett, p. 57) 2. An employee protected by tenure and seniority rights is assured a permanent position unless employment is suspended or terminated in accordance with the provisions established with a teachers’ tenure act. (Bragg v. School District of Swarthmore, p. 64; Munley v. School District of City of Pittston, p. 81) 3. Employees protected by tenure and seniority cannot have their rights violated by the Board in favor of an employee junior in tenure. (Flannery v. Jenkins Township School Directors, p. 96) 4. Consideration must be given to the seniority rights guaranteed to employees when interpreting or applying a teachers’ tenure act to the prevailing situation when making recommendations for termination of contracts. (Watson v. Burnett, p. 57; Munley v. School District of City of Pittston, p. 81)
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
— William Allan Kritsonis, PhD May 11, 09:11 PM #
Wlliam, what is your point about this specific case? Quoting legal arguments doesn’t help us here.
— Bill May 11, 10:13 PM #
I fear that Dr. William Kritsonis is a numbers man, and he probably looks at students as numerical objects rather than students who are in college to learn.
— Lily May 12, 02:46 AM #
I was in the prfessers class and he was all rong. He was talkin bout the theretical bawlogy — they use algebar fer Xsakes — and we was looking for the practicle, ‘cuz most of us is head for med skoo. Me anyways I’m gwin to the med skoo. So I hope they don’t give him no tanure or whatever. You know what I mean? Hey all you teachers! What can I do bout that EFF! Man it jes eetches.
— Rembrandt Dawkins May 12, 04:05 AM #
Whatever happened to constructing knowledge as a community of learners? Or is that just some platitude we associate with social constructivist principles but don’t deign to put into practice? Sorry, but if this professor truly cared about his students he would have conducted diagnostic testing, adjusted his course goals to his students’ ZPD, and pressed for more stringent admission standards, if that is in fact the root of the problem. Anything less sounds like a weak complaint amounting to little more than a fart in the wind. Professors sometimes adopt a victim mentality, too. Unfortunately, a tendency toward arrogance prevents many in our profession from recognizing their aloof response in these situations.
— Rick May 12, 05:25 AM #
Up to a 95% failure rate? This man is not teaching, he is enforcing a vendetta against “The System.”
Do students continue to take his classes? Why?
— JD May 12, 06:26 AM #
As a department chair, there are two general situations that cause me to take notice — one is when nearly all of the students fail, and the other is when nearly all of the students receive an A. I try not to start with an accusation that there is a problem or with the notion, even, that something needs to be “fixed”. But, if, in four years, he has regularly ended the term with 83-90% of his students receiving a D or F, I would have to say that the situation bears scrutiny. We should not make assumptions regarding the quality of the students or the instruction. But, we must be willing to look at the whole picture.
— M May 12, 08:41 AM #
This is an interesting discussion. My point is directed to those who do not believe that 95% of students are capable of failing a class unless there is some problem with teaching and/or assessment methods. I have been teaching history in universities in the mid-West for the last five years (I am relieved to be returning to the UK). Many of the students that I have had the misfortune to teach have been grossly unprepared for college-level education. I have just finished grading my final set of exam papers in which students could not spell simple words such as politics (“polotics”), Britain (“Britian”) and Florida (“Floridia”). Other students were unable to perform the most simple calculations, e.g. a 500% increase in trade deficit was suggested to be a 25% increase. I have found such weaknesses in basic skills are typical rather than atypical of the hundreds of students that I have taught. If this particular professor is unwilling to dilute his standards to a level that he believes is inappropriate for college then I applaud him for taking a stand against administrators who would compel him to do otherwise.
— Relieved Professor May 12, 10:18 AM #
Relieved Professor,
well-said! American high-schools are turning out students who are practically illiterate. I blame the terrible level of teaching in the high-schools. And having met the education majors in my classes, I am not surprised…
— Ieva May 12, 12:16 PM #
I have to say that I am very offended by several of the recent posts. There are many U.S. high schools that are producing literate, and even amazing, students. I am sorry for those of you who have had poor students, but you should not classify the entire populace of a country based on your limited experience. I have known many fellow scientists from different countries who were “good” or “bad” depending on their training.
The U.S. is just like any other country. We have good schools and poor schools. Students who take different courses do so for various reasons. I have had students who could have cared less about the subject and those that have loved it. You see a correlation in grades due to a student’s interest in the material. However, the fact that this professor failed most of his students does not necessarily correlate with poor American students or standards. You have to remember that the U.S. is made up of many different people from many different countries. Many of these students may have trouble with the English language, have trouble with differing customs, etc. We also have a large population of foreign students attending U.S. colleges. You cannot lump the entire U.S. student population into the “poor” category just because you didn’t/don’t like teaching students in midwestern schools etc.
In my experience teaching at both the high school and college level, there are many college professors who have NO CLUE how to reach their students (especially in the sciences). They are many times brilliant but cannot relate to the younger generation and have trouble communicating the material. Also, they have forgotten what it means to be a student. I think many of the best instructors have been postdocs who are very interested in gaining teaching experience. They are not so pompous as to assume that their research is the end-all be-all of scientific research.
I think we should all remember that all students are different, have different customs and issues, and need a professor to understand what it feels like to be a student.
— J May 12, 12:44 PM #
Having read more of the story – I came across this:
“To support his allegations of grade inflation, Aird performed a statistical analysis of two common exams that were given to all students taking the freshman-level biology course in the fall of 2005. The median grade in all sections on both exams – taught by five different professors – was F.
His final grades were an accurate reflection of students’ performance on those two exams, Aird wrote the dean.”
This gives me some reason to question the effectiveness of the entire department and makes me wonder why any student would want to go there to be a science/pre-med major. I understand that they may not have other options, so I would hope that the division would take a serious look at its program. I do agree that you can’t simply lower the bar. But, you have to be realistic about your expectations. If the preparedness of the incoming students is a problem, then try working with the administration to help the students learn to be successful. Perhaps the institution could look at orientation and try giving a two-week program in the summer on study skills and the like to help the students to be more prepared. Or, contact the high schools where your students come from and try doing a spring term – senior year seminar on how to be a college student? If I were administration at NSU, I would spend some time working with faculty to brainstorm for ways to solve the problems. Somewhere between insisting that 70% of the students pass and failing them all is a solution (or a set of solutions) that will work for everyone.
— M May 12, 03:32 PM #
If 95% of a surgeon’s patients died on the table, would we blame the patients for being too sick? It is a teacher’s job to teach and help raise students to a level of competence. If 95% of my students were failing my course, I would look at my pedagogy and/or the structure of my exams – I wouldn’t blame the students.
— AK May 12, 04:18 PM #
I have read all the comments here and those submitted through other forums and I am baffled at how the real issue is being overlooked. I currently work for Dr. DeLoatch and had the pleasure of being taught by her. Her passion for learning is surpassed only by her love for her “little darlings”. To believe that her quest for funding exceeds her desire to provide a quality education to our students is absurd. Funding + High Standards = Quality Education. I am deeply saddened that she is being depicted in such a light. I realize this debate is not so much about her character as it is about the real issue….and that is teaching. So I will address that.
Dr. Aird is teaching Biology to non-biology majors, which means he has to bridge the gap for those students whose primary goal is to “finish this course”. I realize this can be a daunting task, especially if your passion for teaching doesn’t equate to this feat. A professor in this position has to provide a way to make the subject interesting for those that wouldn’t otherwise. Our school offers one-on-one tutoring, peer mentoring programs, curricula development, research opportunities, faculty development and many other programs to ensure our students get the best out of their education. The real questions are, how many of these programs did Dr. Aird partake? How many study sessions did Dr. Aird provide? Did he do a survey on how his teaching methods changed yet still produced the same results? Did he change or enhance his methods at all? Seems to me his goal here was to prove his methods and standards were validated instead of realizing that “right or wrong” the students are the ones missing out. As a professor, shouldn’t one be validated on how much a student learned?
All students are not created equal and there is an added dynamic when you are teaching a subject that has no value to them, other than a means to a degree. However, teachers are not created equal either. Knowledge of a subject may make you a Master, but passion, added to the ability to disseminate that knowledge and connect with the receiver makes you a Teacher. In my opinion, this job requires a Master Teacher.
— Let's look past the hype May 15, 09:31 AM #
I am a TA who has taught for several years. I generally know what students are in trouble after the first exam/paper, so that I can take corrective actions then. If you don’t have a general idea of how most of yours students are doing, you can’t be paying much attention to your them.
— Newbie May 15, 01:30 PM #
“I am with the dean on this: the overwhelming failure of the vast majority of his students tells me that he has failed as a teacher and should not be teaching.”
This is malarkey. I teach at Livingstone College, where the president says that, “If the students are not learning, then the teachers are not teaching.” THAT SENDS A PRETTY CLEAR MESSAGE. Our modal grade for the fall, 2007 term was “A,” though most of our students barely get into college.
If the professor is not teaching, then why is it that some of the students do manage to get good grades? The professor must have been teaching something—but only a few students bother to come to class or read assignments.
Livingstone is also an HBCU, and draws from a similar student pool as Norfolk State. We are pressured to engage in what the president calls “compassionate grading,” but everyone knows what that means when the same president says that, “If the students are not learning, then the teachers are not teaching.”
Yes, we have our casualties on the faculty, too, but no reason is ever given.
Landrum Kelly, Jr., Ph.D.
Chair, Department of History and Political Science, Livingstone College, Salisbury, NC
— Landrum Kelly May 15, 01:56 PM #
Rereading my own post just above, I realize that I do not show there any regard for the nuances and judgment calls required for teaching disadvantaged students.
What seems to have happened in the Norfolk State case is that both the professor and the administration hardened off their positions, allowing for no middle ground. I like teaching at Livingstone, in spite of the challenges, in spite of the indifference of many students. Sometimes I win them over and get them to work. Sometimes I cannot. I can engage some and bring them into the learning process, but some I cannot reach, and they will flunk. I cannot imagine, however, having to flunk so many. That troubles me, but the attitude of the administration there troubles me, too. This is dicey territory. I have no easy solution.
— Landrum Kelly May 15, 05:12 PM #
When does it ever become the student’s responsibility to learn? Its easy to put food in front of someone but if they don’t eat it, and they starve, do you fire the chef? This is not so much a black or white issue as much as it is an issue of motivation. Yes biology is difficult, but this students are attending a college. Why are they failing rather than getting C’s or low B’s? And why isn’t there a story about a student who refused to let this teacher or subject get the better of him (or her) and master the material anyway?! We hear and see dozens of stories about black athletes who pushed through to defy the odds and prove everyone wrong about their abilities. WHY, does this not happen in academia? Where is the students’ motivation to prove this professor wrong and pass the class?
— Nubia May 15, 08:36 PM #
Nubia: your statement assumes there are no students at NSU that work hard and push themselves despite of personal problems and still EARN A’s in their classes. And I guess the chef should be fired because his/her food did not produce a smell that was enticing enough to lure that “someone” to try to taste it.
— aprofessor May 15, 10:07 PM #
This is a very disturbing incident. Perhaps one could reflect on a few issues that the incident throws up:
1. Is student learning a function of teaching ability alone?
2. What is teaching quality? How should it be measured?
3. Is student evaluation of faculty members a valid measure? Does it tend to reflect popularity of a faculty member rather than teaching ability?
4. Will learning be enhanced if the class is of homogeneous standard?
5. Should a faculty member not expect university to ensure some common minimum set of abilities/competencies/aptitude for a course in a class?
6. Should not universities focus on creating and disseminating knowledge and not behave as evaluation and certification agencies?
7. Would it help if student evaluation were made job/recruiter specific and were conducted by outside agencies appointed by recruiters?
— rs May 16, 12:50 AM #
It is not unique to Norfolk State University. Many universities including HBCUs want professors to pass all students irrespective of their competence and mastery of the subject. Students directly go to the top administrators and most of the times, administrators change the grades. It is a continuing battle with the administration. It is happening both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Professors will be punished by awarding lowest salary increments or none at all and denying promotion and/or tenure. Eventually, professors will be harassed and booted out. In some programs such as counseling and psychology, we need competent and highly skilled counselors who can help their clients. By passing incompetent students, we are doing a disservice to the clients, community and the nation.
— kvc May 16, 09:50 PM #