Reading out grades in class...

[HeyIt'sMe]

My DD is in 7th Grade and she said her pre-algebra teacher recently re-arranged the seating chart and told the kids that where they are sitting reflects their grade - - the front is the "A" students and the further you go back the worse the grades get. You'd think it would be the other way around.

And DD said when he hands out exams he'll say 'the people I call up all got "A"s' and then he just hands out the rest to the students at their desk. So, he's acknowledging the students that got As but you don't know what grade the other students got.

 

[wdwfan16]

That's always been a big no-no in my kids' schools. In fact, when I did a long-term sub assignment, I started putting a list of assignments and who still needed to turn in what on a side wall. The kids were fine with it and would check the list every day to make sure they turned everything in.

When one of the principals saw it, I was told I had to remove the names. So a big time-saving, grade saving thing was a no go.

That is just stupid!

 

[DawnM]

I used to have no problem with this. Then I became a parent to a special needs child.

He is not special needs enough to be in special classrooms. He is mainstreamed and with those who are able to get 90% or above.

It bothers him a LOT and he had a few kids pick on him.

My other two children do not have these hang ups and I wouldn't be as concerned for them.

How is it motivating for a child who has truly done his best but can never get that grade? All sorts of studies show over and over that positive reinforcement works far better than shame for motivation. I am not talking about fake motivation, like the everyone gets a trophy stuff, but congratulating people on doing THEIR best WHEN they do!

Dawn

 

[lillygator]

By pretest do you mean that this is the kids' first exposure to the list of words?

for my DD, 1st grade, she gets her spelling words Monday. Thursday, they have a pretest, if you get 100%, you don't have to take it Friday.

 

[daisyduck123]

HI don't have a problem with it at all. It's not any different than the local newspaper publishing the "Honor Roll" lists.

I'm a teacher by the way

 

[DizBelle]

I used to have no problem with this. Then I became a parent to a special needs child.

He is not special needs enough to be in special classrooms. He is mainstreamed and with those who are able to get 90% or above.

It bothers him a LOT and he had a few kids pick on him.

My other two children do not have these hang ups and I wouldn't be as concerned for them.

How is it motivating for a child who has truly done his best but can never get that grade? All sorts of studies show over and over that positive reinforcement works far better than shame for motivation. I am not talking about fake motivation, like the everyone gets a trophy stuff, but congratulating people on doing THEIR best WHEN they do!

Dawn

So, since not everyone can be acknowledged for their good grade, nobody should? No one gets positive reinforcement.

If achievements are not acknowledged, no one will be motivated to make any. The world is headed toward mediocrity and that is just sad.

 

[TwinsinCA]

for my DD, 1st grade, she gets her spelling words Monday. Thursday, they have a pretest, if you get 100%, you don't have to take it Friday.

When my kids have a pretest they don't even have the list of words yet. If they test out then they get a 'challenge list' to study but get an automatic 100% for the week's test even if they get some challenge words wrong.

 

[wdwfan16]

I used to have no problem with this. Then I became a parent to a special needs child.

He is not special needs enough to be in special classrooms. He is mainstreamed and with those who are able to get 90% or above.

It bothers him a LOT and he had a few kids pick on him.

My other two children do not have these hang ups and I wouldn't be as concerned for them.

How is it motivating for a child who has truly done his best but can never get that grade? All sorts of studies show over and over that positive reinforcement works far better than shame for motivation. I am not talking about fake motivation, like the everyone gets a trophy stuff, but congratulating people on doing THEIR best WHEN they do!

Dawn

The teaching is congratulating the best for their 90s. That does not mean that the teacher cannot say to your son later that he did well on his test. You can also tell him how well he did.

Why should the other kids get their positive reinforcement removed so the others don't feel they are slighted?

 

[MomToOne]

Yes, effort must not have anything to do with academic success.

OK - I'm a long term lurker, but had to join just to jump in on this thread.

I have a daughter that stuggles with a learning disability. Just because she doesn't get a 90% on a test doesn't mean she doesn't make an "effort". She works darn HARD for the Bs and Cs she gets - many times harder than most A students work. I am very proud for her for the EFFORT she makes, not the grades she gets. And tell her that just about everyday.

But unfortunately, when teachers like this one decide to announce things like this in class, she is constantly reminded that she is not one of the "smart" ones. And other kids start to make comments to her about how she is never "on the list". Her self esteem is in the toilet because of teachers like this that have tried to "motivate" her with mis-guided efforts such as these.

Thanks, but no thanks. I'd be one of the parents going to the principal on this.

 

[LuvLDM]

I think a students grades are private whether they score a %100 or fail miserably.
It's not an issue I would complain about though.

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

I had a teacher in 8th grade who would not call out the grades, but she would call students up and hand back the exams in the order of scoring. First would be the As then the Bs etc.

I must admit, I loved it when my paper was close to the top

One thing I did not like though, was that when we got our report cards, the Priest (private school) would come in and read our grades out loud to everyone as he passed them out. (and comment on them too)

All sorts of studies show over and over that positive reinforcement works far better than shame for motivation. I am not talking about fake motivation, like the everyone gets a trophy stuff, but congratulating people on doing THEIR best WHEN they do!

I agree, praise works much better than shame.
I had a classmate who had severe learning issues. He tried so hard, but never met our teacher’s high standards. One time, he had to turn in a paper he worked very hard on. We weren’t allowed to type it up, so it was hand written. She took one look at it and tore it up in front of the whole class saying that his chicken scratch wasn’t worth her time. He stopped trying after that.

 

[luvsJack]

As long as the grades under whatever number grade she stops at are kept secret, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

Congratulating effort is what should be done. The thing is, one kid may get 100's with little to no effort and another kid get 80's with a HUGE amount of effort. The teacher should know the difference and figure out how to commend both students

 

[Rora]

My favorite professor calls out the two highest scores on every test. I LOVE when I am one of those people. People often complain about him, he expects you to work for your grades (we can't have that now!)

Wonder if Mommy will call the dean if I am sad because I don't get my name called next time

The teachers I had throughout the years have usually always done this. It was always exciting to see who got it and made you want to study harder!!

I don't see a problem with calling out the top grades in the class, to a point. You certainly don't want to make the other children feel like they'll NEVER get a good enough score and to stop trying while they're ahead (learned all about this in my Development class as an Elementary Education major).

OP- in this situation, I think the teacher was doing the right thing.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I don't share grades as a general rule, but I do sometimes share "great" grades. I have a girl in my class who has worked really hard (11th grade); she earned B's and C's in the first marking periods. She is earning an A, and I announce it often. I am so proud of her.

My gifted and talented students are just as likely to have a C in my class as any one else and some of my learning disabled students have A's.

I think some of the kids who get great grades don't always get positive reinforcement for how hard they work. Be it fair or not, I am more demanding on my kids who have natural writing abilities. I want them to grow as well.

I also acknowledge when kids are doing better. Not everyone can earn an A in English, or math, or art. The kids not getting the praise in one subject might be getting it in another.

In my AP class, I share who earned an 8 or 9 on their papers. This shows the other students that it is possible and allows them to also praise their peers and learn from them. We write different types of papers, so if a kid doesn't do well on one, he might do well on another.

Sometimes I even read their papers (all levels of students) or project them on the LCD projector! GASP! If I am attributing the paper to the student, I ask the student for permission. If I am displaying it as a paper that needs work, I don't show the name, but I tell them to not blurt out if it is theirs - unless they want others to know. Usually they don't care.

At home, I explain to my eight year old daughters that they will always be better at something than someone else and someone else will always be better at something then them. I read this somewhere - sorry, I can't give credit.

 

[jazzielady]

I can't speak for the entire country, but I know in PA students have a right to privacy regarding their grades (it may be national, I just don't know) in a public k-12 school. If grades/missing assignments are posted, it must be by the students school number.

Now, I can hear posters chime in and say, well, they just tell each other their grades anyway. True, but then that's THEIR responsibility, not the teacher's or the school's.

I just retired from teaching middle school for over 20 years.

 

[Mkrop]

I can't speak for the entire country, but I know in PA students have a right to privacy regarding their grades (it may be national, I just don't know) in a public k-12 school. If grades/missing assignments are posted, it must be by the students school number.

Now, I can hear posters chime in and say, well, they just tell each other their grades anyway. True, but then that's THEIR responsibility, not the teacher's or the school's.

I just retired from teaching middle school for over 20 years.

I am in PA but this is a Catholic school so not sure if this would apply but maybe this could be why she was forced to stop as well as the parents complaining.

 

[marcyinPA]

I can't speak for the entire country, but I know in PA students have a right to privacy regarding their grades (it may be national, I just don't know) in a public k-12 school. If grades/missing assignments are posted, it must be by the students school number.

Now, I can hear posters chime in and say, well, they just tell each other their grades anyway. True, but then that's THEIR responsibility, not the teacher's or the school's.

I just retired from teaching middle school for over 20 years.

Yup! This is how it's done in our district too. And I totally agree with the part I bolded!

I feel that a child's worth should not be connected to what grades he/she got. If you don't announce the 89%'s, you are in essence saying that you weren't worth mentioning. Some kids work extra hard to be B or C students, and they should be valued as well. I think it's a lot more beneficial to say "I'm pleased with most of the grades I saw on the tests. You showed me that you grasped the concepts". At least this way, the teacher isn't leaving anyone out, and placing some on an academic pedestal, and nobody knows at that point who got what grade.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I despise this practice. Being born smart enough to do well in school is as random as being born likely to struggle. It makes no sense to spotlight either kid.

You don't have to be "born smart". A teacher actually told my mother that one of my brothers was an overacheiver - that, based on early testing, he was working harder and (so) getting better grades than the teacher expected of him! Why? He was a twin, and his twin wasn't doing as well in school!

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

Are you ready for this one? If your school receives any funding from the U.S. Department of Education, announcing any grade is illegal. You are not allowed to "publish" student grades without permission.

 

[Mkrop]

I used to have no problem with this. Then I became a parent to a special needs child.

He is not special needs enough to be in special classrooms. He is mainstreamed and with those who are able to get 90% or above.

It bothers him a LOT and he had a few kids pick on him.

My other two children do not have these hang ups and I wouldn't be as concerned for them.

How is it motivating for a child who has truly done his best but can never get that grade? All sorts of studies show over and over that positive reinforcement works far better than shame for motivation. I am not talking about fake motivation, like the everyone gets a trophy stuff, but congratulating people on doing THEIR best WHEN they do!

Dawn

Why would you consider this shaming motivation?

I totally get praising a great effort. just praised DS7 for getting an 89 in Math bc he has been struggling big time. The teacher told him she was proud of him as well but he did not earn his grade to be called out. (Not that they do this in first grade)

I find it interesting that some people do not want to praise academic success. And there are tons of kids who work extremely hard for those As, it doesnt just come easy for them.