SKL Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) ETA: Another year of school stress comes to a close! We survived! Do you all heave a sigh of relief each year?! ************* Old message from way back when: So the second trimester ended last Friday, and report cards are to be distributed tomorrow. I have been watching the grades online. My kids' teacher hardly ever updates the grades. Most of the grades haven't been updated since midterm. (And the papers weren't sent home, either.) Now the grades are showing up, slowly but surely, and there are some surprises. Some things my kids and I really should have seen sooner, so they/we could adjust. These include "missing" work (grade: zero) [which my kid said she actually turned in], F grades, and more. It isn't over yet. I'm not happy with how communication is going this year. Another thing - the teacher waited until the day before the math test to post a "really helpful link" for studying. At that point we were working through a long assigned "practice test" and had no time to check out any helpful links. I guess we can use it next time around. We rarely get more than a few days notice that a test is coming up. I really like this teacher, and so do my kids. I'm not about to go march on Washington, but really. Edited June 2, 2016 by SKL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) WOW! In my son's class, every Tuesday, a folder gets sent home with ALL the graded tests in it (I believe they are the ones taken the previous Friday. It is possible it is a week ago Friday. So today, the tests in the folder will be those they took March 4. Sometimes Febr 26's tests will be in there as well. We have to sign a sheet saying we saw the tests and if the grade on the test is low, acknowledge the particular test was seen as well. There is a homework folder as well that goes home every day. It has a place for the teacher to communicate behavior with the parent, and the parent to sign every night. And a list of that week's assignments with what day each assignment is due -- a new overall sheet is placed in there every Monday. So on Monday/Tuesday (first day of the week), we know exactly which homework is due which day and what will be tested on on Friday. (All class tests are on Friday). Now this does not mean we can DO all the homework on Monday. SOme of it does not get sent home until the day before it is due. But the teacher is quite reasonable in the amount of work assigned in an evening. WE have not had problems even on Wednesdays -- our busiest night. Edited March 8, 2016 by vonfirmath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Kid was allowed to re-do some work as "late" and submit today; we'll see whether the grade goes back up to what it should be. In reality I believe the original is in her desk (she didn't even know to look for it until it became critical to get it done NOW), and none of this would have happened if the teacher wasn't so far behind. The missing paper was due on the day my kids were tardy, so they must have stuffed it somewhere and forgot to hand it in. (Homework is supposed to be turned in before school starts.) I feel for the teacher - she must have a lot going on. Some crazy stuff happens at school, and she has kids too, and it seems everyone has been sick recently. She went home yesterday morning to care for her own sick kid. However, we need to come up with a system that prevents this sort of nonsense. I have laid out some new rules for my kids. I don't have the heart to tell the teacher she needs to be more timely so I can do my job as a parent. It should be obvious, shouldn't it? 4th grade isn't KG, but my kids still need feedback if they aren't doing things right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Some people are so much better at this stuff than others. She might be one who is less talented in that area. But I'd also think about her workload. Teacher workloads have become quite extreme over the last number of years. A good friend of mine who is a middle school teacher almost had a fit a few years ago when they decided to turn a bunch of admininstration over to class time. It may be that there just isn't time to get everything done, and life as well. Good teachers in many cases are going to let admin slip first if something has to. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Library Momma Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Most schools have requirements for the teachers. In our school system grades have to be posted online within one week. In some towns it is 2 weeks. I would find out what is expected of the teacher and if she is not complying perhaps question her about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Yeah, 6 weeks is too much. I would be OK with 2 or even 3 weeks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 As far as I know the only tests my kids have had they were expected to study for and warned of before time are weekly spelling homework. Otherwise unless it happens to be mentioned by one of the kids or happens to be in a folder returned at the end of the year I hear nothing about testing. We don't really have grades either. I still think it is odd to give a young kid an F etc but if they do then I agree there should be prompt feedback. When I study I am of the opinion that the last assignment should be returned before the next one is due so I can make adjustments in a timely fashion. I am frequently disappointed but not always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadde32 Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Are you all talking about a private charter virtual school? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 24, 2016 Author Share Posted March 24, 2016 No, not a virtual school. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 OK, here we go again. Final grades are due tomorrow. TODAY, my kids' teacher is posting missing work from as early as March 14. The grade is 0 for that item (it's a quiz given on a day my kid was absent), and while the rest of the grade is a high A, this one missing quiz brings it down to a C. Really? I assume the teacher will try to make it right - my kid is a good student and will not be pleased with a C - but why does it take 2.5 months to enter grades? I hope she doesn't think it's fair to give the quiz now, with no advance warning for study. :/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 (edited) OK, here we go again. Final grades are due tomorrow. TODAY, my kids' teacher is posting missing work from as early as March 14. The grade is 0 for that item (it's a quiz given on a day my kid was absent), and while the rest of the grade is a high A, this one missing quiz brings it down to a C. Really? I assume the teacher will try to make it right - my kid is a good student and will not be pleased with a C - but why does it take 2.5 months to enter grades? I hope she doesn't think it's fair to give the quiz now, with no advance warning for study. :/ !! Honestly, she should just drop the quiz and average without it. Without a program doing it, that's what any reasonable teacher would do at this point. (Assuming she's given your kids NO indication there was work they needed to make up) My 3rd grader had his awards ceremony last Friday and already got his all-A honor roll certificate. So I HOPE they already had all grades in at that time! Last day of school is Wednesday. Edited May 31, 2016 by vonfirmath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 She is also still not done entering corrections for a math test they took March 23. I reminded her some weeks ago, and she said yeah, she hasn't gotten to that yet. So here's hoping she doesn't forget, because that also affects a grade that should be "A." It's annoying not to have any idea where the kids stand in their classes, but I tell myself that they are getting older and should be learning to be more consistent etc. and not need as much immediate feedback. However, work that needs to be made up should be communicated! In 4th grade IMO it's on the teacher to reschedule a missed quiz. I sure hope their 5th grade teacher is better about this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 That is insane! However, not surprising. My best friend in 5th/6th grade's mother was a middle school teacher. Each semester, 3 days before the end of semester, we would stay up all night helping her grade papers and enter them into the excel documents she kept grades on. I mean, we are talking thousands and thousands of papers and worksheets, a whole semester's worth for all the classes she taught. I think some teachers are just procrastinators. I wish there were some sort of guideline set by the school to say, you have be caught up on all grades every 2 weeks or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 I think it's unfair to the kids. It takes forever to get feedback on what they're doing well or poorly on. What's the point of the feedback if it comes too late to act on it? Sigh .... And this school publicly announces who got 4.0, honor roll, and merit roll, so it would be nice to know where one stands if one cares about such things. (My kids do.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I think it's unfair to the kids. It takes forever to get feedback on what they're doing well or poorly on. What's the point of the feedback if it comes too late to act on it? Sigh .... And this school publicly announces who got 4.0, honor roll, and merit roll, so it would be nice to know where one stands if one cares about such things. (My kids do.) How on earth does this teacher track the performance of her students? The purpose of tests is to find out where the kids are doing well and where there are gaps in knowledge. If she has ungraded tests from March, chances are that she does not know what the kids know about those chapters and there will never be any chance to make up for anything that needed remediation or extra help. The testing seems pointless in this case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 How on earth does this teacher track the performance of her students? The purpose of tests is to find out where the kids are doing well and where there are gaps in knowledge. If she has ungraded tests from March, chances are that she does not know what the kids know about those chapters and there will never be any chance to make up for anything that needed remediation or extra help. The testing seems pointless in this case. This teacher does often take weeks to grade and return tests, especially in science / social studies. She doesn't return any of the tests until all those absent have had a chance to make it up (during school hours) and she's had a chance to grade the stragglers' tests and decide what to do about the overall results. I'm glad she puts a lot of thought into it, but as my grandma would say, sometimes you need to sh!t or get off the pot. The teacher does grade the math tests and review areas that many kids struggle with, usually before moving too far into the next concept. If a lot of kids get a poor grade, then she'll let them do corrections. In Miss E's case, she decided not to show her work on a math test (or was confused about what work to show for mental computations), so she got an F, but she was given the opportunity to fix it. She turned in her corrections 2 months ago and still has the F in the grading system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 I sent an email to the teacher this morning to remind her about the math corrections. I hate to be a nag, but in the past, grades have been finalized without promised corrections, so .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 2, 2016 Author Share Posted June 2, 2016 So yay, we are done and I can stop thinking about grades for 2.5 months! Yippee! (Wondering if I'm the only afterschooler who heaves a huge sigh of relief on the last day of school?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Here end of school coincides with Christmas. By the time we get through end of year stuff at school and Christmas stuff everywhere I am definately glad when both are over. Except the up to a week between end of school and Christmas day which are horrible because our holiday care place is closed and work is super busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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