Report cards

[lillygator]

well since she asked TWO days before report cards, I would have said no as well. She had to have known she was struggling and the teacher may have been more receptive to offering extra credit if your dd had asked earlier, not now that report cards are due.

 

[mum4jenn]

I sure am glad that our school system has a thing called Parent Connect where you can log on and see grades each day!!! I look at my dd's grades either everyday or every other day just to make sure everything is going well. Last year she made 96 and above in every subject all year long and this year the first report card she made 1 B. She has pulled that grade up to a 96 in the last 3 weeks. Only 2 more weeks before the next report card!!!

I asked for a conference with her teachers last week because of a very low grade and that Dd is so unhappy in her gifted class she wants to get out. I hope things will get settled for dd.

 

[ilisao]

I'm not saying the teacher should "fix it". I'm saying she's being unreasonable if my DD goes to her wanting a chance to do a project or report for a 0.1 percent credit, and she says no.

Why is it unreasonable to make your daughter stick with the grade she earned two days before the end of the marking period? What kind of precedent is that to set?

Your daughter had all term to bring up that grade. She has only herself to blame. The teacher apparently is trying to teach her that lesson.

 

[ksjayhawks]

I'm not saying the teacher should "fix it". I'm saying she's being unreasonable if my DD goes to her wanting a chance to do a project or report for a 0.1 percent credit, and she says no.

Why is she being unreasonable? I am a teacher and I rarely, rarely do extra credit.

 

[Pigeon]

Your dd earned the F. I think the extra credit mentality is just plain idiotic. Dh is a high school teacher and he is plagued by constant requests for extra credit projects from kids who would do just fine if they actually did the work requested of them in the first place.

 

[Becky2005]

I haven't read through the entire thing but is this the for sure final grade?

I tell you -- my DD's Middle School was the weirdest thing -- we would get progress reports, this kid would have D's/F's on her progress reports & then 3 weeks later show up with a B or C on the actual report card & make honor roll. I can't imagine pulling an F up to an B in 3 weeks time with some of those as 1/2 days but that is what happened.

I'm EXTREMELY nervous because my DS in in 6th grade and his progress reports have been A's & B's = makes me wonder if his actual report card will show up with D's & F's on it (as he struggles with school to the point of he has an IEP, my DD did not!).

 

[PrincessKsMom]

If this is the grade she earned, then she deserves it. However, if you feel there is a mistake, find out. I had a teacher in 7th grade who failed me, even though I had all 90's and 100's in his class. When I told my mother, of course she thought it must be me lying. I pressured her to follow up. When she went to school for parent night he was completely dismissive and told her that because of who I was related too (my father's family were big troublemakers in town) and had all dropped out, I had no chance of being anything in life anyway, so it really didn't matter. My mother began screaming, which brought the principal running. The principal made him pull out all of my homeworks, tests, etc, which proved I should NOT have failed. She made him change my grade immediately and told him she would be watching him and his behavior. He was made to apologize to my mother and then publicly apologize to me in class the next day. After that he became my staunchest supporter. The year we graduated grammar school he moved with us to high school and pressed me every time he saw me to do better in school.

 

[disykat]

I'm with the others. If a child is getting a grade they aren't satisfied with, whether it's a B or an F, by junior high they should be able to talk to the teacher for help WAAAY before it's report card time.

Your dd needs to learn this valuable lesson, please let her. Jr high is the perfect time for learning these lessons, as is mid-term.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

Frankly, I wouldn't be mad at the teacher for not giving her an extra credit opportunity but I'd be really upset with my daughter.

I have to agree with this!

 

[manning]

I understand all your opinions, but what if you had an honors kid that made all A's, except for a B by 0.1 percent? I'm sure the teacher would probably make an exception in their case.

Why??

I hope I don't have a doctor who was given a break.

 

[Kathi OD]

I would also politely ask for an appointment to review ALL of her grades before the marking period is over. Sometimes teachers need to be reminded that parents are watching.

Since the marking period is over in 2 days, there's not much chance of an appointment happening before the marking period is over. However, now that OP knows DD isn't doing well, this is a very good suggestion for the future.

As for your second point, about teachers needing reminding that someone is watching, trust me when I tell you, most of us know all too well that parents are watching. However, in this specific case it's irrelevant, as it appears the parent wasn't watching or watching closely. Otherwise they would have had ample warning that the child was in danger of failing the report period.

 

[C.Ann]

You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

By the time you're in 8th grade, I find it hard to believe that your daughter didn't have an idea of how she was doing in the class. She's had more than ample time to be proactive and ask for ways to bump her grade up. Instead, she's now taking the initiative with only 2 days left in the grading period. If I was her teacher, I wouldn't appreciate it one bit. It's one thing to ask for extra assignments when there's time for the teacher to prepare and properly grade them. It's quite another to panic two days before grades are out and then expect the teacher to jump. Sounds like this is the perfect time for your daughter to learn a lesson. Sorry.

I understand being so close to not getting an F, but it is what your daughter earned.

Look at it from the teacher's stand point. Your daughter had to know once she started getting graded papers back that things weren't going well, but she didn't ask for extra credit then -- she waited until 2 days before the grading period. If I were the teacher my first thought would be, ok you have had all grading period to get help and/or extra credit and you waited until 2 days before the grades came out? Sorry, this is the grade you earned.

well since she asked TWO days before report cards, I would have said no as well. She had to have known she was struggling and the teacher may have been more receptive to offering extra credit if your dd had asked earlier, not now that report cards are due.

Why is it unreasonable to make your daughter stick with the grade she earned two days before the end of the marking period? What kind of precedent is that to set?

Your daughter had all term to bring up that grade. She has only herself to blame. The teacher apparently is trying to teach her that lesson.

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The above says it all.. This could not have possibly been a "surprise" out of the blue to your DD - although it does seem to be to you..

You get the grade you earn - by doing the work all along - not at the last minute..

I never, ever would have emailed the teacher about this.. You're sending the wrong message to your DD.. She's an 8th grader - old enough to take responsibility for her grades..

Sorry..

 

[nannerbadnanner]

My DDs are very young so I have to ask. Do schools not round up anymore? When I was in school (long ago!), anything a 69.5 or above would have been rounded up to a 70.

 

[TwinsinCA]

Back when I was in school I didn't know what kind of grade I'd get until I got it. I had no idea what sort of formula the teacher used determine grades. Is the lowest grade dropped? How much might class participation be considered? What percentage of the grade are test scores vs. homework? etc. I might have a rough idea but I don't think it is fair to assume she knew how poor she was doing until she got that number when she did. And by then it is too late to do something.

Unless they were given that "number" on a regular basis or had a clear idea of HOW grades were determined and could keep track by looking at her homework/test scores, how is she reasonably supposed to know?

 

[CowboyCO]

I'm not saying the teacher should "fix it". I'm saying she's being unreasonable if my DD goes to her wanting a chance to do a project or report for a 0.1 percent credit, and she says no.

Is this the first quarter grade? If so, then it is likely the semester grade is what will go on her record. It won't matter if it is 69.9 or 70.0 unles she ends the semester at 79.9. I think this is a great opportunity for you to teach your daughter a lesson at a great time. Starting in ninth grade, the grades count as part of their transcript that colleges consider. The grade is what it is. Extra credit isn't always offered. My DW rarely allows extra credit because those points are empty points and not a percentage of the overall available credits.

 

[Kathi OD]

Back when I was in school I didn't know what kind of grade I'd get until I got it. I had no idea what sort of formula the teacher used determine grades. Is the lowest grade dropped? How much might class participation be considered? What percentage of the grade are test scores vs. homework? etc. I might have a rough idea but I don't think it is fair to assume she knew how poor she was doing until she got that number when she did. And by then it is too late to do something.

Unless they were given that "number" on a regular basis or had a clear idea of HOW grades were determined and could keep track by looking at her homework/test scores, how is she reasonably supposed to know?

That's exactly how. It's the 13-14 yo version of personal responsibility. If you're doing all your assignments and keeping track of your grades, you have a pretty good idea if you're in danger of failing even without someone telling you on a regular basis.

 

[C.Ann]

Back when I was in school I didn't know what kind of grade I'd get until I got it. I had no idea what sort of formula the teacher used determine grades. Is the lowest grade dropped? How much might class participation be considered? What percentage of the grade are test scores vs. homework? etc. I might have a rough idea but I don't think it is fair to assume she knew how poor she was doing until she got that number when she did. And by then it is too late to do something.

Unless they were given that "number" on a regular basis or had a clear idea of HOW grades were determined and could keep track by looking at her homework/test scores, how is she reasonably supposed to know?

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Just a wild guess, but assuming the child was bringing homework and tests home to show to her parents, there would have been some kind of "grade" on each of them to indicate the child wasn't doing well..

 

[PrincessKsMom]

TwinsinCA

I agree that years ago, you really didn't have any idea, other than test scores, how you were being graded. Now teachers, at least in my DD's school, give you a sheet at the beginning of the year that tells you how they weigh class participation, homework, tests, projects and reports, etc. They also send home progress reports, which is something I never had as a kid either. DD's school does not have a website that you can check grades on, but I've got a good idea of how well (or not) she's doing in school.

 

[EthansMom]

Sorry, but I'm going to agree with the previous posters.

Your daughter (and you) should have had a clue that she wasn't doing well in this class earlier than now. And she should have studied harder, gotten help and/or asked for extra credit assignments prior to now. Since this is just the first marking period, she should have plenty of time to do those things going forward. In fact, if it was my child who did so poorly, he/she would be spending A LOT of time studying for that class.

Good Luck!

 

[mamacatnv]

Here's my take on it.

Your DD most likely had a clue and is scrambling at the last minute and by whining to you how teacher won't let her do extra credit she is softening the blow. How does she know it is a 69.9 if report cards have not come out? Could she be stretching the truth a little here to garner some sympathy?

No, I would not have emailed the teacher, by 8th grade the kids need to sort themselves out.

I would wonder if there is a clash of some sort going on. Perhaps your DD has an attitude with teacher and therefore when .1% was needed to bump, the teacher reflected on the students behavior and didn't bump. It is middle school, attitude would not be unheard of

If the teacher was the problem you probably would have already heard by now since you obviously are the type to contact the teacher on your childs behalf.

The teacher could be a you earn it or you don't type, nothing wrong with that either.

It's only the 1st qtr. and it's only 8th grade. DD might learn a thing or 2 here and has 9 more weeks to pull that grade up. Now, would be the time she should be approaching her teacher to figure out what she can do to improve her semester grade.