Kids and Grades

[gotomu212]

For those thinking teachers should reach out to the parents of failing students...they do through the online system. Our son's school makes it very clear that they provide weekly progress reports through the online grades (which is frankly way more info than my parents ever got) and if you want more info o have concerns you need to contact them.

I don't think a teacher is responsible for communicating online and then having to follow up with parents who don't bother to look online or question the grades there. Thats like saying my son's teacher sent a letter home, I didn't respond so now she should call me.

 

[Poohforyou]

The weighting of grades can be confusing. Last year my daughter's math teacher said she'd drop the lowest quiz grade the last marking period because many kids weren't doing that well (AP class). My daughter actually asked her not to drop her lowest one because it would have lowered her overall grade from an A to a B.

 

[mjkacmom]

See, my feeling on this is that it's often best to get your big mistakes out of the way when you're young. Versus having a parent chide and chivvy you along until you're at the point where your mistakes really can have life-altering consequences, and then leaving you to deal with them yourself.

If my kid was "fine just flunking out of school", then I'd think it would be best to either help them find an alternative learning environment or deal with whatever the issue is that's causing them to want to drop out. My son's best friend never actually finished high school. He's now a "senior video editor" with a nice fat portfolio and a really nice paycheck.

I know other kids who've taken five or six years to finish high school. Who've gone to adult high school. Or who skipped high school entirely, and went to university or college as "mature students". None of their lives were ruined by bad decisions they made in high school.

I also know kids (myself included) who drop out of university because the only reason they went in the first place was because it was expected.

I think schools, as a whole, would be vastly improved if the kids who attended them actually wanted to be there.

(ETA: For the record, I'm not in any way criticizing anyone who keeps tabs on their high school student's grades. Different kid, different family, there's always more than one way to get things done. I absolutely agree that sometimes parents have to get involved. I just object to the whole "your life will be ruined if you don't finish high school" thing.)

It is very uncommon not to finish high school here. Without at least a GED, no one will hire you.

 

[Magpie]

It is very uncommon not to finish high school here. Without at least a GED, no one will hire you.

In the case of my son's friend, work experience counted (and will count) for a lot more than a high school diploma. One of the reasons he chose not to finish high school was because attending classes was taking time away from his job.

Also, it's not difficult to book a high school equivalency test. Plus, colleges and universities will admit you without a high school diploma if you are a "mature student" (over 21), and obviously once you have your undergrad, no one's going to care whether you finished high school.

 

[sam_gordon]

The weighting of grades can be confusing. Last year my daughter's math teacher said she'd drop the lowest quiz grade the last marking period because many kids weren't doing that well (AP class). My daughter actually asked her not to drop her lowest one because it would have lowered her overall grade from an A to a B.

How is that even possible? Unless your DD did very well on the quiz that was going to be dropped, it should only help her grade.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

The weighting of grades can be confusing. Last year my daughter's math teacher said she'd drop the lowest quiz grade the last marking period because many kids weren't doing that well (AP class). My daughter actually asked her not to drop her lowest one because it would have lowered her overall grade from an A to a B.

That doesn't make any sense. Dropping a grade doesn't take anything away, it's as if the quiz never happened.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

How is that even possible? Unless your DD did very well on the quiz that was going to be dropped, it should only help her grade.

Which also wouldn't make sense because then it wouldn't be the lowest graded quiz.

 

[scrapquitler]

DD16 is a junior in high school, our school does have a website which you can log onto and check your child's grades. Some teachers are great about entering grades, others not so much. The school sees this as a replacement for direct communication with home and most teachers will not reach out to parents, I have been told by more than one of them that they feel it is the parent's responsibility to follow along online and reach out to the teacher if they are concerned. The teachers are "too busy" and have "too many" students to do it themselves. (I have 2 family members who are teachers in our district as well as several friends, it was through casual conversations that this came up) Mind you we are a two square mile town with about 450 kids in the high school. My daughters graduating class hovers around 110.

Last marking period I checked in on DDs grades weekly and they were all good, she checks them almost daily as well. Aside from 1 zero and a 68 (70 is passing) on 2 assignments for her history class her remaining 15 grades for that class were all 80 and above. While I was perturbed that she had a zero and a 68 I wasn't concerned for her overall grade. Imagine our surprise when her report card arrived and she failed history with a 68. Mathematically I just don't see how it is possible. I have a call in to her history teacher and her guidance counselor for clarification.

Has anyone had similar experiences?

I loved Powerschool! It was easy for me to keep track of my daughters grades and assignments, but really, by the time she was a Junior, I was not that much in the loop -- it was her responsibility to keep track of her assignments, ask the teacher for additional help if needed, etc. If she needed help or advice, she came to me. I din't feel that it was the teacher's responsibility to keep me informed that much.

And yes, some assignments carried more weight than others, and the Powerschool system didn't always account for that correctly (or maybe the teacher wasn't inputting it correctly every day).

 

[LilyWDW]

When my daughter started middle school we instituted a policy that we'd do what we could to advocate for her but only after she advocated for herself without success. It wasn't an overnight success but as a high school senior I have confidence in her being able to navigate college. I'm concerned for some kids ability to do that.
.

This is a great policy!

I don't think anyone is saying that the kid shouldn't have a "safety net" of a parent to back them up. But by this point in their lives (a junior in High School) that initial email/discussion should have been done by the student. Not by the parent. If things were not getting explained or if the student was being brushed off, then yes, parents should step in. There is so much good that can happen by empowering the child like this now that it seems silly not to.

Also, the school has set up a way to contact parents about grade issues... by them using the online system. Honestly, if the parent is too lazy to keep an eye on that then a call or letter home most likely wouldn't help either.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

Which also wouldn't make sense because then it wouldn't be the lowest graded quiz.

I think it makes sense weirdly. If she had all good quiz grades, but a poor score on a test or homework that extra good quiz score could help out.

 

[sam_gordon]

Which also wouldn't make sense because then it wouldn't be the lowest graded quiz.

I was thinking the teacher was going to "erase" a certain quiz, not the lowest for every one. For example, let's say there are 5 quizzes, A, B, C, D, E. Maybe the teacher is dropping quiz C because the class didn't do well. But PP daughter actually got an A on the quiz. That could hurt her grade. I doubt the teacher would drop quiz A for Suzy, B for Jimmy, C for D, etc, etc.

 

[mom2rtk]

This is a great policy!

I don't think anyone is saying that the kid shouldn't have a "safety net" of a parent to back them up. But by this point in their lives (a junior in High School) that initial email/discussion should have been done by the student. Not by the parent. If things were not getting explained or if the student was being brushed off, then yes, parents should step in. There is so much good that can happen by empowering the child like this now that it seems silly not to.

Also, the school has set up a way to contact parents about grade issues... by them using the online system. Honestly, if the parent is too lazy to keep an eye on that then a call or letter home most likely wouldn't help either.

That online system is only as good as the information being loaded into it. Not sure if our teachers are just worse than most, but I can't take it seriously when scores aren't entered in a timely fashion while possibly points are, resulting is quite inaccurate grade totals.

Thankfully just the thought of having me in the middle of their business has been enough to motivate my kids to stay on top of it themselves.

I will also add that there's a big difference between high school freshmen and upper classmen. Sometimes it takes a bit for them to totally take ownership of it all, yet those grades are all for keeps. I haven't needed it but sure would have appreciated it if I got a heads up if something was awry.

 

[pryncess527]

That online system is only as good as the information being loaded into it. Not sure if our teachers are just worse than most, but I can't take it seriously when scores aren't entered in a timely fashion while possibly points are, resulting is quite inaccurate grade totals.

I don't have kids, but this is the exact problem one of my friends has with her kids -- the assignments are all pre-loaded and the computer calculates an ongoing average based on the due dates -- but the teacher will wait and enter a ton of grades at once, so the online system shows a bunch of 0s and a low average until the teacher updates it.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

My boys teachers have no weekly update required for power school. Some teachers input grades regularly, and the system works great. Other teachers wait weeks and input grades in batches. That's frustrating. My youngest DS has a lot of missing work, but if the teachers don't input grades I don't know. By the time they input it it will often be to late for him to turn it in even for partial credit. For my oldest DS the online grades don't really matter because he's much more responsible. I don't need to monitor his grades at all.

We've had it happen before where my DS was doing great when we looked online a week before the marking period ended, and then he ended up with a poor grade because the teacher put in weeks worth of grades right at the end of the marking period. Maybe that's what happened with the OP.

Way back when I was in high school in the 80s our teachers were required to notify parents if kids were getting a D or worse. Don't ask me how I know that.

 

[mom2rtk]

I was thinking the teacher was going to "erase" a certain quiz, not the lowest for every one. For example, let's say there are 5 quizzes, A, B, C, D, E. Maybe the teacher is dropping quiz C because the class didn't do well. But PP daughter actually got an A on the quiz. That could hurt her grade. I doubt the teacher would drop quiz A for Suzy, B for Jimmy, C for D, etc, etc.

That would never fly with me. I would highly encourage my student to question that. If they were unsuccessful I would probably step in. You're not going to erase a beneficial score on my students record because the rest of the students did poorly.

And my kids have had a number of teachers in both high school and college who had a policy of erasing each student's lowest test score. It didn't matter if was a different exam for each student, although I'm pretty sure the final was exempt from that.

Not that it matters though. I have never seen a teacher do that.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't have kids, but this is the exact problem one of my friends has with her kids -- the assignments are all pre-loaded and the computer calculates an ongoing average based on the due dates -- but the teacher will wait and enter a ton of grades at once, so the online system shows a bunch of 0s and a low average until the teacher updates it.

It's why I almost never look. Certainly never on my own. I need my student right beside me filling in the missing information for me. It almost renders the system worthless. Garbage in, garbage out.

 

[Poohlove]

That online system is only as good as the information being loaded into it. Not sure if our teachers are just worse than most, but I can't take it seriously when scores aren't entered in a timely fashion while possibly points are, resulting is quite inaccurate grade totals.

Thankfully just the thought of having me in the middle of their business has been enough to motivate my kids to stay on top of it themselves.

I will also add that there's a big difference between high school freshmen and upper classmen. Sometimes it takes a bit for them to totally take ownership of it all, yet those grades are all for keeps. I haven't needed it but sure would have appreciated it if I got a heads up if something was awry.

Great example of garbage in, garbage out - DD's Chemistry teacher has a test in PowerSchool dated 11/22, they took it today. She entered 0 as everyone's grade and will go in and update the grades as she marks the test. At back to school night she explained that she does this so that everyone knows their worst case scenario. It still doesn't explain the incorrect date

Back on topic, I did get an email back from the teacher and her first marking period grade was incorrect, one of the grades entered in PowerSchool also had an incorrect weight assigned to it. It has since been corrected.

 

[morgan98]

I was thinking the teacher was going to "erase" a certain quiz, not the lowest for every one. For example, let's say there are 5 quizzes, A, B, C, D, E. Maybe the teacher is dropping quiz C because the class didn't do well. But PP daughter actually got an A on the quiz. That could hurt her grade. I doubt the teacher would drop quiz A for Suzy, B for Jimmy, C for D, etc, etc.

The dropping of the lowest quiz grade has been around for quite some time. I remember this from my high school days. I graduated in 1988, for reference. And yes, the lowest score for each student was dropped, not one whole quiz grade for the entire class.

However, the explanation you presented is one of the only things that make sense. I am just saying that dropping each students' lowest grade is not strange at all. My mom taught high school French for 35+ years and she did it as well.

 

[sam_gordon]

The dropping of the lowest quiz grade has been around for quite some time. I remember this from my high school days. I graduated in 1988, for reference. And yes, the lowest score for each student was dropped, not one whole quiz grade for the entire class.

However, the explanation you presented is one of the only things that make sense. I am just saying that dropping each students' lowest grade is not strange at all. My mom taught high school French for 35+ years and she did it as well.

I can see dropping each students lowest score if they announce it at that start of the semester. Going back in time (also graduated in 88), I remember some teachers saying the class (as a whole) did so bad, they're scrapping the entire quize grade. I've also had teacher announce they've decided to score an assignment on a curve (highest score got an A, then bell curve from that).

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I was thinking the teacher was going to "erase" a certain quiz, not the lowest for every one. For example, let's say there are 5 quizzes, A, B, C, D, E. Maybe the teacher is dropping quiz C because the class didn't do well. But PP daughter actually got an A on the quiz. That could hurt her grade. I doubt the teacher would drop quiz A for Suzy, B for Jimmy, C for D, etc, etc.

I've only had experience with teachers dropping the lowest quiz grade of each student. It seems kind of mean to do it the way you describe because then it takes away from students who did well...