No feedback from teachers

[Anonymous]

I am becoming increasingly discouraged by the lack of feedback my kid is getting from HS teachers. For most classes, the only feedback ever received is a numerical grade entered in SIS. Tests are not returned or reviewed. Homework and practice problems are never looked at by a teacher. Essays are not returned. There is literally no way for a kid who isn't perfect to know what they are doing right and wrong.

So, is this why so many kids have tutors? Are the tutors actually giving feedback and showing kids how to do problems correctly so that they can perform well on tests?

[Anonymous]

You need a new school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need a new school.

Where would you suggest?

[Anonymous]

It sucks. The reality is what you want is not unreasonable except for the amount of students teachers have makes it really hard to do that. They can’t go over test answers as a class because unfortunately kids get endless retakes so they’d just be giving test answers out and then kids would ask to retake the test with them. They can’t grade homework as summative. Essays, I agree, ideally they get feedback- for my students, I give a grade and then offer them the ability to schedule a conference with me during their study hall or before or after school to discuss the grade and provide feedback. This would enable me to target specific feedback to the kids who really want it rather than expending hours giving it to kids who don’t read it. Nobody has ever taken me up on that though so I do think it’s worth considering you the parent might want the feedback more than the kid, which I get, but which won’t ultimately matter. They have to be the one to want it in order to actually apply it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sucks. The reality is what you want is not unreasonable except for the amount of students teachers have makes it really hard to do that. They can’t go over test answers as a class because unfortunately kids get endless retakes so they’d just be giving test answers out and then kids would ask to retake the test with them. They can’t grade homework as summative. Essays, I agree, ideally they get feedback- for my students, I give a grade and then offer them the ability to schedule a conference with me during their study hall or before or after school to discuss the grade and provide feedback. This would enable me to target specific feedback to the kids who really want it rather than expending hours giving it to kids who don’t read it. Nobody has ever taken me up on that though so I do think it’s worth considering you the parent might want the feedback more than the kid, which I get, but which won’t ultimately matter. They have to be the one to want it in order to actually apply it.

Another HS teacher... +100

Students have an open invitation to go over assignments/essays/tests me with during LS or in an after school appointment. Only 2-3 of them have opted to do so this year.

[Anonymous]

The reality is that there is no time to grade things with rosters of 150+ kids, endless retakes, absent students with makeups, etc.

I post/provide answer keys to everything for students to check their own work (or copy, sigh). We do a lot of formative assessments in class (problems on whiteboards, kahoot, card sorts where the puzzle pieces fit together, etc) where you as the parent wouldn't see the feedback (and it probably doesn't show up in the gradebook) but the students are getting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sucks. The reality is what you want is not unreasonable except for the amount of students teachers have makes it really hard to do that. They can’t go over test answers as a class because unfortunately kids get endless retakes so they’d just be giving test answers out and then kids would ask to retake the test with them. They can’t grade homework as summative. Essays, I agree, ideally they get feedback- for my students, I give a grade and then offer them the ability to schedule a conference with me during their study hall or before or after school to discuss the grade and provide feedback. This would enable me to target specific feedback to the kids who really want it rather than expending hours giving it to kids who don’t read it. Nobody has ever taken me up on that though so I do think it’s worth considering you the parent might want the feedback more than the kid, which I get, but which won’t ultimately matter. They have to be the one to want it in order to actually apply it.

NP. This is good of you but honestly, is this something that we would ever have done when we were kids? Why are we dinging kids for not doing it now?

[Anonymous]

I get it completely on the 150+ kids. I am a teacher. I taught in FCPS for many years.

My frustration stems from math class more than anything. In this class, the teacher is doing a few practice problems with kids and then gives them class time to complete homework. The teacher never moves around the room to see how kids are doing and students who are lost have no idea that they are actually lost until they take a test. Test grades only come back in SIS (weeks later) and students are not seeing any graded problems and have no idea where they are going wrong.

I'm a bit frustrated with English too. My kid spent days writing an essay and got no feedback other than a score in SIS. On the other hand, this teacher has made my kid enjoy English for the first time in a number of years - so he's doing something really well!

I feel for the teachers. I know they are overworked, underpaid, and worn out. But this total lack of feedback is frustrating when a kid is falling down and has no understanding of where they are going wrong. It puts a lot of onus on a KID if the only way to get any feedback is to make separate meetings with each teacher on a constant basis. This seems like a lot to ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get it completely on the 150+ kids. I am a teacher. I taught in FCPS for many years.

My frustration stems from math class more than anything. In this class, the teacher is doing a few practice problems with kids and then gives them class time to complete homework. The teacher never moves around the room to see how kids are doing and students who are lost have no idea that they are actually lost until they take a test. Test grades only come back in SIS (weeks later) and students are not seeing any graded problems and have no idea where they are going wrong.

I'm a bit frustrated with English too. My kid spent days writing an essay and got no feedback other than a score in SIS. On the other hand, this teacher has made my kid enjoy English for the first time in a number of years - so he's doing something really well!

I feel for the teachers. I know they are overworked, underpaid, and worn out. But this total lack of feedback is frustrating when a kid is falling down and has no understanding of where they are going wrong. It puts a lot of onus on a KID if the only way to get any feedback is to make separate meetings with each teacher on a constant basis. This seems like a lot to ask.

If your HS aged kid can’t meet with their teacher and ask for help then they are in no way ready for the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get it completely on the 150+ kids. I am a teacher. I taught in FCPS for many years.

My frustration stems from math class more than anything. In this class, the teacher is doing a few practice problems with kids and then gives them class time to complete homework. The teacher never moves around the room to see how kids are doing and students who are lost have no idea that they are actually lost until they take a test. Test grades only come back in SIS (weeks later) and students are not seeing any graded problems and have no idea where they are going wrong.

I'm a bit frustrated with English too. My kid spent days writing an essay and got no feedback other than a score in SIS. On the other hand, this teacher has made my kid enjoy English for the first time in a number of years - so he's doing something really well!

I feel for the teachers. I know they are overworked, underpaid, and worn out. But this total lack of feedback is frustrating when a kid is falling down and has no understanding of where they are going wrong. It puts a lot of onus on a KID if the only way to get any feedback is to make separate meetings with each teacher on a constant basis. This seems like a lot to ask.

If your HS aged kid can’t meet with their teacher and ask for help then they are in no way ready for the real world.

DP. When we were kids, this was not the expectation for high school students. And we (presumably, since we're posting here) made it in the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get it completely on the 150+ kids. I am a teacher. I taught in FCPS for many years.

My frustration stems from math class more than anything. In this class, the teacher is doing a few practice problems with kids and then gives them class time to complete homework. The teacher never moves around the room to see how kids are doing and students who are lost have no idea that they are actually lost until they take a test. Test grades only come back in SIS (weeks later) and students are not seeing any graded problems and have no idea where they are going wrong.

I'm a bit frustrated with English too. My kid spent days writing an essay and got no feedback other than a score in SIS. On the other hand, this teacher has made my kid enjoy English for the first time in a number of years - so he's doing something really well!

I feel for the teachers. I know they are overworked, underpaid, and worn out. But this total lack of feedback is frustrating when a kid is falling down and has no understanding of where they are going wrong. It puts a lot of onus on a KID if the only way to get any feedback is to make separate meetings with each teacher on a constant basis. This seems like a lot to ask.

This is just poor teaching and has nothing to do with FCPS as a whole. I am an FCPS math teacher (home sick, just to clarify) and I am on my feet the entire 90 minutes checking in with students. The lesson is 30 minutes, there are built in checks during the lesson so I can see who gets it/doesn't, the independent problem set has built in checks (answer banks, matching solutions, partner work where opposite problems have the same solution, something) and I am constantly pulling small groups of super struggling kids to work closely with me when I'm not wandering around answering questions. When I see 2 or 3 kids make the same error I pause everyone and we go over it again on the board.

For better or for worse, kids who fail my tests know they are going to fail my tests when they walk into my room on test day. There are no surprises.

If the teacher isn't providing written feedback then they have time to work with students during class to provide feedback. If they aren't actively working with students then they have time to provide written feedback. It is impossible to do both, well (within the time constraints we have). It is lazy to do neither.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get it completely on the 150+ kids. I am a teacher. I taught in FCPS for many years.

My frustration stems from math class more than anything. In this class, the teacher is doing a few practice problems with kids and then gives them class time to complete homework. The teacher never moves around the room to see how kids are doing and students who are lost have no idea that they are actually lost until they take a test. Test grades only come back in SIS (weeks later) and students are not seeing any graded problems and have no idea where they are going wrong.

I'm a bit frustrated with English too. My kid spent days writing an essay and got no feedback other than a score in SIS. On the other hand, this teacher has made my kid enjoy English for the first time in a number of years - so he's doing something really well!

I feel for the teachers. I know they are overworked, underpaid, and worn out. But this total lack of feedback is frustrating when a kid is falling down and has no understanding of where they are going wrong. It puts a lot of onus on a KID if the only way to get any feedback is to make separate meetings with each teacher on a constant basis. This seems like a lot to ask.

If your HS aged kid can’t meet with their teacher and ask for help then they are in no way ready for the real world.

DP. When we were kids, this was not the expectation for high school students. And we (presumably, since we're posting here) made it in the real world.

When we were kids there also wasn't a forced 90 minute block every other day set aside specifically to meet with teachers. This has been built into the schedule for this reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get it completely on the 150+ kids. I am a teacher. I taught in FCPS for many years.

My frustration stems from math class more than anything. In this class, the teacher is doing a few practice problems with kids and then gives them class time to complete homework. The teacher never moves around the room to see how kids are doing and students who are lost have no idea that they are actually lost until they take a test. Test grades only come back in SIS (weeks later) and students are not seeing any graded problems and have no idea where they are going wrong.

I'm a bit frustrated with English too. My kid spent days writing an essay and got no feedback other than a score in SIS. On the other hand, this teacher has made my kid enjoy English for the first time in a number of years - so he's doing something really well!

I feel for the teachers. I know they are overworked, underpaid, and worn out. But this total lack of feedback is frustrating when a kid is falling down and has no understanding of where they are going wrong. It puts a lot of onus on a KID if the only way to get any feedback is to make separate meetings with each teacher on a constant basis. This seems like a lot to ask.

If your HS aged kid can’t meet with their teacher and ask for help then they are in no way ready for the real world.

DP. When we were kids, this was not the expectation for high school students. And we (presumably, since we're posting here) made it in the real world.

When we were kids there also wasn't a forced 90 minute block every other day set aside specifically to meet with teachers. This has been built into the schedule for this reason.

Apparently no kids know this since no kids are doing it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get it completely on the 150+ kids. I am a teacher. I taught in FCPS for many years.

My frustration stems from math class more than anything. In this class, the teacher is doing a few practice problems with kids and then gives them class time to complete homework. The teacher never moves around the room to see how kids are doing and students who are lost have no idea that they are actually lost until they take a test. Test grades only come back in SIS (weeks later) and students are not seeing any graded problems and have no idea where they are going wrong.

I'm a bit frustrated with English too. My kid spent days writing an essay and got no feedback other than a score in SIS. On the other hand, this teacher has made my kid enjoy English for the first time in a number of years - so he's doing something really well!

I feel for the teachers. I know they are overworked, underpaid, and worn out. But this total lack of feedback is frustrating when a kid is falling down and has no understanding of where they are going wrong. It puts a lot of onus on a KID if the only way to get any feedback is to make separate meetings with each teacher on a constant basis. This seems like a lot to ask.

If your HS aged kid can’t meet with their teacher and ask for help then they are in no way ready for the real world.

DP. When we were kids, this was not the expectation for high school students. And we (presumably, since we're posting here) made it in the real world.

When we were kids there also wasn't a forced 90 minute block every other day set aside specifically to meet with teachers. This has been built into the schedule for this reason.

Apparently no kids know this since no kids are doing it...

They know about it... they are just too busy watching tik toks and playing computer games

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get it completely on the 150+ kids. I am a teacher. I taught in FCPS for many years.

My frustration stems from math class more than anything. In this class, the teacher is doing a few practice problems with kids and then gives them class time to complete homework. The teacher never moves around the room to see how kids are doing and students who are lost have no idea that they are actually lost until they take a test. Test grades only come back in SIS (weeks later) and students are not seeing any graded problems and have no idea where they are going wrong.

I'm a bit frustrated with English too. My kid spent days writing an essay and got no feedback other than a score in SIS. On the other hand, this teacher has made my kid enjoy English for the first time in a number of years - so he's doing something really well!

I feel for the teachers. I know they are overworked, underpaid, and worn out. But this total lack of feedback is frustrating when a kid is falling down and has no understanding of where they are going wrong. It puts a lot of onus on a KID if the only way to get any feedback is to make separate meetings with each teacher on a constant basis. This seems like a lot to ask.

If your HS aged kid can’t meet with their teacher and ask for help then they are in no way ready for the real world.

DP. When we were kids, this was not the expectation for high school students. And we (presumably, since we're posting here) made it in the real world.

When we were kids there also wasn't a forced 90 minute block every other day set aside specifically to meet with teachers. This has been built into the schedule for this reason.

Apparently no kids know this since no kids are doing it...

My kid and many others regularly use this block to go get extra support from teachers. A lot of teachers require any kid who is going to do a retake first come once to do a review and then come again to do the actual retake. You can also go with any assignment and get feedback on it. At my kid's school at least this is very common practice--the question is not if you are going somewhere for this period but where.