Grades and school typically go hand in hand, and at Duncan Middle School, students not making the grade find themselves on the eligibility list.
The first eligibility list for the school year was released to teacher a couple weeks ago, and some students have found themselves on the list ever since.
The list comes out every week on Monday. It gives teachers and principals an idea of any student who has an F in any of their classes and which classes they are failing.
CJ Warner, an eighth-grader at DMS, said, “Students get on the list by not paying attention in class and getting an F.”
Although some of the grades may be related to students not paying attention, some are resulting from students not turning classwork in.
Chuck Wagner, one of the seventh-grade social studies teachers, said this is one of the main causes of students to end up on the eligibility list.
“There are so many students on the list because they just decide to not do their work or pay attention in class,” Wagner said.
In some cases, students who have ended up on the eligibility list are added to the WIN lists, where they can be pulled to work on missing assignments and/or relearning different standards.
In recent weeks, students took benchmarks in their core classes (English, math, etc.). Based on those scores, some students are also being added to the WIN list.
However, the benchmarks are not directly affecting student grades.
Wagner said the eligibility list is a good way to keep students informed on which students may need additional help. But it also provides insight into which students are not doing their classwork.
“If you follow directions, pay attention and turn in work on time, you can keep yourself off the eligibility list,” Wagner said.
