Vent: Math teacher can't do the math *** Update Page 2 ***

[Towncrier]

Background: DS James missed one day of school a couple of weeks ago due to the bug that's going around. This is only the 2nd sick day that our son has taken since he started preschool. Not a bad track record for someone in 9th grade.

Problem: We got James' midterm grades and he has an "F" in math.

Explanation: James had a strong "A" going into the midterm grading period. The day he missed school, his math teacher gave an exam that is worth 60% of his grade. Since she had to turn in midterm grades that weekend, she counted his missed test as a zero. Therefore (doing the math), he only had a possible 40 out of 100 points. Which is an "F". James took a makeup exam the following Monday and aced it.

My problem: Why the heck didn't the math teacher base his midterm grade on the work that he had completed? You would think that a math teacher could grasp the concept of ratios when computing a grade. James had an "A" before Friday and after Monday, but his midterm report card shows that he has an "F". To top it all off, the computer program that spits out grades suggested that he needs tutoring.

I think that his math teacher deserves a big fat "F".

*** UPDATE ON PAGE 2 ***

It seems that James was not completely honest about the events that led to an "F" on his midterm report card. My reply on page 2 of this thread attempts to explain the situation in more detail. Perhaps his parents deserve the "F".

 

[shep]

He fails because he was sick??
And he aced the makeup test???
Why would he take it if it didn't count??
Next time have him go in sick and get sick on the teacher...

Sorry, got a little carried away...
But that isn't right...

 

[CRB#33]

Math teacher sounds pretty stupid to me. I would take this right to the principal and get that grade changed. It is not appropriate.

Teachers these days.

My DD was told the night before the end of the marking period that her teacher had lost 4 of her homework assignments. He told her she had to do them AGAIN!! He believed that he lost them (she's number 1 in the class), but he didn't care.

I wrote him a note about the time constraints on her when she has to do assignments twice because of some one elses mistake. He laughed at it.

 

[helenabear]

I cannot believe they would do that Makes you wonder why that teacher is teaching Math of all subjects

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Sounds like that is the new math the teacher had been taught

 

[Kermit]

I can actually understand why a teacher would do that <i>if</i> she were trying to stress how important it was for the student to make up the test. But that's something that should be reserved for poor students from families that aren't very involved in their kids' education. I'm guessing that your family doesn't fit that profile, and the teacher should have known that your son knew he needed to make that test up and was going to.

 

[Mish19]

Seems that teacher should learn averages. Why give him the make-up test if he/she wasn't going to count it?

I had a class in college where I handed in a report in the beginning of finals week rather than wait for the last due date. She graded me with an A and a few days later the department called to tell me I had not handed in my report! I made a copy of the report she graded and put it in her mailbox with a note to let me know if she received it. Never got a note from her but got a grade reflecting my A report.

Can you bring it up to the proncipal or maybe during a parent-teacher conference with this math teacher?

 

[Mskanga]

That is aweful John , I personally would take that up with the principal and if you get no results there, then the superintendent. In my daughter's school if you are sick on a day that they give the tests , you can take it at a later date, the only difference is you may get the report card a few days later than the rest of the kids.

 

[SonjaB]

amazing

 

[Talking Hands]

Your son should have gotten an incomplete or grade withheld until the make-up test was done. Then the grade should have been changed to reflect the deserved grade.
Teacher is a jerk!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Sheesh! It sounds like he's in college. We've been told that there are NO make-up tests if you miss one. And one professor said that if we choose NOT to take the final exam, we can expect an "A" to turn into a "C". Everyone took it!

 

[Serena]

That would tick me off.

 

[disykat]

I have a totally different take on this. I'm assuming this was a mid-term report just to let you know where your child stood as of the date the mid-term reports came out. Now that the make-up test has been done and entered into the computer, I would assume everything is fine. What's the big deal? I see it kind of like when I get the payment late notice that says "ignore this if you've already sent in your payment - it may not have been processed yet" - aggravating but understandable. It would have been nice if the teacher had singled out the children with special circumstances, but she probably just pushed a button and computer generated out the reports based on what had been recorded in her gradebook program.

If I'm wrong and it was an actual report card, then I do see that as a big deal.

 

[Cindy B]

Thats a shame.. and all for missing one day. I never missed a day in high school, so I know how this is...


He did the makeup work, did well, and it was still an F?

Who can you talk to in the school about this?

Now this was a midterm grade, not a report card, am I correct?



I would definetely try to talk to school about this.

 

[mickeyfan1]

Originally posted by disykat
I have a totally different take on this. I'm assuming this was a mid-term report just to let you know where your child stood as of the date the mid-term reports came out. Now that the make-up test has been done and entered into the computer, I would assume everything is fine. What's the big deal? I see it kind of like when I get the payment late notice that says "ignore this if you've already sent in your payment - it may not have been processed yet" - aggravating but understandable. It would have been nice if the teacher had singled out the children with special circumstances, but she probably just pushed a button and computer generated out the reports based on what had been recorded in her gradebook program.

If I'm wrong and it was an actual report card, then I do see that as a big deal.

I think it does matter a lot! If you go from an A to an F for one missing test, you CAN'T get back to the A with the makeup test. It won't average out! Unless the teacher ignores the F. John, please talk to the teacher and principle about this. Your DS must be crushed.

 

[gepetto]

Since it's only a midterm grade I wouldn't worry about it since he has an "A" now. Most grading software counts missing work as a zero.

 

[browneyes]

On my kids' midterm progress report cards, they have a letter grade, then a couple of subcategories, including missed tests and missed assignments. The teachers will average the grades according to the # of tests/assignments given regardless if they have any missing, BUT! The teachers will make a note that the grade will be higher once the work/tests are turned in. But they're in Elementary School (and a different state ).

 

[piratesmate]

Does the district have a policy about this? I know some have the policy that would demand the teacher record the grades the way she did & then adjust them once the work is made up. "Incomplete" seems nicer, but the end result is the same - at least in the eyes of administration. Unfortunately, students & parents don't always see eye-to-eye with administration.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Originally posted by mickeyfan1
If you go from an A to an F for one missing test, you CAN'T get back to the A with the makeup test. It won't average out!

Why wouldn't it average out? If you can go from an A to an F without that test grade, why can't you go from an F to an A with it? All you're doing it going back and calculating it as if it had been taken the day it was given.

I agree with disykat tho...altho it's disheartening to see an F on a piece of paper, if your mid-term reports mean the same as ours, its purpose it to keep parents informed of the status of their children's progress before giving a final grade that you can't do anything about...it really means nothing else. Something similar happened to my DD, altho it was handwritten report...she had been absent and handed work in late, but the teacher hadn't corrected it yet, so it showed a much lower mid-term grade, with a handwritten note saying the grade on the other assignment was pending. I just made sure I knew what the grade of that assignment ended up being, and what her overall grade for the class was. I can see where a computer program can't be that personalized...one of the limitations of technology.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

And only his SECOND ABSENCE?!?!?!?! WOW! Personally, I think this sort of fact should count for a lot more than grades when he goes for a job!