I don't understand how one F can make one grade go down to a C

[Mskanga]

Originally posted by dennis99ss
Once again, I am in the minority opinion here.

That was not the kids F. Mom, it was yours! You earned it for her by taking her out of school for vacation.

Oh, but then you went and took care of the problem for her by getting a re-test. I'll bet next year, your pull the child out again, without taking any lesson from this incident. I bet the child learned something.....i.e. it is not good to skip school. (at least that may have been learned, until you came to the rescue and convinced the teacher to give another test.)

Whatever happened to taking the responsibility of ensuring that the child knows what is going on at school when the child is out? I guess that went away with personal responsibility.

Dennis, I don't know you or who you are, and you don't know me or who I am , so I would appreciate if you stop judging me.

 

[gepetto]

Originally posted by Mskanga
I have no problem with that however she cannot expect the kids to be at the same level when they miss days , in my dd's case was vacation, other kids are for sicknesses.

But your child's absence was voluntary. The sick kids missed days were involuntary. There is a difference. I don't think a school has an obligation to let a child make up any work missed due to unexcused absences.

Why didn't you make sure she kept up with her geography on your "educational" vacation?


I agree with Dennis99's statement..

Whatever happened to taking the responsibility of ensuring that the child knows what is going on at school when the child is out? I guess that went away with personal responsibility.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

it was an excused absence, and the teacher didn't give Ms. Kanga's dd the work in advance. but in most schools the student is responsible for obtaining the material missed during an excused absence --- either from another student or from the teacher. I'm glad the teacher agreed to retest your dd, Ms. Kanga, but I think it would be to your dd's benefit if, next time she's out of school, she addresses the missed work immediately, and doesn't wait for you to bail her out after a low grade shows up in a permanent record.

 

[gepetto]

How can a vacation be an "excused" absence?

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I'm agreeing with apagano and Dennis on this one. Too many parents are so quick to call the school and complain about whatever...what is it teaching their kids? Next time, you should take your vacation when school is out, that way she won't miss anything.

 

[BusyMomof3]

I've always been the same way as your DD--perfectionist, straight A student, etc. I don't know how old your DD is, but I know that all of my high school teachers expect their students to be very responsible about making up missed assignments. When teachers are passing out a test, they often don't remember that a student has missed several days unless the student reminds them, and then they usually arrange to give the test at a later time.

I'm not trying to say that your DD did anything wrong (I remember crying when I got a C in 5th grade), but teachers are usually way too busy to seek out every student who has missed class.

I also think it's really strange that her progress report grade is also on her report card. Does it affect her final grades for the year, too?

 

[nsyncraider17]

oops, the last post was from me, not BusyMomof3!

 

[aahmom1]

dennis99ss, I agree with you.

I cannot understand how this is the fault of the teacher.
It is yours and your childs responsibility to get good grades. If she didn't know the work because you were on vacation, then you have to make a choice.

I'm sure she could have made a safe assumption of what she would be tested on when she got home, even if the teacher didn't tell her. Teachers don't usually bounce around a math book, they tend to go in order, so if she was working on page 99 through 110 before she left, it is safe to assume that they were working on page 111 through 121 while you were gone.

I can't believe that you for one would go and fight with the teacher about the grade, and secondly, I can't believe that the teacher is going to give her a make-up test.

If I were you I would be thanking my lucky stars that your daughter has such a thoughtful teacher instead of berating her for not catering to every vacationing child.

BTW, I don't think there is EVER such a thing a an excused absense for vacation.

 

[Kallison]

I think the teacher was more than fair to retest your DD while she was out on vacation. I don't think it was the teachers responsibility to make sure she knew what was going on ahead of time. If she did send work great, but if she didn't get around to it, well those are the breaks, then you have to catch up when you return. I also think it was great for the teacher to give her another progress report with a higher grade. Since a progress report is not a permanent record and is just a precursor to the report card, I don't see what the issue would be about having a C on your progress report or a higher grade. It is not the final grade, no big deal. I certainly wouldn't complain about the teacher after she did all of the above. As for her not realizing your DD went from an A to a lower grade, she probably has 100 plus students. Middle School is time for the students to start taking responsibility for their own grades and realizing that when their grades begin to drop it is time for them to approach the teachers. Our 7th graders have a grade sheet that they keep on their own so they know at all times exactly what their grade is at that moment. This is the age when they need to take personal responsibility for their grades, not the teacher holding their hands every step of the way.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I guess our school district allows "excused" absences for vacation but the policy is different than it is for sickness.

The kids have the responsibility of finding out in advance what material will be covered and staying current in their books. If there is a test the day they return -- so be it -- they take the test. The teachers have the option of giving out the homework assignments in advance. If they give it out in advance, it is due the day the kids return. If they don't give it out...then the kids are responsible for getting another student to collect the assignments while they are gone and they then have 2 to 3 days to complete the work and turn it in.

It is extremely hard on the teachers to prepare assignments in advance and then make up "extra" quizes and tests for vacationing kids -- much less go back and reteach the material that was missed. Any teacher who goes to that much extra work for a kid deserves a huge thank you.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

my 5th grader's teacher made it the students' responsibility to find out what work they've missed. that applies when they miss a lesson because they're out of the classroom for instruction by another teacher, and it applies when they're out of school for whatever reason. of course the teacher has also made herself available for extra help at specified times if they have a problem, but it's their responsibility to get to the extra help session.

 

[dalepool]

I took my daughter out of school every year---from the age of 5 up to and including her senior year in high school---once for just over 3 weeks. Daughter was and is a good student. ( getting straight A's in college). Family trips- learning experiences are worth their weight in gold!!!!! with that said. As a matter of point at one job interview I was asked about my life experiences---grades were never asked about. Grades are "anothers" opinion of work "I" have preformed----If I did my BEST shouldn't I be judged with an A?. Just my .02.

Since the teacher is happy to re-test sounds like all is good.

Only semester grades are recorded to the school record.

This may help with why an A goes to a C if an F is recorded.

A for 5 credits = 4.0--value of the A X5 =20 credit points
F for 5 credits = 0.0 ---value of the F X 5 = 0 credit points.

now you must average the two grades
20 credit points divided by 10--credits = 2.0 which is the credit value of a C.

I hope this is what you were asking.....

PattyN

 

[JohnTBap]

Originally posted by dalepool
I took my daughter out of school every year---from the age of 5 up to and including her senior year in high school---once for just over 3 weeks.

Length of year - 365 days (sometimes 366!)
Length of school year - 180 days (this year in my district, roughly the same in yours)
185 NOT IN SCHOOL!

Originally posted by dalepool
As a matter of point at one job interview I was asked about my life experiences---grades were never asked about.

Most likely because your grades were known BEFORE you even interviewed.

Originally posted by dalepool
Grades are "anothers" opinion of work "I" have preformed----If I did my BEST shouldn't I be judged with an A?. Just my .02.

No, you shouldn't. Your grade is based upon whether you met the objective for the lesson.

 

[gepetto]

Originally posted by dalepool
Grades are "anothers" opinion of work "I" have preformed----If I did my BEST shouldn't I be judged with an A?. Just my .02.

no. You should only get an "A" if the average on your graded work is 90 or above. (or 93 on a 7 point grading scale).



If you get your "A for effort", that is totally unfair to the other students who actually earned one based on their work rather than trying really hard.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by Toby'sFriend
Your daughter is lucky to get to retake the test. My son's school wouldn't make a concession like that for a vacation absence. They are expected to return from vacation ready to re-enter the class at the same point all the other students are at.

As it should be!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by Briar Rose 7457
Imy 7th grader does not like art class, and is so happy that art is an elective in 8th grade and she won't have to take it. she was so disguested with one of her art projects this year that she never completed it. she got a less than wonderful g4rade in art class that semester, and was embarassed. she went to the teacher and asked what she could do to improve the grade. the teacher was so impressed that she allowed dd to re-do the project and pull up the grade.

It just floors me that teachers allow them to do this! In my book, you needed to hand in the work completed when it was due. If not, you live with the grade. Next time perhaps it will be completed and submitted on time.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by dennis99ss
Once again, I am in the minority opinion here.

That was not the kids F. Mom, it was yours! You earned it for her by taking her out of school for vacation.

Oh, but then you went and took care of the problem for her by getting a re-test. I'll bet next year, your pull the child out again, without taking any lesson from this incident. I bet the child learned something.....i.e. it is not good to skip school. (at least that may have been learned, until you came to the rescue and convinced the teacher to give another test.)

Whatever happened to taking the responsibility of ensuring that the child knows what is going on at school when the child is out? I guess that went away with personal responsibility.

Thank you, Dennis! I agree one zillion percent!!

 

[Mskanga]

FYI, some of you may not consider vacations excused days, our school district does , they have high guidelines for it but they are considered excused if they find it acceptable and the student is doing good in school. They have to be approved by all teachers and the Principal and is based on how well the student does academically.
I asked for homework ahead of time and nothing was given because the teachers didn't think it was necessary, after returning to school nothing extra was given and four out of the five teachers did not have a problem and no grades went down except for math.
So for those of you who never take the kids out of school for whatever reason may be or because you think you are a better parent than I am, good for you, do what works for you but have the decency to not judge those of us who do take the kids out of school and are legally allowed to do it, I didn't judge you and neither one of you had the right to judge me.
For the record, our school does have alternative testing days if the teachers know the children are going to be absent ahead of time.

 

[I <3 Eeyore]

Originally posted by Mskanga
Then she did say that was an unfair "F" and that she will discard that test, re-test her and re-assess and correct the grade.
I have never in the five years she's been in that school complained but I wonder, if you have a student who has an average of A's and B's and then she goes straight to an F, wouldn't you wonder why?
I'm happy with the fact that she is going to be re-assessed and the teacher will correct her mistake but geez, if she saw such a drastic drop in the grade why didn't she pay a little bit more attention?

Frankly, I'm at a loss to understand how this can be viewed as the teacher's 'mistake'. The teacher gave a test. That's what they do. If you choose to take your child out of school for a week, it's up to you and your child to ensure that she keeps up with the class. If it was me, I would have asked what was going to be covered in her absence. I would be pretty suspicious of any school that would assign no homework in any classes for a whole week. I also feel it's not the teacher's responsibility to hold off until your daughter feels she's up to speed. It's nice for her that she gets to retake the test, but I don't see it as an entitlement - it's more of a lucky break.

 

[jrmasm]

If a family is going on vacation and the child/parents request the work that will be missed. The child returns with work completed and ready to continue on with the class. What is the big damn deal??? Why are some of you so offended by this??


Mskanga, what was the teacher's deal about not giving the classroom assignments ahead of time???? That's crap! As far as I was aware, lesson plans had to be submitted ahead of time so there should have be little effort required on her part to give you DD work to do??? "We're working on Chapter 7 next week". How hard is that??