Is it difficult/time-consuming for a high school teacher to list all tests and quizzes on schoology?

[Anonymous]

You called an IEP meeting with an advocate to complain about some assignments being administered and posted off Schoology? Lord almighty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a junior son with ADHD and autism, who is in a combination of team taught classes as well as IB classes. The inconsistency in the use of Schoology has been a literal nightmare for him. Every single teacher uses it differently. Of his seven classes, I would say three consistently put things on the calendar, some teachers do the paper calendar schedule, while others just “tell” the kids when test or quizzes are coming. It is impossible to navigate and I bring this up every single IEP meeting. He is pretty much surviving high school by playing constant catch up on sis with a tutor. We hired the tutor simply because we were having so many negative interactions with our child about missing school work that it was having a great impact on our overall relationship.

Have you taught him to make his own calendar? Either paper or google? He can source things from various inputs to consolidate in one place. Then he can add things like sports practice and dr. appointments and work shifts too. Such a great life skill for our teens to leave us with. Real life doesn't come from 1 input.

Even with his own calendar how will he know when a teacher plans to test him if they don't tell him? The issue is teachers not notifying the class in a clear way for kids to even input it in their own calendars.

Or your kid isn’t paying attention in class and writing things down. You know, like everyone did back when we were students.

If there is nothing to write down, what do you expect him to do?

If there absolutely truly is nothing written down, this is when I would step in as the parent. Have your child email the teacher and cc you on the email for accountability. "Hi Mr. X, I am attempting to plan out the next week of assignments and I am unsure where I can find upcoming assessments and due dates for your class. Where can I find this information?"

Either the teacher will reply, "It's written on the back board, copy it down at your leisure" or "They are posted as schoology announcements, you can check each week" or "they're on the calendar you receive at the beginning of every unit" or...you'll have in writing that they aren't written anywhere and then you can go to the counselor or assistant principal with a legitimate complaint.

Or have them ask weekly like some PP in here kid does. That is what I'm anout to do. My kid's teachers are terrible about writing down test dates. I'll have her to ask every Monday.

How do you know? Do you see the slides they project each day? Does your daughter text you photos of the board every class? Or does she just say, "They never tell me!"?

Because if it's anything like my room, my warm up slide every single day has a calendar of the next week (the same one that is handed to kids at the beginning of the unit), my back board has important dates to be aware of (quiz, test, SOL, AP exam), and I repeat it multiple times each day. "This is day 5. Your test is on day 8. You will receive a study guide on day 7, that should be your clue the test is coming. Another clue could be the calendar you received! Let's highlight the assessment date. Oooh, it's a Monday. That's tricky. What is a good strategy for when a test falls on a Monday? Good idea, you should do the study guide in class on Thursday but go over it a second time Sunday night. Make yourself a note to do so wherever you keep track of tasks."

You would seriously think I teach 3rd graders instead of 11th graders.

Test day comes. WITHOUT FAIL, 3-5 kids walk in and their face falls. "YOU DIDN'T TELL US THERE WAS A TEST!"

I'm tired of being blamed.

Maybe your child did get 7 dud teachers this year and not one communicates dates in a timely manner. My assumption would be at least 6/7 do though, and she's not paying attention.

A thousand times this.

I post test information in two different places in my room. It’s also on my daily slides. I spent at least a week referring to the test or the review sheet (which also posts the test date). It’s online in multiple places, as well. There are no fewer than six ways you can find a test date.

I get the 3-5 kids say this, as well. I’ve had parents tell me I need to be more communicative. I suppose I can send an email home to parents also alerting them to the upcoming test, but is that really good for juniors and seniors? Who is going to give them six or seven reminders before an exam in college?

This is wonderful (thank you!), and should be more than enough for most students. But not for my student with an IEP who just will not remember after class ends that there's a test, will not study for it, and who will fail -- unless we are able to structure his evening so he studies for the test and does any work due prior to the exam. At least when the dates are in Schoology we can see them and know what to have him work on. At this point it is a question of if he will even graduate from high school, so the whole "but what about college" argument is irrelevant in our case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a junior son with ADHD and autism, who is in a combination of team taught classes as well as IB classes. The inconsistency in the use of Schoology has been a literal nightmare for him. Every single teacher uses it differently. Of his seven classes, I would say three consistently put things on the calendar, some teachers do the paper calendar schedule, while others just “tell” the kids when test or quizzes are coming. It is impossible to navigate and I bring this up every single IEP meeting. He is pretty much surviving high school by playing constant catch up on sis with a tutor. We hired the tutor simply because we were having so many negative interactions with our child about missing school work that it was having a great impact on our overall relationship.

Have you taught him to make his own calendar? Either paper or google? He can source things from various inputs to consolidate in one place. Then he can add things like sports practice and dr. appointments and work shifts too. Such a great life skill for our teens to leave us with. Real life doesn't come from 1 input.

Even with his own calendar how will he know when a teacher plans to test him if they don't tell him? The issue is teachers not notifying the class in a clear way for kids to even input it in their own calendars.

Or your kid isn’t paying attention in class and writing things down. You know, like everyone did back when we were students.

If there is nothing to write down, what do you expect him to do?

If there absolutely truly is nothing written down, this is when I would step in as the parent. Have your child email the teacher and cc you on the email for accountability. "Hi Mr. X, I am attempting to plan out the next week of assignments and I am unsure where I can find upcoming assessments and due dates for your class. Where can I find this information?"

Either the teacher will reply, "It's written on the back board, copy it down at your leisure" or "They are posted as schoology announcements, you can check each week" or "they're on the calendar you receive at the beginning of every unit" or...you'll have in writing that they aren't written anywhere and then you can go to the counselor or assistant principal with a legitimate complaint.

Or have them ask weekly like some PP in here kid does. That is what I'm anout to do. My kid's teachers are terrible about writing down test dates. I'll have her to ask every Monday.

How do you know? Do you see the slides they project each day? Does your daughter text you photos of the board every class? Or does she just say, "They never tell me!"?

Because if it's anything like my room, my warm up slide every single day has a calendar of the next week (the same one that is handed to kids at the beginning of the unit), my back board has important dates to be aware of (quiz, test, SOL, AP exam), and I repeat it multiple times each day. "This is day 5. Your test is on day 8. You will receive a study guide on day 7, that should be your clue the test is coming. Another clue could be the calendar you received! Let's highlight the assessment date. Oooh, it's a Monday. That's tricky. What is a good strategy for when a test falls on a Monday? Good idea, you should do the study guide in class on Thursday but go over it a second time Sunday night. Make yourself a note to do so wherever you keep track of tasks."

You would seriously think I teach 3rd graders instead of 11th graders.

Test day comes. WITHOUT FAIL, 3-5 kids walk in and their face falls. "YOU DIDN'T TELL US THERE WAS A TEST!"

I'm tired of being blamed.

Maybe your child did get 7 dud teachers this year and not one communicates dates in a timely manner. My assumption would be at least 6/7 do though, and she's not paying attention.

A thousand times this.

I post test information in two different places in my room. It’s also on my daily slides. I spent at least a week referring to the test or the review sheet (which also posts the test date). It’s online in multiple places, as well. There are no fewer than six ways you can find a test date.

I get the 3-5 kids say this, as well. I’ve had parents tell me I need to be more communicative. I suppose I can send an email home to parents also alerting them to the upcoming test, but is that really good for juniors and seniors? Who is going to give them six or seven reminders before an exam in college?

This is wonderful (thank you!), and should be more than enough for most students. But not for my student with an IEP who just will not remember after class ends that there's a test, will not study for it, and who will fail -- unless we are able to structure his evening so he studies for the test and does any work due prior to the exam. At least when the dates are in Schoology we can see them and know what to have him work on. At this point it is a question of if he will even graduate from high school, so the whole "but what about college" argument is irrelevant in our case.

When my DD was in HS, their case manager helped her do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a junior son with ADHD and autism, who is in a combination of team taught classes as well as IB classes. The inconsistency in the use of Schoology has been a literal nightmare for him. Every single teacher uses it differently. Of his seven classes, I would say three consistently put things on the calendar, some teachers do the paper calendar schedule, while others just “tell” the kids when test or quizzes are coming. It is impossible to navigate and I bring this up every single IEP meeting. He is pretty much surviving high school by playing constant catch up on sis with a tutor. We hired the tutor simply because we were having so many negative interactions with our child about missing school work that it was having a great impact on our overall relationship.

Have you taught him to make his own calendar? Either paper or google? He can source things from various inputs to consolidate in one place. Then he can add things like sports practice and dr. appointments and work shifts too. Such a great life skill for our teens to leave us with. Real life doesn't come from 1 input.

Even with his own calendar how will he know when a teacher plans to test him if they don't tell him? The issue is teachers not notifying the class in a clear way for kids to even input it in their own calendars.

Or your kid isn’t paying attention in class and writing things down. You know, like everyone did back when we were students.

If there is nothing to write down, what do you expect him to do?

If there absolutely truly is nothing written down, this is when I would step in as the parent. Have your child email the teacher and cc you on the email for accountability. "Hi Mr. X, I am attempting to plan out the next week of assignments and I am unsure where I can find upcoming assessments and due dates for your class. Where can I find this information?"

Either the teacher will reply, "It's written on the back board, copy it down at your leisure" or "They are posted as schoology announcements, you can check each week" or "they're on the calendar you receive at the beginning of every unit" or...you'll have in writing that they aren't written anywhere and then you can go to the counselor or assistant principal with a legitimate complaint.

Or have them ask weekly like some PP in here kid does. That is what I'm anout to do. My kid's teachers are terrible about writing down test dates. I'll have her to ask every Monday.

How do you know? Do you see the slides they project each day? Does your daughter text you photos of the board every class? Or does she just say, "They never tell me!"?

Because if it's anything like my room, my warm up slide every single day has a calendar of the next week (the same one that is handed to kids at the beginning of the unit), my back board has important dates to be aware of (quiz, test, SOL, AP exam), and I repeat it multiple times each day. "This is day 5. Your test is on day 8. You will receive a study guide on day 7, that should be your clue the test is coming. Another clue could be the calendar you received! Let's highlight the assessment date. Oooh, it's a Monday. That's tricky. What is a good strategy for when a test falls on a Monday? Good idea, you should do the study guide in class on Thursday but go over it a second time Sunday night. Make yourself a note to do so wherever you keep track of tasks."

You would seriously think I teach 3rd graders instead of 11th graders.

Test day comes. WITHOUT FAIL, 3-5 kids walk in and their face falls. "YOU DIDN'T TELL US THERE WAS A TEST!"

I'm tired of being blamed.

Maybe your child did get 7 dud teachers this year and not one communicates dates in a timely manner. My assumption would be at least 6/7 do though, and she's not paying attention.

A thousand times this.

I post test information in two different places in my room. It’s also on my daily slides. I spent at least a week referring to the test or the review sheet (which also posts the test date). It’s online in multiple places, as well. There are no fewer than six ways you can find a test date.

I get the 3-5 kids say this, as well. I’ve had parents tell me I need to be more communicative. I suppose I can send an email home to parents also alerting them to the upcoming test, but is that really good for juniors and seniors? Who is going to give them six or seven reminders before an exam in college?

This is wonderful (thank you!), and should be more than enough for most students. But not for my student with an IEP who just will not remember after class ends that there's a test, will not study for it, and who will fail -- unless we are able to structure his evening so he studies for the test and does any work due prior to the exam. At least when the dates are in Schoology we can see them and know what to have him work on. At this point it is a question of if he will even graduate from high school, so the whole "but what about college" argument is irrelevant in our case.

When my DD was in HS, their case manager helped her do this.

High schoolers who need help to this extent should be scheduled in a basic skills class and/or a self contained study hall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a junior son with ADHD and autism, who is in a combination of team taught classes as well as IB classes. The inconsistency in the use of Schoology has been a literal nightmare for him. Every single teacher uses it differently. Of his seven classes, I would say three consistently put things on the calendar, some teachers do the paper calendar schedule, while others just “tell” the kids when test or quizzes are coming. It is impossible to navigate and I bring this up every single IEP meeting. He is pretty much surviving high school by playing constant catch up on sis with a tutor. We hired the tutor simply because we were having so many negative interactions with our child about missing school work that it was having a great impact on our overall relationship.

Have you taught him to make his own calendar? Either paper or google? He can source things from various inputs to consolidate in one place. Then he can add things like sports practice and dr. appointments and work shifts too. Such a great life skill for our teens to leave us with. Real life doesn't come from 1 input.

Even with his own calendar how will he know when a teacher plans to test him if they don't tell him? The issue is teachers not notifying the class in a clear way for kids to even input it in their own calendars.

Or your kid isn’t paying attention in class and writing things down. You know, like everyone did back when we were students.

If there is nothing to write down, what do you expect him to do?

If there absolutely truly is nothing written down, this is when I would step in as the parent. Have your child email the teacher and cc you on the email for accountability. "Hi Mr. X, I am attempting to plan out the next week of assignments and I am unsure where I can find upcoming assessments and due dates for your class. Where can I find this information?"

Either the teacher will reply, "It's written on the back board, copy it down at your leisure" or "They are posted as schoology announcements, you can check each week" or "they're on the calendar you receive at the beginning of every unit" or...you'll have in writing that they aren't written anywhere and then you can go to the counselor or assistant principal with a legitimate complaint.

Or have them ask weekly like some PP in here kid does. That is what I'm anout to do. My kid's teachers are terrible about writing down test dates. I'll have her to ask every Monday.

How do you know? Do you see the slides they project each day? Does your daughter text you photos of the board every class? Or does she just say, "They never tell me!"?

Because if it's anything like my room, my warm up slide every single day has a calendar of the next week (the same one that is handed to kids at the beginning of the unit), my back board has important dates to be aware of (quiz, test, SOL, AP exam), and I repeat it multiple times each day. "This is day 5. Your test is on day 8. You will receive a study guide on day 7, that should be your clue the test is coming. Another clue could be the calendar you received! Let's highlight the assessment date. Oooh, it's a Monday. That's tricky. What is a good strategy for when a test falls on a Monday? Good idea, you should do the study guide in class on Thursday but go over it a second time Sunday night. Make yourself a note to do so wherever you keep track of tasks."

You would seriously think I teach 3rd graders instead of 11th graders.

Test day comes. WITHOUT FAIL, 3-5 kids walk in and their face falls. "YOU DIDN'T TELL US THERE WAS A TEST!"

I'm tired of being blamed.

Maybe your child did get 7 dud teachers this year and not one communicates dates in a timely manner. My assumption would be at least 6/7 do though, and she's not paying attention.

A thousand times this.

I post test information in two different places in my room. It’s also on my daily slides. I spent at least a week referring to the test or the review sheet (which also posts the test date). It’s online in multiple places, as well. There are no fewer than six ways you can find a test date.

I get the 3-5 kids say this, as well. I’ve had parents tell me I need to be more communicative. I suppose I can send an email home to parents also alerting them to the upcoming test, but is that really good for juniors and seniors? Who is going to give them six or seven reminders before an exam in college?

This is wonderful (thank you!), and should be more than enough for most students. But not for my student with an IEP who just will not remember after class ends that there's a test, will not study for it, and who will fail -- unless we are able to structure his evening so he studies for the test and does any work due prior to the exam. At least when the dates are in Schoology we can see them and know what to have him work on. At this point it is a question of if he will even graduate from high school, so the whole "but what about college" argument is irrelevant in our case.

When my DD was in HS, their case manager helped her do this.

High schoolers who need help to this extent should be scheduled in a basic skills class and/or a self contained study hall

This. If your child is in all gen Ed classes and cannot write down a test date in a calendar when it is announced, they need more support. They need to be learning this skill for life beyond the classroom. The world doesn’t put due dates into schoology.

If they are in a self contained or team taught class, then the second teachers/aids should be assisting with reminders to take out the calendar and write things down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You called an IEP meeting with an advocate to complain about some assignments being administered and posted off Schoology? Lord almighty

No, we called an IEP meeting because nothing on the IEP for executive functioning was being followed and this was so basic you expect it to be done for every student. Nobody is telling kids to stay online all day. Just everyone input the same calendar. I get it, you can't put all assignments on there if they cannot be submitted on schoology. Just put your quizzes and tests. If a child misses a day of school they should not have to reply on other students to find out a test is coming up nor should they have to bother a teacher. Just put in on the calendar. I can tell you I have one in college with executive functioning issues and it is much EASIER because professors are organized and give out all this formation from day 1.

It only helps the teacher. If parents complain, show them it all listed on schoology. If you want kids ready for sols you need to make sure they know when tests are so they can study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You called an IEP meeting with an advocate to complain about some assignments being administered and posted off Schoology? Lord almighty

No, we called an IEP meeting because nothing on the IEP for executive functioning was being followed and this was so basic you expect it to be done for every student. Nobody is telling kids to stay online all day. Just everyone input the same calendar. I get it, you can't put all assignments on there if they cannot be submitted on schoology. Just put your quizzes and tests. If a child misses a day of school they should not have to reply on other students to find out a test is coming up nor should they have to bother a teacher. Just put in on the calendar. I can tell you I have one in college with executive functioning issues and it is much EASIER because professors are organized and give out all this formation from day 1.

It only helps the teacher. If parents complain, show them it all listed on schoology. If you want kids ready for sols you need to make sure they know when tests are so they can study.

+1 all these people saying a kid like this won't function in the real world and need different classes are insane. My 2 sons with EF issues thrived in college because the professors were organized and put everything in the syllabi. If not, the professors wrote it down somewhere where all students could access it. They did not have to rely on others to get access to it. College was a breeze compared to HS and my oldest is about to get his masters in EE from Stanford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a junior son with ADHD and autism, who is in a combination of team taught classes as well as IB classes. The inconsistency in the use of Schoology has been a literal nightmare for him. Every single teacher uses it differently. Of his seven classes, I would say three consistently put things on the calendar, some teachers do the paper calendar schedule, while others just “tell” the kids when test or quizzes are coming. It is impossible to navigate and I bring this up every single IEP meeting. He is pretty much surviving high school by playing constant catch up on sis with a tutor. We hired the tutor simply because we were having so many negative interactions with our child about missing school work that it was having a great impact on our overall relationship.

Have you taught him to make his own calendar? Either paper or google? He can source things from various inputs to consolidate in one place. Then he can add things like sports practice and dr. appointments and work shifts too. Such a great life skill for our teens to leave us with. Real life doesn't come from 1 input.

+1

A reasonable accommodation would be to have teachers list upcoming tests/assignments SOMEWHERE. Not enforcing that they all use the exact same system. I worry for any child who goes to college that can't navigate Schoology.

He has no issue navigating schoology. Teachers do not use it consistently, if at all. He has had an accommodation for years for teachers to provide support/reminder in filling out an agenda. The idea would be to establish this habit with support and phase out the reminders. This year’s case manager decided to try paper with her Strategies for Success class this year. It is written in his IEP. Only 3 of his teachers follow though. We have tried everything.

[Anonymous]

I’m the PP. Adding to this, the son who is struggling now has adhd and autism. His college-aged brother (who has adhd) struggled in high school with executive functioning. Super intelligent but just could not navigate the 8 different ways teachers communicated. I was really worried about college for him. Go figure, getting a syllabus at the start of the semester that he could use to input due dates, tests, etc into his Google calendar worked well for him. Wish high school could figure that out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the PP. Adding to this, the son who is struggling now has adhd and autism. His college-aged brother (who has adhd) struggled in high school with executive functioning. Super intelligent but just could not navigate the 8 different ways teachers communicated. I was really worried about college for him. Go figure, getting a syllabus at the start of the semester that he could use to input due dates, tests, etc into his Google calendar worked well for him. Wish high school could figure that out.

I wish I could plan for a semester at a time. I don’t have the freedom of a college professor, however. I have to accommodate last-minute curriculum changes, schedule changes, etc. I also have to accommodate a variety of different learning styles in my classroom, often altering one lesson 3-4 ways to meet accommodations. I also have to change schedules for retakes and rewrites. I may have 10-12% if a class out at any time, as well, which also affects my scheduling.

My child is in college. She’s responsible for keeping up with the syllabus. Where I work, I’m responsible for making sure over 100+ students keep up. See the difference? I have to make frequent changes, so any planning over a week out tends to be wasted time.

I would love to “figure it out,” but the restrictions if my job just don’t allow for it. Would your son do well if I had to post revised dates 2 times a week?

[Anonymous]

How about this- require your kids to make their own spreadsheet and keep it up to date that you can look at.

[Anonymous]

It strikes me as ridiculous that teachers send out e-mails for every test and assignment. A lot of work, and for people who mostly ignore the e-mails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a junior son with ADHD and autism, who is in a combination of team taught classes as well as IB classes. The inconsistency in the use of Schoology has been a literal nightmare for him. Every single teacher uses it differently. Of his seven classes, I would say three consistently put things on the calendar, some teachers do the paper calendar schedule, while others just “tell” the kids when test or quizzes are coming. It is impossible to navigate and I bring this up every single IEP meeting. He is pretty much surviving high school by playing constant catch up on sis with a tutor. We hired the tutor simply because we were having so many negative interactions with our child about missing school work that it was having a great impact on our overall relationship.

Have you taught him to make his own calendar? Either paper or google? He can source things from various inputs to consolidate in one place. Then he can add things like sports practice and dr. appointments and work shifts too. Such a great life skill for our teens to leave us with. Real life doesn't come from 1 input.

+1

A reasonable accommodation would be to have teachers list upcoming tests/assignments SOMEWHERE. Not enforcing that they all use the exact same system. I worry for any child who goes to college that can't navigate Schoology.

We were given a course syllabus for each class. That was good enough.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the teacher is like me. My new rule is I quit working after I stay 45 mins after the school day ends. That's it. No more. I was getting burnt out working 2-4 hours in the evening.

Do I have a free period? Yes. Do I get to use my free period? Not usually. I get to use it maybe 2 days a week if I'm lucky. On the other days, I'm asked to cover other classes or give supplemental instruction to other classes in my subject that have no permanent teacher.

I teach in a LCPS, not FCPS. The HS day ends at 4:18pm. I stay after school until around 5 or 5:15 doing grading and then I call it a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It strikes me as ridiculous that teachers send out e-mails for every test and assignment. A lot of work, and for people who mostly ignore the e-mails.

It’s a CYA, so when parents say their child didn’t know teachers have receipts proving otherwise. Announcements in schoology send immediate emails to all parents and students enrolled in the course.