Grading mistake - what to do?

[Anonymous]

Our DCPS middle-school student brought home the first period's report card a few weeks ago, and it turns out that one of the grades is "wrong," because it is based on zero credit for an assignment that DC definitely did and turned in on time, but the teacher apparently forgot to grade or write down. DC is pretty unhappy, but doesn't know what to do about it. Has anyone else faced this situation? How did you handle it with the teacher and/or administration? We're a little concerned that the teacher isn't the most responsive, and don't want to cause trouble. On the other hand, it's a meaningful difference in the grade and we all think this is super unfair. Thanks for any advice.

[Anonymous]

Just contact the teacher, explain your reasons for contesting the grade, and see what she has to say. She'll probably change the grade. If she doesn't, then tell her you feel strongly about this for x,y,z reasons - be polite, but firm. As a last resort only, involve administration. Be careful about this, don't step on her toes unless you think it's absolutely necessary.

[Anonymous]

If a grade is corrected, then it'll come corrected in the next report card, which will cover the first two advisories.

[Anonymous]

And what if DC had sent a polite email explaining the problem to the teacher, then resent the email a week later after the teacher said no email had been received, and it was still radio silence over a week later?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And what if DC had sent a polite email explaining the problem to the teacher, then resent the email a week later after the teacher said no email had been received, and it was still radio silence over a week later?

Why would the student send an email to the teacher instead of just talking to the teacher?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And what if DC had sent a polite email explaining the problem to the teacher, then resent the email a week later after the teacher said no email had been received, and it was still radio silence over a week later?

Well, now you, as the parent, would send your own polite inquiry, attaching and referencing DCs email. First check that you've got the right email address since it seems strange that two weeks have gone by without a response.

[Anonymous]

Teacher here, I think it is wonderful your DC is able to self advocate, but this is a situation that would be better handled by a parent. Unfortunately, some teachers do not respond to student inquiries the same way they would a parent. Please follow with an e-mail explaining what happened and be sure to let the teacher know you expect the grade to be changed. If this is a teacher error she/he should be more than willing to accommodate your request with no hard feelings. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Maybe forward DC email from your inbox saying you plan to stop by on X date to talk about it. Print copy and hand deliver to front office with note saying, politely, hope you got my email. See you on X date or call me at xyz time.

If email is messed up, it will help teacher to have copy of undelivered message text. Happened with one of our teachers. She asked parents to email her but something happened with her DCPS email. She needed proof to get it fixed. She also gave us personal gmail. K,

[Anonymous]

I'm also a teacher and have had a similar situation. I always respond to students. Pushy parents don't help, so if you must get involved be polite. Make certain your child has actual proof of the completed assignment, with the grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm also a teacher and have had a similar situation. I always respond to students. Pushy parents don't help, so if you must get involved be polite. Make certain your child has actual proof of the completed assignment, with the grade.

Not DCPS, but I find that teachers are responsive to my kids. I can't imagine DCPS is any different so I'm glad to hear from you. But, having proof of a completed assignment is nuts. What do you expect - that the kids make a copy of everything they turn in? Not realistic at all.

As for OP, there are several reasons the grade might be a zero. Maybe it was turned in without a name. Maybe it wasn't turned in. Maybe it was turned in late and credit isn't due to your son because it was too far past the due ate. Or maybe the teacher lost it. Keep an open mind when you deal with the teacher. Even great kids screw it uP sometimes and aren't totally forthcoming with their parents.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I finally just called the teacher (who had not responded either to kid's polite and detailed email, or to my own email 10 days later forwarding the original email with a polite note). Teacher immediately knew what the problem was, took responsibility for the error, and promised to correct. Which was lovely, although a little unfortunate that it took a phone call and two emails to get there. Our takeaway is that the teacher is just disorganized. And yes, I think it's great my child self-advocated and we strongly encouraged DC to do that. But 11-year-olds don't always feel comfortable confronting a teacher in person about a mistake. If nothing else, maybe this can serve as a reminder to the teachers out there that, although everyone makes mistakes, even a relatively minor mistake can have major consequences to a student and require a pretty significant amount of work and anxiety to get it fixed.