The problem with on-line grading systems...vent coming

[clh2]

Background...our school district has used an online grading system for 4 years. I love it!!! The school always sends a message at the beginning of the each year - don't expect the teachers to update Webgrader every day...as every week is more realistic.

My DD's honors biology teacher hasn't entered anything in to webgrader since before Christmas. The teacher sent a webnote home (school communication system through the online grading system) that said she wouldn't be updating anything over the Christmas holiday as she wanted to enjoy the time off with her family. HELLO TEACHER: School has been back in session for 3 weeks!!! Today was the end of the 2nd quarter of school. Exams were yesterday and today. It would sure be great to know how my child is doing.

And - I know what DD thinks she is doing (not very well), but the teacher doesn't have time to meet with DD before or after school (the contract says they don't have to be at school until a certain time, and she can leave school at a certain time.) DD doesn't have a study hall. Can't switch teachers, because this teacher is the only one who teaches this class.

Luckily, grades need to be entered into the online system by Monday, so at least this teacher will HAVE to get herself caught up.

Sorry - I don't mean to offend any of you who are teachers - but this teacher is setting a poor example for students. This teacher is very intolerant of late homework.

OK - vent over. I'll get off my soapbox too!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I just e-mail the teacher and ask for my child's grade. It establishes good communication between home and school.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I just e-mail the teacher and ask for my child's grade. It establishes good communication between home and school.

Good idea. Just send out an email asking for DD's latest grades. Most likely everything has been graded, the teacher is just way behind on updating the system.

 

[ajk912]

I agree, if you are worried about it send a quick email!

That system sounds REALLY cool, but I can see how it can be time consuming for teachers to have to be updating it all the time. I wish my kids' school had that system, we only hear 8 times a year how our kids are doing. (Four report cards, 4 interims).

 

[MerMom60_94]

Just food for thought, if this teacher has been good about updating in the past and suddenly is making no updates then maybe (being a person just like the rest of us) the teacher has something going on that you aren't aware of. Perhaps there is a family illness, a divorce going on, out of town company, whatever. Since your relationship is professional I am assuming you wouldn't have a reason to know what is going on. I would give the teacher the benefit of the doubt and just shoot her an email to get the information I need.

 

[agnes!]

Sometimes the teacher isn't very good at replying to e-mails .

Schools make a big deal about the online grading systems' accessibility, but the systems only work if the teachers actually input the data & keep it updated, which doesn't always happen (yes, we have some experience with this...).

agnes!

 

[JohnsPrincess]

I can see how this would be annoying! And you have no clue if you DD needs help because you don't know how she's doing.

I am getting my Masters online so I always have to wait for my grades...sometimes they post them quickly, sometimes it takes forever and it just drives me bonkers!! And that's just because I WANT to know what I got. Lol.

Hopefully you find out soon!

 

[Northstar]

You don't have a complaint about the online grading system. You have a complaint about a teacher who hasn't returned assignments/marks in a reasonable time frame, AND does not want to make time to confer with students who are worried and conscientious enough to try to schedule an appointment.

If the marks you find out come Monday ARE bad, and you want to get some extra help or guidance for your DD to help her do better, the delay is a bargaining point... that teacher better be willing to give some assistance in getting your DD up to speed with the course, since it's the teacher's fault that you had to wait till the end of the 2nd quarter.

If the marks are okay, just chalk it up to "nobody's perfect." As long as the teacher is meeting the school's deadlines for getting marks posted, you don't have enough ammo to make a complaint about it.

 

[missypie]

We can see our kids' grades online and I LOVE it. However Son has two teachers who put in most of the grades at the very last minute. He had failing grades in both classes for 4 weeks because he forgot to turn in a homework assignment and got a 0. I was sweating it all those weeks and he kept telling me it would be okay. He ened up with a B in each class when a flurry of grades were entered on the last day.

The thing is, what if the flurry of grades had also been bad? There would have been nothing to do to improve his grade/get him to learn the material.

 

[Alphabetsoup]

I'm sitting here trying to remember how my parents were kept informed of my grades - short answer....they weren't. They waited until report cards or midterms came out. If there was a problem, they dealt with it then.

That said, if you want answers and the teacher isn't using the online system (it might be that they are not REQUIRED to use it....but it is merely encouraged) try the old fashioned way. Send a proper letter to the teacher through your daughter explaining that you would really like to know your child's grades so you can seek additional tutoring if necessary.

If said teacher does not reply within one week, I would be ringing up the principal and filing a complaint...end of story.

Alternately, I would be tempted to be sneaky and email the teacher while also CC-ing the email to the principal..and point out that no grades have been posted since before Christmas. That way there is NO wiggle room for the teacher if the principal calls them on it.

You need to know how your child is doing. The teacher needs to give feedback at regular intervals. If the teacher is not, then you have no real choice but to go over their head and DEMAND assistance. They can't complain about kids doing poorly if they don't let anyone KNOW that the kids aren't doing well. As a parent it is your right to request a parent-teacher conference...regardless of when a teacher arrives or leaves school.