Walls/Banneker Grading

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in Walls who has a teacher who has still only posted 5 grades for the entire term. The ungraded assignments actually outnumber the graded ones. DCPS requires a minimum of 9 grades before a final term grade can be recorded. My kid has a high B+ at this point, but even if the teacher adds enough grades to be compliant, it could easily raise my kid's grade to an A, or lower it to a C, and there will be nothing my kid could do about it. It's really frustrating.

I had no idea about the 9 grades thing. My 8th grader's teacher posted exactly 9 grades and left the remaining ten ungraded. It looks like they're just starting to grade this evening, because I started getting Aspen notifications about 70% scores coming in. We were at an A over the weekend, and we're slowly coming down.

My kid earned what they earned, but I would've liked some heads up before the quarter ended. I'm not a huge fan of being able to make up everything, but it's better than watching your grade drop after the fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in Walls who has a teacher who has still only posted 5 grades for the entire term. The ungraded assignments actually outnumber the graded ones. DCPS requires a minimum of 9 grades before a final term grade can be recorded. My kid has a high B+ at this point, but even if the teacher adds enough grades to be compliant, it could easily raise my kid's grade to an A, or lower it to a C, and there will be nothing my kid could do about it. It's really frustrating.

Same issue at Banneker. Just saw one grade go from High A to B+. How the hell can I do anything as a parent when that’s allowed to happen? Last quarter, one grade went from 100 to an A- in the last few days because of late assignments. Most other teachers updated far more consistently.

[Anonymous]

PP, that should say due to assignments entered last minute.

[Anonymous]

We're experiencing the same thing right now: been doing our best all quarter to help kid stay on top of homework responsibilities, turn in WS's, etc. Now their final grades will just be a leap of faith. Could be a 97, could be an 87. We won't know until report cards issue. Surprise!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private schools do not allow this at all. For every day an assignment is late points are deducted and after 3 days you basically will have a 0. There are no retakes. This does not prepare kids for life. I heard MCPS isn't allowing late work anymore.

Not true for all private schools. My kid was allowed to retake a test last semester. I have mixed feelings about it. I generally don't like retakes unless the majority of the class didn't do well. In that case, the kids clearly didn't understand the material and should be given another chance to learn it. I do believe work should be turned on time (with few exceptions).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in Walls who has a teacher who has still only posted 5 grades for the entire term. The ungraded assignments actually outnumber the graded ones. DCPS requires a minimum of 9 grades before a final term grade can be recorded. My kid has a high B+ at this point, but even if the teacher adds enough grades to be compliant, it could easily raise my kid's grade to an A, or lower it to a C, and there will be nothing my kid could do about it. It's really frustrating.

I had no idea about the 9 grades thing. My 8th grader's teacher posted exactly 9 grades and left the remaining ten ungraded. It looks like they're just starting to grade this evening, because I started getting Aspen notifications about 70% scores coming in. We were at an A over the weekend, and we're slowly coming down.

My kid earned what they earned, but I would've liked some heads up before the quarter ended. I'm not a huge fan of being able to make up everything, but it's better than watching your grade drop after the fact.

It's actually not fair to your kid and is against DCPS policy, which says teachers must provide "timely feedback." It's quite possible that your student would have done better on some later assignments if they had been given grades/feedback on these 10 assignments in a timely way.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know when final term 2 grades have to be posted?

[Anonymous]

I think it is by Friday. The union contract says 1 week from the record keeping day.

[Anonymous]

Based on what a teacher told DC, Friday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a 7th grader who is learning to take ownership of organization and executive function duties. We do not know that kid has missed an assignment until a WS appears in Aspen. If kid were not able to turn these assignments in later, kid would just be screwed. (School is not coaching kid on these skills.) Kid does not have trouble with the actual material, and grades are fine once the assignments actually get turned in. Count me as a vote in favor of a system that lets a 13-year-old figure this out without kneecapping their high school lottery opportunities.

That's my issue now. The quarter ends today, and my kid's teachers waited until Monday to start dumping grades in Aspen from before winter break. Now there are all these missing assignments that we had no clue about. It's nerve wracking, because everything seemed to be in order for the lottery up until this week. They still haven't sent off recommendations, so I'm trying to tread lightly.

I can one up this - my kid is at walls - one of the teachers dumped a ton of grades into aspen tonight - including a test from 6 weeks ago. He apparently failed the test, kid cannot even remember taking it. Like we would have taken some action if we had known he was FAILING 6 weeks ago - but now the marking period is over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a 7th grader who is learning to take ownership of organization and executive function duties. We do not know that kid has missed an assignment until a WS appears in Aspen. If kid were not able to turn these assignments in later, kid would just be screwed. (School is not coaching kid on these skills.) Kid does not have trouble with the actual material, and grades are fine once the assignments actually get turned in. Count me as a vote in favor of a system that lets a 13-year-old figure this out without kneecapping their high school lottery opportunities.

That's my issue now. The quarter ends today, and my kid's teachers waited until Monday to start dumping grades in Aspen from before winter break. Now there are all these missing assignments that we had no clue about. It's nerve wracking, because everything seemed to be in order for the lottery up until this week. They still haven't sent off recommendations, so I'm trying to tread lightly.

I can one up this - my kid is at walls - one of the teachers dumped a ton of grades into aspen tonight - including a test from 6 weeks ago. He apparently failed the test, kid cannot even remember taking it. Like we would have taken some action if we had known he was FAILING 6 weeks ago - but now the marking period is over.

You have to alert the grade principal. I don't claim to know what all the teachers have to do but this is ridiculous. You try not to be "that" parent but they force it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a 7th grader who is learning to take ownership of organization and executive function duties. We do not know that kid has missed an assignment until a WS appears in Aspen. If kid were not able to turn these assignments in later, kid would just be screwed. (School is not coaching kid on these skills.) Kid does not have trouble with the actual material, and grades are fine once the assignments actually get turned in. Count me as a vote in favor of a system that lets a 13-year-old figure this out without kneecapping their high school lottery opportunities.

That's my issue now. The quarter ends today, and my kid's teachers waited until Monday to start dumping grades in Aspen from before winter break. Now there are all these missing assignments that we had no clue about. It's nerve wracking, because everything seemed to be in order for the lottery up until this week. They still haven't sent off recommendations, so I'm trying to tread lightly.

I can one up this - my kid is at walls - one of the teachers dumped a ton of grades into aspen tonight - including a test from 6 weeks ago. He apparently failed the test, kid cannot even remember taking it. Like we would have taken some action if we had known he was FAILING 6 weeks ago - but now the marking period is over.

Very frustrating! He failed the test or both the test and the course?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a 7th grader who is learning to take ownership of organization and executive function duties. We do not know that kid has missed an assignment until a WS appears in Aspen. If kid were not able to turn these assignments in later, kid would just be screwed. (School is not coaching kid on these skills.) Kid does not have trouble with the actual material, and grades are fine once the assignments actually get turned in. Count me as a vote in favor of a system that lets a 13-year-old figure this out without kneecapping their high school lottery opportunities.

That's my issue now. The quarter ends today, and my kid's teachers waited until Monday to start dumping grades in Aspen from before winter break. Now there are all these missing assignments that we had no clue about. It's nerve wracking, because everything seemed to be in order for the lottery up until this week. They still haven't sent off recommendations, so I'm trying to tread lightly.

I can one up this - my kid is at walls - one of the teachers dumped a ton of grades into aspen tonight - including a test from 6 weeks ago. He apparently failed the test, kid cannot even remember taking it. Like we would have taken some action if we had known he was FAILING 6 weeks ago - but now the marking period is over.

Very frustrating! He failed the test or both the test and the course?

Just the test. but with significant impact on the grade overall - i guess we have to see what other bombs get dropped in the nest 18 hrs as teachers post grades

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in Walls who has a teacher who has still only posted 5 grades for the entire term. The ungraded assignments actually outnumber the graded ones. DCPS requires a minimum of 9 grades before a final term grade can be recorded. My kid has a high B+ at this point, but even if the teacher adds enough grades to be compliant, it could easily raise my kid's grade to an A, or lower it to a C, and there will be nothing my kid could do about it. It's really frustrating.

Same issue at Banneker. Just saw one grade go from High A to B+. How the hell can I do anything as a parent when that’s allowed to happen? Last quarter, one grade went from 100 to an A- in the last few days because of late assignments. Most other teachers updated far more consistently.

PP here. Most grades have trended in a positive direction since, thankfully, and the B+ is back to an A. Two grades are still in flux so just hoping for the best.

[Anonymous]

How are final/end of year grades calculated? Are the four term grades averaged for the final class grade (25% each?)?