Nashville district denies pattern of grade changing despite further teacher allegations 

Metro Nashville Public Schools is denying allegations from a growing number of teachers who say they faced undue pressure to change student grades – even when they believed the grades were warranted.

“I don’t care if they can throw a football or take a quarterback’s head off or do a jump shot,” former McGavock High School teacher Tara West told the local Fox affiliate regarding pressure to change the grades of student-athletes. “I’m going to give what they earn.”

West spoke out as one of “additional current and former educators” raising grade concerns to the news outlet after a former district Teacher of the Year, Samira Hardcastle, explained her reasons for leaving her job.

“I was told to change the grade (of a student),” Hardcastle told journalists in August. “I did not think that it was ethical, and so I did not. I refused.”

However, the district disputed Hardcastle’s perspective – arguing the student was allowed to complete missing work “independently graded by an administrator” – and assured the Fox affiliate it is “not aware of evidence indicating a broader pattern of administrators improperly changing grades or pressuring teachers to do so.”

‘Those who cannot speak for fear of retaliation’

Hardcastle resigned from the district in May after working there for eight years. She called for a district audit and establishment of a dedicated education committee at a Sept. 1 Metropolitan Council meeting, according to the article.

“I’m not standing here as the only teacher experiencing this,” she told council members. “I represent those who cannot speak for fear of retaliation.”

In another interview with journalists, Hardcastle emphasized the challenges she believes face teachers who may not wish to discuss their grading concerns publicly.

“The reason that it’s so easy for me is because I don’t need this job. I quit,” Hardcastle said. “So that’s why I’m able to speak up for the others, but they can’t because that’s their life.”

Ultimately, grades should reflect the work a student has put into classroom assignments, according to Hardcastle – not multiple opportunities given before or afterward.

“It says that you can do nothing and get everything,” she argued of grade changes.

Furthermore, a scarcity of consequences for present academic failures could lead to greater problems in students’ lives, according to Hardcastle.

“Imagine someone who just whimmed their way through, you know, medical school and they are doing your open-heart surgery,” she said. “These people are your politicians, your police officers, your doctors, and it’s just – it’s doing a disservice to society as a whole.”

Meanwhile, West added she had witnessed another teacher having issues with changed grades involving a student-athlete.

“She showed me what she put in the day before,” West told the Fox affiliate about the grade. “And then she checked it the day of the football game and it was changed. We both physically saw that, and she didn’t do it.”

The Tennessee Department of Education has not yet confirmed whether it is investigating the district over these reports, according to the article.