MY DS will be getting a low grade in a class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me get this straight: you are blaming the teacher because your kid is getting a low-grade?

Way too many teachers in FCPS suck, don't grade on a timely basis, and don't provide meaningful feedback over the course of a quarter. It's sad because it wasn't always this way in FCPS, but the quality of teachers has gone way down and some of these people absolutely would not last more than a few weeks in a typical job.

The only thing that's suspect about OP's post is that it's now past the end of the second quarter so it seems like OP ought to have known there was an issue with the teacher and with her kid's performance prior to now (unless the teacher did their job in the first quarter and then just dropped the ball in Q2).

I’ll fight this battle all over DCUM. I’ve been teaching for 2 decades. The quality of teachers hasn’t gone down. The job has become 3 times harder, and I am not exaggerating. Teachers are accountable for more students, more tasks, more meetings, more IEPs, more discipline referrals… and if all has to get done in considerably less time than we used to get. Imagine getting 3 hours out of a 40 hour week to do half hour job. That’s teaching.

Want things back in a timely manner? Then advocate for more teacher planning time and smaller classes.

People are fleeing from this field because the job isn’t sustainable. Few people are coming to fill the vacancies. This trend will continue until working conditions are corrected.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who is a teacher who quit in December. I wonder what is happening with all of his too many students - but for him to quit midyear, the job must have been intolerable.

And as more teachers quit, it will get worse for those who remain. And FCPS is doing relatively well compared to many school districts, who are more short staffed.

[Anonymous]

OP, with rolling grade book and test retakes, the grade isn't permanent.

Have him work on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Request a meeting with the teacher to discuss your student's performance in the class, and potential remedial help he may need. Clearly he's not getting the subject, so get to the bootn of what's preventing him. If he got a D, then he's likely in the bottom quarter of the class, and 3/4 th of class is doing better than him, without worrying about the mechanics of gradebook updates.

That's not how grades work. Most high school teachers aren't grading on a curve. Half the class could be getting similar grades and you wouldn't know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me get this straight: you are blaming the teacher because your kid is getting a low-grade?

Not completely but yes, the teacher was not providing timely feedback/information and that's unacceptable.

OK, so now you know he has a D. What will you do about it besides for a complain to the teacher that won’t make your child understand the content, so it’s time to get a tutor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me get this straight: you are blaming the teacher because your kid is getting a low-grade?

Way too many teachers in FCPS suck, don't grade on a timely basis, and don't provide meaningful feedback over the course of a quarter. It's sad because it wasn't always this way in FCPS, but the quality of teachers has gone way down and some of these people absolutely would not last more than a few weeks in a typical job.

The only thing that's suspect about OP's post is that it's now past the end of the second quarter so it seems like OP ought to have known there was an issue with the teacher and with her kid's performance prior to now (unless the teacher did their job in the first quarter and then just dropped the ball in Q2).

I'm sorry but this is just not accurate. My kid is a good student but has a very hard course load this year. It's a lot harder. And 2 of her teachers have not updated grades in weeks, one since the first quarter test in November. I have ZERO idea what the grade will be and neither does my child. Do I think DC failed? No. Because for some reason the HW is going in and DC is turning that in. Ditto the second class. But no quizzes. No tests. So if there was something bombed or less than ideal -it happens and has happened this year- there is no chance to make it up, do test corrections, etc. It is what it is.

And in my kid's case, the semester grades to matter for a specific activity and schools will be seeing them.

Lastly, I don't want to hear about it re: test corrections and the like. I don't like them and DC hasn't needed them before this year. But if they are allowed as a matter of policy, and other kids are taking advantage, then mine will too. But, it's absurd and a complete dereliction of duty to not grade things in a way that is meaningful or useful. In this case, they were not graded at all, for weeks, over the course of an entire quarter. You want to be treated like professionals? Act like it.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Oh... were you serious? Because you are not the teacher's supervisor. And the teacher really doesn't care what you think about her.
But I hope your little rant felt good.
Maybe channel some of that energy on your super bright snowflake who is earning a D. smh

The online gradebook is the worst thing to ever happen to education it makes the parents hyper-aware, anxious, and have unrealistic expectations. Our parents never knew our grades until the report cards came out, and the majority of us still grew up as functional adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me get this straight: you are blaming the teacher because your kid is getting a low-grade?

Way too many teachers in FCPS suck, don't grade on a timely basis, and don't provide meaningful feedback over the course of a quarter. It's sad because it wasn't always this way in FCPS, but the quality of teachers has gone way down and some of these people absolutely would not last more than a few weeks in a typical job.

The only thing that's suspect about OP's post is that it's now past the end of the second quarter so it seems like OP ought to have known there was an issue with the teacher and with her kid's performance prior to now (unless the teacher did their job in the first quarter and then just dropped the ball in Q2).

Well, they’re not returning to education because they failed working that “typical job,” so I suspect they’re doing just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me get this straight: you are blaming the teacher because your kid is getting a low-grade?

Way too many teachers in FCPS suck, don't grade on a timely basis, and don't provide meaningful feedback over the course of a quarter. It's sad because it wasn't always this way in FCPS, but the quality of teachers has gone way down and some of these people absolutely would not last more than a few weeks in a typical job.

The only thing that's suspect about OP's post is that it's now past the end of the second quarter so it seems like OP ought to have known there was an issue with the teacher and with her kid's performance prior to now (unless the teacher did their job in the first quarter and then just dropped the ball in Q2).

I'm sorry but this is just not accurate. My kid is a good student but has a very hard course load this year. It's a lot harder. And 2 of her teachers have not updated grades in weeks, one since the first quarter test in November. I have ZERO idea what the grade will be and neither does my child. Do I think DC failed? No. Because for some reason the HW is going in and DC is turning that in. Ditto the second class. But no quizzes. No tests. So if there was something bombed or less than ideal -it happens and has happened this year- there is no chance to make it up, do test corrections, etc. It is what it is.

And in my kid's case, the semester grades to matter for a specific activity and schools will be seeing them.

Lastly, I don't want to hear about it re: test corrections and the like. I don't like them and DC hasn't needed them before this year. But if they are allowed as a matter of policy, and other kids are taking advantage, then mine will too. But, it's absurd and a complete dereliction of duty to not grade things in a way that is meaningful or useful. In this case, they were not graded at all, for weeks, over the course of an entire quarter. You want to be treated like professionals? Act like it.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Oh... were you serious? Because you are not the teacher's supervisor. And the teacher really doesn't care what you think about her.
But I hope your little rant felt good.
Maybe channel some of that energy on your super bright snowflake who is earning a D. smh

The online gradebook is the worst thing to ever happen to education it makes the parents hyper-aware, anxious, and have unrealistic expectations. Our parents never knew our grades until the report cards came out, and the majority of us still grew up as functional adults.

Students also got homework and tests back within a week with feedback in red ink.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Request a meeting with the teacher to discuss your student's performance in the class, and potential remedial help he may need. Clearly he's not getting the subject, so get to the bootn of what's preventing him. If he got a D, then he's likely in the bottom quarter of the class, and 3/4 th of class is doing better than him, without worrying about the mechanics of gradebook updates.

This is a great idea because if anything will get a teacher to be more consistent with updating grades it will be the influx of parent conference requests that come when they don’t.

-fellow high school teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me get this straight: you are blaming the teacher because your kid is getting a low-grade?

Way too many teachers in FCPS suck, don't grade on a timely basis, and don't provide meaningful feedback over the course of a quarter. It's sad because it wasn't always this way in FCPS, but the quality of teachers has gone way down and some of these people absolutely would not last more than a few weeks in a typical job.

The only thing that's suspect about OP's post is that it's now past the end of the second quarter so it seems like OP ought to have known there was an issue with the teacher and with her kid's performance prior to now (unless the teacher did their job in the first quarter and then just dropped the ball in Q2).

I'm sorry but this is just not accurate. My kid is a good student but has a very hard course load this year. It's a lot harder. And 2 of her teachers have not updated grades in weeks, one since the first quarter test in November. I have ZERO idea what the grade will be and neither does my child. Do I think DC failed? No. Because for some reason the HW is going in and DC is turning that in. Ditto the second class. But no quizzes. No tests. So if there was something bombed or less than ideal -it happens and has happened this year- there is no chance to make it up, do test corrections, etc. It is what it is.

And in my kid's case, the semester grades to matter for a specific activity and schools will be seeing them.

Lastly, I don't want to hear about it re: test corrections and the like. I don't like them and DC hasn't needed them before this year. But if they are allowed as a matter of policy, and other kids are taking advantage, then mine will too. But, it's absurd and a complete dereliction of duty to not grade things in a way that is meaningful or useful. In this case, they were not graded at all, for weeks, over the course of an entire quarter. You want to be treated like professionals? Act like it.

Consider yourself very, very lucky. My kids go to a SBG school in FCPS. That HW isn’t graded and doesn’t count. Quizzes are graded but don’t count. Classwork and participation grades don’t exist. Only test assessments count and sometimes my kids have teachers like your son’s. That means there may be a single grade that counts from November and absolutely nothing else until the end of the second quarter that counts and no one knows that grade so far.

[Anonymous]

We have this in dcps. I feel your pain. Dc is in 9th and getting two B-s in core classes due to teachers not grading in time or orovidyany feedback or time for retakes. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have this in dcps. I feel your pain. Dc is in 9th and getting two B-s in core classes due to teachers not grading in time or orovidyany feedback or time for retakes. Ugh.

Thank the teachers because your kids won’t be given retakes in college. Sounds like your kids need to prepare better and you need to focus your attention there instead of on the teachers.

[Anonymous]

OP’s post doesn’t check out. The teacher supposedly isn’t grading and they just found out the kid has a D. The gradebook has been down since last week and won’t be up again until next week. How did they find out the updated grade of a D when the grades are all hidden? In MS and HS, they hide the grades for some mysterious reason to finalize grades, even through most classes are on a rolling gradebook now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have this in dcps. I feel your pain. Dc is in 9th and getting two B-s in core classes due to teachers not grading in time or orovidyany feedback or time for retakes. Ugh.

A B- is a fine grade, it is above average. Classes are not there to make sure every child has an A, an A is earned through mastery. It sounds like your kids are preparing but have not mastered the material, which is fine and normal. Or are they not preparing and not showing mastery because they are not preparing? That is something that you can work on.

99% of the adults posting on this board attended schools that did not allow retakes of exams. Most of us got B’s, some of us might have gotten C’s, and we all did just fine.

If your kid is getting a B then look at what you can do to help them understand the material better or prepare better. If they are doing their best and earning a B, fine. If they are not preparing or trying and getting a B, address the lack of effort.

OP, there was an earlier thread where a parent was complaining about 0’s as place holders in her kids grade book. The kid told her she had turned int he work and done all the things. As the end of the quarter drew near, the kid fessed up to not doing the work and that the 0’s were real zeros. I would bet that your child knows that they are struggling and isn’t surprised by the low grade, maybe the D was a surprise but I doubt they thought they had an A or even a B. Talk to your kid about what supports that he needs and work on that. Does he ask his Teacher for help during their counseling/study hall/school animal time? Are there classmates he could study with? Does he need a tutor? Use this as an oppertunity to help him learn what he needs to ask for in terms of support and get him that support. Learning to ask for help is a valuable life skill, one that many adults are lacking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MY Son will be getting D in Biology Honors because the teacher never updated the gradebook since November, how do we address this? He had no idea how he did on his test, or labs teacher didn't update his gradebook till grades were due, we just found out he got a low grade and we can't even check the gradebook because its down.

How do you know it’s a D if the gradebook is down?