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Grade dispute with online class - what to do?


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We're still new to the whole online class thing, so I'm not sure how to handle grading disputes. My son took an online science class and it was going fine through Christmas, then it just fell apart. Teacher stopped posting quizzes, lab instructions and homework assignments. I sent several emails and finally received a reply that there had been a couple of deaths in the family and some other issues, but she would get it all taken care of soon.

 

Now the class is over and my son is still trying to get all of his lab assignments so he can finish the class. She recorded his final exam grade incorrectly, but after several emails we got that straightened out. Now it seems that she is leaving out of his grade average the entire spring semester's homework assignments, and his research report grade is also recorded incorrectly. I've asked her about this and now she tells me that it is all in the average, she just isn't breaking it out for me to see. She also explained that she is officially "on vacation" but working 8+ hours per day on completing her classes. The final spring lab assignments are never going to get posted now, so he just needs to choose more labs from the fall list.

 

Obviously, I'm frustrated. But my real question is, what should I do about his grade? Anything? I do not think it is being averaged correctly, but I can no longer find the list of how his class grades are calculated, so I guess that is just up to the teacher? It seems clear that she is through for the year and does not wanting to re-visit any grades at this time.

 

According to her grades, he is very close to an A. When I look at his grades, I think it would be an 'A' if she were including his spring homework and correcting his research paper score in her grades.

 

What would you do?

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I would calculate the grades yourself, and give your ds the grade he has earned. If you are doing this in good faith, you can give your ds a big hug, tell him his grade, file it, and move on. :-) We had one disaster of an online course that I pulled my ds out of after the first semester. I apologized to him for MY mistake, and we regrouped.

 

I'm sorry you've have had this experience. Fortunately, as homeschoolers WE have the final say in our kids' education and grades. :)

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We're still new to the whole online class thing, so I'm not sure how to handle grading disputes. My son took an online science class and it was going fine through Christmas, then it just fell apart. Teacher stopped posting quizzes, lab instructions and homework assignments. I sent several emails and finally received a reply that there had been a couple of deaths in the family and some other issues, but she would get it all taken care of soon.

 

Now the class is over and my son is still trying to get all of his lab assignments so he can finish the class. She recorded his final exam grade incorrectly, but after several emails we got that straightened out. Now it seems that she is leaving out of his grade average the entire spring semester's homework assignments, and his research report grade is also recorded incorrectly. I've asked her about this and now she tells me that it is all in the average, she just isn't breaking it out for me to see. She also explained that she is officially "on vacation" but working 8+ hours per day on completing her classes. The final spring lab assignments are never going to get posted now, so he just needs to choose more labs from the fall list.

 

Obviously, I'm frustrated. But my real question is, what should I do about his grade? Anything? I do not think it is being averaged correctly, but I can no longer find the list of how his class grades are calculated, so I guess that is just up to the teacher? It seems clear that she is through for the year and does not wanting to re-visit any grades at this time.

 

According to her grades, he is very close to an A. When I look at his grades, I think it would be an 'A' if she were including his spring homework and correcting his research paper score in her grades.

 

What would you do?

 

I'm not sure what school you are referring to, but we had a similar experience with our online biology experience. First semester grades weren't actually given until after the final. I had no way to gauge my dd's progress b/c the record-keeping was all over the place.

 

W/ another class the teacher gave her a 76 for her final grade. Every email to us with a grade assessment was a 10/10. I tried to contact the teacher repeatedly (the entire summer and into the new fall semester) to get clarification as to how that grade was derived. I only ever got 1 response from one of the online administrators that she was trying to get in touch with the teacher as well. That was it.

 

I ended up giving the grades that I had record of and could avg myself. :tongue_smilie:

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8FilltheHeart - I sent you a pm.

 

Looks like I might have to assign the grade myself - I can't believe these online companies can be so irresponsible!

 

Ds (future attorney) isn't giving up. He is now looking up all the answers on his final exam (he received a grade, but doesn't know which questions he missed) and referencing where his answer can be found in the text. He's emailing this to his teacher and questioning a few other grades. He's much more diplomatic than I am, maybe she will listen to him.

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So, from the PMs I'm getting, this is obviously a pattern with this school.

 

Maybe we need to create a page somewhere where we can post reviews of various online classes. It's easy to read about our local college and CC profs, but for homeschool online classes you just have to ask around.

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This is not the first time that issues have been raised with Scholars Online science classes! If you search on posts from the last few years, there seems to be a consistent pattern of lack of attention to the grading/administration of these science classes which is why we have steered clear of them. It is a shame that they do not hold themselves to the same high standards that they set for their students!

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Scholars Online.

 

I appreciate you posting this. Online classes are not cheap, and it is a shame to spend money on them and have them be terrible. When homeschool magazines and websites seem to give glowing reviews to everything and anything, we have to depend on each other to see what companies are reputable.

 

(...waiting for 10 brand new posters to defend SO ;))

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I appreciate you posting this. Online classes are not cheap, and it is a shame to spend money on them and have them be terrible. When homeschool magazines and websites seem to give glowing reviews to everything and anything, we have to depend on each other to see what companies are reputable.

 

(...waiting for 10 brand new posters to defend SO ;))

 

I'm not one of them. ;)

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I've also taken classes online, and I had one like you describe at a state community college. The professor disappeared the whole last month of class, and assigned my grade on without grading my final and last assignment. Because I'm a professor and actually used to work for that college, I raised a big stink about it and was told that it was "taken care of." Well, maybe. The professor (actually a part-timer like me, so easy to remove) is still there. Because my current college paid for it, I asked them if they wanted to pursue a refund or anything further, and they apparently made some inquiries themselves and let it go.

 

It still angers me though. If a professor or teacher stopped coming to a face-to-face class entirely, that would be the end of their teaching in most cases. But for some reason this is allowed to happen online, even in higher education.

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  • 5 months later...
Does anyone have any information or recommendation on this class through Scholar's online. We are trying to find an online class for this subject, and want to find a reliable source. We don't have a ton of money, so I am trying to find a good company.

 

Thanks for any info.

 

Susan

 

I don't know about Scholar's Online but I do have a different recommendation -- Derek Owens. He grades and returns homework *fast* and we are very satisfied with his courses.

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Thanks All,

 

I am going to look into Derek Owens for precalculus. Can you tell me if the classes are recorded or in real time?

 

They are recorded, which makes it very convenient. There are many short recordings broken into topics. He provides a full set of class notes and homework problems which you print (or get a copy pre-printed from lulu). You are not part of a regular class -- it's more like a correspondence course, and he grades work/sends it back very quickly.

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MommyThrice, thank you for letting us know which online company this is. We enroll dc in online classes every year and it is great to know what type of experiences dc and moms are having with the different companies. We've never tried SO, but now I know to be wary.

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