HS retake policy and illness

[Anonymous]

Hoping someone can help clarify the policy here. My teen was out of school with COVID and missed a test. It's one of the very few retakable AT assignments for the semester. Upon return, they took the test on official retake date. The teacher's position is that my teen does not get a retake for this test, because their makeup was on the retake day. This seems unfair -- that kids who weren't sick got two chances at the test, whereas a kid that was sick one gets one -- and particularly so when my kid was out sick for the test review, and therefore probably needed more of an opportunity to learn from the mistakes made on the test.

Is the teacher right about the policy for retakes?

[Anonymous]

Back in my day, there was accountability and no retakes. You prepare for the test and tgat was it.

[Anonymous]

I agree it seems unfair.

[Anonymous]

I agree with teacher. I think your kid should live with the result they got on the first test. While other kids got two attempts, your kid also more time than others to prepare for his first attempt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in my day, there was accountability and no retakes. You prepare for the test and tgat was it.

That was no relevance to this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with teacher. I think your kid should live with the result they got on the first test. While other kids got two attempts, your kid also more time than others to prepare for his first attempt.

The student was ill and couldn't take advantage of the extra time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with teacher. I think your kid should live with the result they got on the first test. While other kids got two attempts, your kid also more time than others to prepare for his first attempt.

The student was ill and couldn't take advantage of the extra time.

How would you prove that? Plenty of people can be sick enough to miss school and be around other people but be fine enough to read and review material independently.

[Anonymous]

We had a different situation last year, but something that seemed unfair given the policies in place. I emailed the counselor to ask for a clarification of the policy (providing details of the situation). The counselor confirmed the policy and looped in the teacher, who said my kid misinterpreted what he'd said. Whichever way, the teacher offered the accommodation that the other kids had gotten.

I think sometimes having to justify yourself to another party (even though counselors are not more senior than teachers) sometimes helps people see different ways of looking at a situation. And if the teacher is implementing the policy accurately, then the counselor can also tell you that.

[Anonymous]

Did your kid take it the first day back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hoping someone can help clarify the policy here. My teen was out of school with COVID and missed a test. It's one of the very few retakable AT assignments for the semester. Upon return, they took the test on official retake date. The teacher's position is that my teen does not get a retake for this test, because their makeup was on the retake day. This seems unfair -- that kids who weren't sick got two chances at the test, whereas a kid that was sick one gets one -- and particularly so when my kid was out sick for the test review, and therefore probably needed more of an opportunity to learn from the mistakes made on the test.

Is the teacher right about the policy for retakes?

No, that's obviously absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a different situation last year, but something that seemed unfair given the policies in place. I emailed the counselor to ask for a clarification of the policy (providing details of the situation). The counselor confirmed the policy and looped in the teacher, who said my kid misinterpreted what he'd said. Whichever way, the teacher offered the accommodation that the other kids had gotten.

I think sometimes having to justify yourself to another party (even though counselors are not more senior than teachers) sometimes helps people see different ways of looking at a situation. And if the teacher is implementing the policy accurately, then the counselor can also tell you that.

I assume the details of the accommodation request were relevant go you going to the counselor. In this case, I'm not sure who they could reach out to other than the principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did your kid take it the first day back?

Second day back. Had two tests to make up plus a lab and teachers basically only allow the makeups during lunch. I think this teacher told him he should make it up on the day he did make it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with teacher. I think your kid should live with the result they got on the first test. While other kids got two attempts, your kid also more time than others to prepare for his first attempt.

The student was ill and couldn't take advantage of the extra time.

How would you prove that? Plenty of people can be sick enough to miss school and be around other people but be fine enough to read and review material independently.

Why would you need to prove this? Assuming you don't question the diagnosis, it should not be assumed that the student is prepping for the exam.

[Anonymous]

That doesn’t seem right. You may want to email the teacher to clarify the policy right away. You don’t want too much time to pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did your kid take it the first day back?

Second day back. Had two tests to make up plus a lab and teachers basically only allow the makeups during lunch. I think this teacher told him he should make it up on the day he did make it up.

Teacher here.

First - it sounds like you’re talking about a retakable quiz, not a test. Tests are summative assessments at the end of units and aren’t retakable. Second - as others said, your kid had additional time to prepare. It doesn’t sound like they were out long, so they didn’t miss much instruction. Third - they had access to the quiz (via other students) and any review/reteaching material. If they didn’t take advantage of that extra material, that’s on them. Fourth - your kid made a choice about which class to prioritize on the day they came back. They should have studied the night before they took it, since they were well by then.

In the grand scheme of things, this one assessment is likely not a huge part of the grade. It is more important for your student to be forward looking and work on current material than to spend more time on old material. Move on and learn the lesson about planning and committing better after an illness.