On Feb. 1, the Spirit of Jefferson published comments from a Jefferson County Board of Education member that were previously published by the Independent Observer, which offered justification on the semester-grading issue recently before the school board. To be clear, that was one school board member’s opinion. She did not speak for the entire board, just as I do not represent the board in this letter.

That same day, a press conference was held by presidents of the West Virginia Education Association and American Federation of Teachers of West Virginia. Each association presented data collected from legitimate polls taken across the state regarding public education. Numerous questions were asked, and the percentage of responses were relayed to the public.

One question asked of teachers stood out, “What is the most important thing we can do to promote student achievement?” The number one response was, “Teaching and learning conditions.”

AFT President Fred Albert explained this to mean, “Let the teachers teach and the students learn.” After all, isn’t that what public education is all about — hiring qualified teachers, letting them do the jobs they were hired to do and allowing students to benefit from their expertise?

To let the teachers teach, we must have confidence in their ability to provide quality instruction to our students. When an overwhelming majority of teachers state that they want the semester exams to count at least 10 percent, we need to give them the common professional courtesy and respect by acknowledging them as qualified professionals whose voices not only matter but are valued, appreciated and respected.

Clearly, thousands of teachers across the state and both unions agree with this basic concept.

To let students learn, we must provide safe, quality learning conditions, productive policies and structured practices. Leaving it up to the children to decide the best way for them to achieve is not fair to them, their peers, their parents, the tax payers or the teachers who are entrusted with ensuring learning. A poll which doesn’t track types of respondents isn’t considered a valid poll. Since the poll mentioned in the Public Perspective letter to the editor in the Spirit and Observer allowed for anyone to participate, it is presumed that 56 percent of the respondents who voted against the exam were children, or about 80 people (given there were approximately 150 respondents), which is far less than the number of staff members and remaining poll respondents who voted to keep the exam at at least 10 percent.

It is true semester exams were put on hold during the pandemic. However, before the 2022-2023 school year started, the school board met and agreed to reinstate the original exam policy of making the semester exam count at least one-seventh, which was approximately 14 percent of students’ semester average grades. Teachers and students had been preparing and planning for the semester exams for a minimum of three months, before the issue was brought up by some board members (which school board members brought the issue to the agenda of the full board was not disclosed, even to me).

Some teachers created two different exams for five different classes. That is a total of 10 exams requiring 10 to 20 hours of work, depending on the subject. To wait until the last minute to make the exams relatively worthless was a real blow, especially since it was unjustified.

All students entering ninth-grade high school have never taken a midterm exam, so it has no meaning to argue against making the exams significant because a large percentage of students would be taking those exams for the first time. Additionally, if students do not take such tests in a meaningful way now, then when? It is certainly better for them to gain some experience before they are subjected to rigorous standardized tests in the spring, or perhaps for the first time in college.

The only appropriate way to base something on statistics (mentioned in the published comments) is to first use a valid and reliable method of collecting and analyzing that data. Telling students the exam only counted three percent, which was negligible in terms of its impact on the final semester grade — a negligible impact — leaves a child with two choices right before the Christmas break. One, study hard those last two weeks and pay attention as the teacher reviews the material. Or, two, tune out, goof off or catch up on social media.

This is a no-brainer! Teachers reported students as stating that they would not waste their time on the exam if it really was not worth much. Facing a similar situation, I’d probably have slacked of my studies, and so naturally would many students. So, using such biased scores from these, the “exams,” and trying to relate them to any sort of factor in measuring overall grades, is a moot point. The mere mention of using such wrongheaded and unreliable strategies to guide a grading policy borders on incompetence and leaves one to wonder who is steering the ship.

Exams are not designed to “penalize” students — they are used as both assessment and motivational teaching tools. The goal is for students to learn. Exams give students, parents and teachers an opportunity to see where there are skill gaps for reteaching and further study. They also allow students practice before taking tests with higher stakes in life, such as Scholastic Aptitude Tests, Armed Forces qualifications tests and college exams.

As stated in the published comments, it’s so easy for teachers to go to a neighboring county and earn $20,000 to $30,000 more a year. Therefore, to keep committed, dedicated teachers, we must treat them with respect. That means, letting them do the jobs they were hired to do.

Our county population is growing, but student enrollment and achievement in Jefferson County have been steadily decreasing since 2016. Clearly these policies, which prevent teachers from teaching and students from learning, have not worked. Therefore I, too, welcome any intervention by the West Virginia Board of Education into our county school system’s management, although I think this because we need help.

The mere fact that I had to write this letter after all of this was clearly explained to the school board in several board meetings, after numerous teachers and citizens addressed the board on the issue, after letters of no confidence were endorsed by the faculty senate of both high schools and by the county commission, leaves me with serious concerns.

We have got to do better as a board. We need to listen to the professionals, or we will continue to chase them away. There are those who will have you believe that teachers are leaving over low pay. However, when we have over 15 teachers leave a school in one year, with some taking jobs in the Berkely County for the same or less money, that’s not a decision based on a desire for higher pay. Five math teachers left one of our high schools because of, according to them, “the board’s policies.” We are routinely violating state and federal laws in hiring and employment practices, special education and the use of tax dollars. Board office staff has nearly doubled in the past eight years, yet our student population and achievement continue to decrease. The list of concerns goes on and on.

Donna Joy, of Shepherdstown