AP class disappointment!

[ciyates]

My son is taking AP US government with Patrick Henry Prep. He had to do a 6 page book report. He was not allowed to have it edited by anyone. :svengo: Okay fine! He needs to really learn to edit on his own anyway. After he turned in the book report, I reviewed it. I was horrified! It was terrible. I would have not accepted it. If I had it would have been a failing grade. I explained my frustration to him and told him he would likely fail the paper and possibly fail the class. Well the grade is in and he got an 86. :confused::confused: This paper was terrible! It had grammatical mistakes left and right, was not formatted correctly and did not have the proper work cited page.

I feel this teacher is giving him an easy grade. I also feel it is setting him up for failure because he truly thinks this was good enough. Should I contact her or let it be?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Could he ask if there is a grading rubric that he could use in the future to review his work before submitting.

[angela in ohio]

I agree to get a rubric. It really depends on what was being graded. Sometimes I am grading my students' papers more for content, sometimes more for mechanics... the grade will depend on what the goals of the assignment were.

[Twigs]

… Should I contact her or let it be?

 

Here's what I think - it's her class and her decision on how to grade - so let her be.

 

But there is nothing to stop you from now using this as a grammar / editing / teaching opportunity for your son. You could also decide to work on his writing skills yourself.

 

Best wishes.

[Mrs Mungo]

I would have him edit and re-do the paper for me. There is no point in being disappointed with the class or grading in the class. When my dh started graduate school, he was given example papers, and they were downright terrible. Dh made a 100% on nearly all of his papers.

[chiguirre]

The teacher did see all the papers. Maybe she graded on a curve?

[Ailaena]

It has been me before, and afterwards, I required dd to edit, me-edit, and re-edit before turning anything in. Seeing her mistakes helps her avoid them for the next time and at the end of the day, I am the school headmistriss, overseeing all of my staff :tongue_smilie:

 

Since it wasnt allowed to be edited by anyone else, and it is an AP class, is it possible that it was meant to be more of a practice FRQ, and she was likely looking for content?

 

I learned that grammar and mistakes are not necessarily going to kill your AP grade, but since proper grammar and spelling help you communicate more effectively, graders look more favorably upon them.

[SKL]

I would tell him that if that was an 86, then he needs to be getting 95% or higher in the future since you know that is what he is capable of.

 

In my HS, 86% was a C and my mom would have been disappointed to see a C grade from me.

 

Just a thought - sometimes kids will do a lousy paper the first time to set the bar low with the teacher. Then when they do a halfway decent paper next time, the teacher will be all excited to see the "improvement" and grade accordingly.