jenn- Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I just need to rant a minute. My daughter uses the American School of Correspondence for her high school. I know some people consider it too light, but she is not the most academically strong student so it works for us. We are not using the online exams (online stuff doesn't go well with her learning style) so we have to send in each exam, wait about a week to get the email with her grade, and then wait a few more days to get the exam back. We received an email stating that she had not passed her Algebra exam and that she was going to have to submit a make up exam (highest score is an 85 on the make up). As math isn't her strong suit and she had received a 77 on the last one, we figured she had just really messed up so naturally we grounded her until she could show that she understands the topic and finishes the make up exam. She is known to rush through school in order to get to her computer time, which is where the grounding came into play. So today we finally get the test back with the make up exam attached and I just had to know what went so wrong over a topic in which she had already done in MUS. The grader did the problems wrong!!! I mean blatantly wrong. She changed 9.75 in one problem to 9.25 to finish out the other problems (they built on the original equation). She also completely changed another number which led to her equation being different from DD's (if you have $40 to spend the equation doesn't equal $45). That in turn made dd's next two problems "wrong". There are 4 other problems that she used completely wrong numbers to fill in her equations so she is either working from an old exam to grade or has absolutely no business grading algebra tests. My only recourse is to send the test back and have the principal of the school go over it (of course that's what I am going to do), but I have no clue how long it is going to take to get a response. Needless to say, I ungrounded my daughter and she will go back to working on the next chapter instead of redoing this one over and over again. I'm just so frustrated that my DD received a failing score on something she clearly passed. Correcting of each of these problems has her only missing 2 problems that she truly did mess up (and omg was it a kindergarten mistake of counting the months of the year incorrectly). I don't really expect a response. I just needed to vent it all out before I try to write a diplomatic sounding letter to the principal that doesn't rip into the exam grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 If it's possible, I would recommend grading her tests yourself before you send them in so you know before you get them back where the problems are (and aren't). I'm so sorry that happened. Dealing with incompetent teachers is very frustrating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 If it's possible, I would recommend grading her tests yourself before you send them in so you know before you get them back where the problems are (and aren't). I'm so sorry that happened. Dealing with incompetent teachers is very frustrating! I will definitely be looking over her tests from here on out, but I've been very firm in making her own her grades. I'd have a really hard time letting her send in a failing test if I knew that was going to be the case. In this case, if you take away the grading errors, she did really good for her. She really missed 1 problem, but since she used that wrong equation in the next, she got her answer wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I will definitely be looking over her tests from here on out, but I've been very firm in making her own her grades. I'd have a really hard time letting her send in a failing test if I knew that was going to be the case. In this case, if you take away the grading errors, she did really good for her. She really missed 1 problem, but since she used that wrong equation in the next, she got her answer wrong. Ok, here's my suggestion then: Have your dd make a photocopy of the test before she sends it and put the photocopy in an envelope. If they say she's failed, THEN you open the envelope and check through it for yourself. This at least will result in you not having grounded your poor dd for a week for something she didn't do (not being accusatory here, I would feel terrible if I punished a kid for something they didn't do based on misinformation, I assume you feel similarly), but you won't be tempted to make her do her tests right since you won't have seen it unless there's a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Ok, here's my suggestion then: Have your dd make a photocopy of the test before she sends it and put the photocopy in an envelope. If they say she's failed, THEN you open the envelope and check through it for yourself. This at least will result in you not having grounded your poor dd for a week for something she didn't do (not being accusatory here, I would feel terrible if I punished a kid for something they didn't do based on misinformation, I assume you feel similarly), but you won't be tempted to make her do her tests right since you won't have seen it unless there's a problem. That is a great solution. I just told her that from now on she will go back to copying her exams. She started out doing so with all of her tests but quit recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: That stinks. Especially since you cannot address the situation immediately. I agree, make a copy from here on out. Besides just mailing it back, can you also call and ask what happened? If the grader is working off of an old test there may be other students with the same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: That stinks. Especially since you cannot address the situation immediately. I agree, make a copy from here on out. Besides just mailing it back, can you also call and ask what happened? If the grader is working off of an old test there may be other students with the same problem. I think I am pretty much going to have to wait until I get a response back from the principal which won't happen until he gets the test. I am going to have to be as diplomatic as I can in the cover letter as I hope not to taint the opinion of the guy before he is going to tackle regrading the test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Good luck and best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saja1029 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Jenn, My son is also taking this course. Was this Test 5? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeepItGoing Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 You know, I have an additional concern here. This sounds like a very poorly designed test. You've described more than one situation where there are a number of questions, and missing the first part of a question results in missing the questions following. If in part B of the "month" series she used the wrong equation (which she incorrectly generated in part A), but used it correctly, she should have been given credit for part B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 Jenn, My son is also taking this course. Was this Test 5? Yes!! Did it happen to you as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 You know, I have an additional concern here. This sounds like a very poorly designed test. You've described more than one situation where there are a number of questions, and missing the first part of a question results in missing the questions following. If in part B of the "month" series she used the wrong equation (which she incorrectly generated in part A), but used it correctly, she should have been given credit for part B. They do allow for partial credit, but they don't mark points on the test to know how much credit was given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 If there is an email address, I would scan the graded test and attach it to an email as a pdf and send it up the food chain, saying someone please review this - I believe it is graded incorrectly. If you don't have a scanner, there is a free one for your phone called CamScanner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I have used AS for years, and have fortunately never had this problem. Definitely call student services, explain your concerns, and they'll walk you through the procedure. You may even be able to talk to the teacher directly. Did you know that, if your student has a question, they can call and be transferred to the teacher, if available, otherwise they will call back within 24 hours. I had a question about grading on my daughter's online course and talked directly to the teacher and resolved the issue on the spot. AS staff and teachers are usually very understanding and helpful, and really want students to succeed, so I don't anticipate you having any problems resolving this. If they do tell you to mail the test back, ask if you could fax it in the interest of time. That could be an option. Also, just to be sure you are aware, AS offers online exams for most paper courses (except math). I know you said online courses wouldn't work for your daughter, and my kids aren't crazy about having all the material online, but they love the paper courses and just answering the exam questions online. Everything else is the same, same books, same study guides. The exams are identical to the paper exams, but the multiple choice portion is graded instantly, and the written questions are corrected within 72 hours, usually less, with feedback on every question. It is much easier for my kids to type their answers and hit "submit" than scrawling them by hand, copying the exams, running to the PO and waiting 10 days or so to get it back. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the option, although it won't help you with math :( Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Ahasrada, thank you for your reply. DS did Keystone Academy last year for 8th grade and it is strictly an online school. I had to copy and print every single test. There is something about a computer screen that made her rush the exams and that never went well. Is there a way to start a test and then put it on hold to come back to it? I guess in theory she could work the tests on her paper copies and then send them in online. Unfortunately, math is really the one you need the fastest reply to. She was halfway through chapter 6 when we got the "you failed" email. The test went out on Wednesday, so hopefully we hear something back soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Yes, you can absolutely get in and out of the online tests as many times as you want. Is she doing more than one course at a time? The way AS is set up, they prefer you to wait until you receive the corrected exam before continuing on, just so this type of situation doesn't happen (getting far along in a new unit, then discovering they have to go back and redo old material). That's why AS usually sends the student 2 courses at a time. Once she finishes a math exam, she can work on the other subject while awaiting the corrected exam. If you're afraid she'll forget what she's learning or lose her momentum by taking a couple of weeks off from math, she could do a lesson or 2 per week to keep moving along, but focus on the other class. Once that exam is done (in English or whatever), she can focus back on math again. How are you scheduling her work? Both of my kids are taking 4-5 classes at a time. One of them prefers to work on all of them simultaneously, spread out across the year. She works a little bit on each course every day, or alternates a few every other day. She needs to do this to keep the material fresh and not forget what she's learning. The other prefers to focus on one or two courses per week, plowing through an entire unit and test, then switching to another course, complete a test in that, then cycle around again. Allow your daughter to experiment with different types of schedules to find what works best and is the least affected by having to wait to get the corrected test back. If you do choose to do the online exams in the future (you cannot switch testing format mid-course, but you could choose it for future courses), I would advise doing the multiple choice portion online. The questions are the same as those in the test booklet, but they are presented in random order, so it can be tricky to enter the answers off the paper tests, since the questions and answers won't match up. It can be done, but it's not as simple as just entering the answers. My son prefers to type his essay answers in a word document, then when he's done, he pastes them into the exam and sends it. It's much easier to edit a typed essay than a written one, so even on paper exams he types his responses, then we print them, cut each one out and tape it to the paper exam. Obviously, the online option is easier than that, but a couple of courses, like chemistry and physics only had paper exams since some questions required drawn graphs or showing calculation work. Just a humble suggestion, but since you have discovered this is an issue, could you check over her exam before you send it to make sure it doesn't seem like she rushed through it making careless mistakes. If so, you could make her redo it before you send it. That way she is receiving immediate consequences/punishment instead of waiting for the exam to come back for her to get in trouble. I would also make sure, if she is having any trouble with her work, that it is truly due to laziness or sloppiness and not a need to be taught executive functioning skills, or even an issue like ADD. Sometimes study skills that seem obvious to us have to be explicitly taught. Hope that helps, and feel free to ask any other questions you may have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 My DD is taking 4 courses right now. She had high A's in Writing and Psychology and a low A in science. She has always struggled with her math skills. I've never seen a kid that uses their fingers for addition and still get the problem wrong :glare: . She takes Adderrall for her ADD and has been on some med or another since the start of 6th grade. She can do the work as evident by her MUS work, but she has always struggled in math curriculums that jump from one topic to another and then back again. She likes/needs the mastery style. I have no idea how she is going to make it through a college math course. The four classes is the way to go with her. She would glaze over after an hour or two of working on the same subject, much less days and days of the same topic with nothing else to go onto. She starts with her MUS and keeps then works for about 45 minutes on Writing and Psychology (she was spending way too long each day with these two until I gave her a reasonable amount of time to work until moving on). She always finishes the day with Algebra 1 because it takes her the longest. It is also the class she is furthest "behind" in so stopping it while waiting for a test to come back isn't a possibility. I have been big on making her own up to her grades. I'm not willing to coach her on an exam to make sure she gets a good grade. Someone up thread had a great idea to grade the copied test after she has mailed in the original. That might mean brushing up on my algebra skills though :leaving: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 It sounds like you have a decent handle on the type of schedule that works best for her. Just to clarify, I was not suggesting that you coach her through the exam, just that, if you have a policy of punishing her for bad grades, it might be more useful if it could be dealt with right away, not weeks later when she probably doesn't remember anymore how much effort she did or didn't put into that particular assignment. You have my sympathy with the Algebra class. I have been impressed with all of AS' s textbooks, except the higher maths (Essential Math is very good). We bought a used copy of the Alg. 1 text when ds was testing out of it, and he's now working on Alg. II. The texts don't have clear explanations, mostly just a ton of examples. My dh has to actually *teach* him the material. It's great that she is doing MUS as well. Maybe she needs to watch Khan Academy videos too, or some sort of additional support for instruction. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Guess who just got the email with a new math test grade?!? Yep, she went from failing the test to a 92% or a B+ on their grade scale. It will be a couple of days before I get the test in my hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Fantastic! I hope they have a good explanation and that it doesn't happen again. It also sounds like your dd is doing quite well in spite of any challenges. So glad for both of you that it was resolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Fantastic! I hope they have a good explanation and that it doesn't happen again. It also sounds like your dd is doing quite well in spite of any challenges. So glad for both of you that it was resolved. Do you know if they list final grades on their transcripts? I'm concerned with the harder grading scale that her GPA will be lower. I'd hate for her to have a 92 and it is a B in this school therefore a 3.0 instead of a 4.0 that it would be if she was on the 90, 80, ... scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saja1029 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Guess who just got the email with a new math test grade?!? Yep, she went from failing the test to a 92% or a B+ on their grade scale. It will be a couple of days before I get the test in my hand. That's great! Did they give an explanation/apology….something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 The final grade for courses are number grades. I'm not sure how their GPA is affected, though. I would just call and ask how it works, and what the significance of the letter grade is as it relates to their transcript. I always assumed their grading scale was tougher because the exams are all open-book, so they figure, if you can't make a 70 with an open book, you can't pass. That's just my theory, though :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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