Demerit (school discipline)

A demerit is a point given to a student as a penalty for bad behavior.[1] Under this once common practice, a student is given a number of merits during the beginning of the school term and a certain number of merits are deducted for every infraction committed.[2]

Schools use the demerit record within a point-based system to punish misbehavior. After a certain number of demerits are accumulated, the student is given detention, loss of privileges (e.g. being denied field trips and participation in school events), or some other punishment[3][4] based on the seriousness and frequency of the infraction.[5] Some schools allow demerits to be offset with merits for good behavior.[6]

One criticism of demerit systems is that they create bookkeeping problems and can result in students receiving severe punishments for minor infractions.[7] Another criticism is that older adolescents learn how to manipulate a demerit system.[8] There are also critics who cite that demerits wear parents down with constant parental meetings and leave students behind due to missed instructional time as a consequence of punishments such as detention and suspension.[9]

References
  1. Rosen, Louis (2005-02-01). School Discipline: Best Practices for Administrators. Corwin Press. ISBN 978-1-4833-6139-0.
  2. Rosen, Louis (2005). School Discipline: Best Practices for Administrators, Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. p. 38. ISBN 1412913489.
  3. https://discover.randolphschool.net/blog/k12/2015/08/28/the-demise-of-the-demerit
  4. https://www.riverdale.k12.wi.us/middle/demerit-system.cfm
  5. Deakin, Jo; Taylor, Emmeline; Kupchik, Aaron (2018). The Palgrave International Handbook of School Discipline, Surveillance, and Social Control. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 179. ISBN 9783319715582.
  6. https://d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/1412/documents/2017/6/MS_Policies%20and%20Procedures.pdf
  7. https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1997-02-12-3133262-story.html
  8. Louis Rosen. School Discipline: Best Practices for Administrators.
  9. Rotberg, Iris C.; Glazer, Joshua L. (2018). Choosing Charters: Better Schools or More Segregation?. New York: Teachers College Press. p. 74. ISBN 9780807759004.


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