Agency and Corrupt Schools

Miller's discussion of automation and agency is a good argument that is sure to be debated by educators and administrators for years to come. The idea of an automated grading system has clear pros and cons that continue to be bantered about among the powers-that-be within primarily affluent school districts that can afford to play with the technology.

Feasibility is obviously one of the biggest issues facing the development and utilization of such technology. Those questions are for educators to figure out before measures are taken to potentially ease their after-class workload. My mother is a high school math teacher that works harder than anyone I've ever seen grading tests and assignments and going the extra mile for her students at all hours of the day and night. I doubt that the increased free time she would receive would outweigh the amount of ownership she would lose within her own classroom and over her own assignments by allowing a machine to spit out grades that she would then feel the need to verify.

To me, the most important portion of the debate is the ethical dilemma surrounding the decision to automatically grade papers, tests, and even speeches. Does putting the agency into the hands of a machine detract from the ability for teachers to teach and students to learn in the classroom? Does it create a standard that is so universal that teachers begin to teach students to perform in ways that enhance scores within the computer system? Does this potential change in philosophy stifle the creativity of bright minds, both the ones doing the teaching and the ones doing the learning?

With so many questions still to consider, there is one case in which having a computerized grading system is a far better option than what is currently happening: academic fraud. A district in Atlanta has recently come under fire after allegations surfaced that suggested that teachers would have "grade-changing parties" to doctor standardized test results and raise and lower the marks of students. The level of corruption extended to the very top of the district, leading to nationwide exposure and a call for a drastic overhaul of the entire structure of the school district.

It is clear that in such circumstances, the agency must not rest in the hands of corrupt teachers. Instead, something must be done to ensure fairness and accuracy...something like creating an automated grading machine. Often times teachers are unfairly lumped together with bad ones to create the image of a profession that simply cannot get out of its own way. Reforms are enacted that shackle the abilities of quality workers to teach so that bad ones who fall through the cracks can be held in check. Therefore, whatever system is devised needs to take into account the individual being given agency or being denied agency before blanketing the entire slew of the nation's teachers with a negative stigma.

This could be done in a cost-efficient way to benefit the students and residents of Atlanta; the problem is that in many places, the system is not broken and with so many questions, a solid system could be replaced with a creaky one. I firmly believe that teachers like my mom should be given the freedom to conduct their classrooms in whatever way they deem appropriate, but teachers who drag my mom's profession through the mud should be barred from inflicting harm on children by messing with a universal standard of judgment.